SPEAK TOGETHER · TEACHER REFERENCE
England · primary / SEND · checked 20 October 2026. This reference sits alongside the teaching plan. Check the original documents again when planning a new cycle.
The current statutory English programmes of study include listening, questioning, explanations, collaborative discussion, role play and adapting communication to an audience. Schools should check the requirements that apply to their setting.
English programmes of study · spoken language, Years 1–6 ↗The November 2025 government response committed to a primary oracy framework, formative assessment guidance and professional development. It aimed to publish the revised national curriculum by spring 2027, for first teaching from September 2028. These are published plans, not a replacement curriculum already in force.
Government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review · pp. 26 and 52 ↗On 15 October 2026, the Education Secretary announced that oracy would become a new strand of the revised English curriculum, with equal status to reading and writing. Treat this as a policy announcement; use the published requirements currently applicable to your school.
Education Secretary speech at CST Conference 2026 ↗The Voice 21 framework, developed with Oracy Cambridge, describes physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social and emotional dimensions. It is a separate professional framework, not the promised DfE framework. Read the original for its full definitions.
Voice 21 / Oracy Cambridge · The Oracy Framework ↗Use these links to choose a communication focus, find a matching Studio activity and plan what to observe. Place the eight-week sequence within your school’s wider spoken-language curriculum.
Week 3 · Radio Check
Direct Pip’s delivery in pairs; check a missing direction and repair it.
Useful evidence: Notice a pupil-selected checking question or repair, with route and support.
Weeks 2 and 4 · Drama Lab / Character Bridge
Rehearse an intention or fictional viewpoint; a puppet can carry the chosen message.
Useful evidence: Describe the intention conveyed and the listener’s interpretation, not acting quality.
Weeks 5 and 7 · Voice Lab / Create
Build Start, Build and Finish with objects, symbols, text or chosen audio.
Useful evidence: Keep a selected sequence and note how a listener followed the idea.
Weeks 4 and 6 · Character Bridge / On Air
Choose a trusted audience, hear another idea and give a reason or response.
Useful evidence: Record an authentic response to a peer; speech and public performance stay optional.
Weeks 1–8 · all spaces
Model invitations, waiting, shared roles and meaningful replies; try a food-free table gathering.
Useful evidence: Separate rehearsal from everyday transfer; record opportunities, context and pupil feedback.
Plan the activity around the pupil’s usual AAC, symbols, signing, gesture, partner reading, text, recorded voice or listening-first route. Use the Studio tools where they support that choice. Agree individual access with the pupil and their usual team. Do not use eye contact, live speech, accent or performance confidence as a universal success criterion.
Around the Table is one optional social setting for practising interaction. Review whether the setting helps each pupil join and respond; food is optional.
The impact desk supports local review. Its descriptors are not national attainment standards or a validated oracy assessment. This programme carries no government or framework-provider endorsement.
Staff training → · Review together → · Plan the group →