Education Secretary and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell has hit back at critics who accuse the government of "dumbing down" by strengthening speaking skills across the curriculum, insisting confident communication should not be reserved for children whose parents can afford school fees.
Lucy Powell said private schools "don't leave confident communication to chance", teaching debating, public speaking, presentations and interview preparation as "part of the deal" for fee-paying parents. "I want that for every young person, wherever they grow up and whichever school they go to," she said.
The government is strengthening oracy across the curriculum, from primary to post-16, in all types of lessons and subjects.
Lucy Powell: 'This is hypocrisy'
"Spoken communication is not a soft skill or a bolt on," the Education Secretary said. Responding to critics who have called the proposals a sign of "dumbing down" and a departure from high standards, she said: "This is hypocrisy."
She noted that support for developing these skills has stretched across political divides for years, including from Conservatives such as former schools minister Nick Gibb and former culture minister Lucy Frazer.
"I do not accept a two-tier system where confident communication is seen as essential for children whose parents can afford school fees, but optional for everyone else," she said.
'The evidence has not changed, the politics has'
Lucy Powell pointed to the Education Endowment Foundation, which identifies oral language approaches as among the most effective interventions available, with particularly strong benefits for disadvantaged pupils: six months' additional progress in primary school and five months in secondary school.
She also cited author Michael Rosen, who has welcomed a rebalancing towards speaking as "a great bridge between the mind and the page", and Oracy Education Commission chair Geoff Barton, who has pointed to high-performing systems in Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands where pupils are expected to explain their reasoning and defend their approach.
Employers want the same skills, she said, citing a Chartered Management Institute survey in which managers highlighted gaps in communication skills among young people starting work.
"The evidence has not changed, the politics has. Because this was never really about standards. It was about who gets the chance to succeed," Lucy Powell said. "In a fast-changing world, every young person deserves the confidence to speak up, the skills to be heard and the power to shape their own future."
