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peaking fluently and clearly will be put at the heart of the national curriculum and given the same status as literacy and numeracy under a Labour government, Sir Keir Starmer has pledged.
In an article for The Times the Labour leader says that the “almost exclusive” focus on reading and writing at present is “short-sighted” as he calls for oracy to be given priority at every level of a child’s education.
The ability to articulate ideas is key to “getting on and thriving in life”, Starmer says, arguing that children with poor language skills at the age of five are six times less likely to reach the expected standard of English at 11. Experts say that poor oracy leaves children unable to learn as they
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