A recent conversation with a usually supportive parent went something like this: “Mr de Botton, I don’t want all that talking this time. Just put him in detention.”

“He will be held back, yes, but he will also need to reflect on what has happened and articulate a way forward. This is part of the restoration process.”

“Well, OK, but he needs to get the message.”

The parent was exasperated. For her, talk was the opposite of action.

This episode highlights a wider critique of the oracy agenda. Does the extra time spent on dialogue amount to anything more than nice chats? Is it better suited to break time or the pub? Is it all talk and no action?

The answer lies partly in the positive impact that a focus on oracy can have on academic achievement. But perhaps there is something important in the role that dialogue can play in shaping a whole-school culture and vision.

At School 21 - the 4-18 school in Stratford, East London, where I am head - teachers and students “finding their voices”, physically and metaphorically, has become foundational: a route to personal and professional agency.

Oracy’s place in the vision

An education with oracy at its heart takes the social mission of a school very seriously. At its best, a dialogic school gives all members of its community an opportunity to “speak one’s own word” (a great phrase from educational theorist Paulo Freire). Having the power to know who you are and articulate where you are going is an important part of a flourishing life.

What’s more, a sense that our words can stimulate others to action gets close to empowerment, with students and teachers making a difference in their schools, communities and beyond. For children in our school, some of whom come from backgrounds where power is often exercised over them, this can be transformational. For teachers who can sometimes feel disempowered by the system, that strength helps us to take back control.

So far, so theoretical. However, in practice, we have found there are experiences, expectations and structures that can help schools on an oracy mission.

Power of personal testimony

The power of storytelling and personal testimony sounds ethereal. But when made concrete, it helps students and teachers to explore who they are, and it demands that schools celebrate difference.

Every year, all our Year 4s perform a no-notes “spark” speech on something they have struggled with and overcome. It is drafted and redrafted over a term, with teachers feeding in vocabulary, guiding reflections through rich texts and teaching rhetorical structures (borrowing from our “presentational talk” toolkit). To heighten the experience and ensure quality, the speeches are performed to an external audience. This year, we went to Salesforce Tower in the heart of London, where IT workers heard children worrying about bullying, exploring their dyslexia and reflecting on difficult home lives. For the children, the experience was affirming and confidence-building. For the adults, it provoked empathy and, in some cases, tears.

Storytelling continues up the school, as Year 7s give “ignite” speeches on something important to them. By Year 9, they are making arguments about what’s wrong with the school and the wider world. In Year 12, they are using viva-style presentations to reflect on their learning and how they have grown personally.

Teachers, too, have opportunities to share their stories. Craft presentations - explorations of teaching practice in development - are part of the way we interrogate our work and build an ethic of shared enquiry. Every teacher, from the head down, shares what they are working on and opens themselves up for questions and challenges from the community.

This story of learning is coupled with a tradition of being open about the bits of our character that sometimes get in the way. From disorganisation to arrogance, and from being too controlling to taking feedback too personally (that last one is me), we seek to be open to improvement. We are empowered by our struggles, not debilitated by them.

School improvement from within

Once students have a voice, they want to use it. An emphasis on student leadership, present in many schools, can be turbo-charged when children have developed their oracy. This year, we are extending student leadership across the whole of Year 9 to try to generate more motivation (something we have struggled with in the past) but also to get workable ideas about how to take the school forward.

Through the consensus-building oracy tools that have also been utilised by social protest movements, we are getting closer to really hearing what students feel about the school and how to improve it. These tools include:

• “Hands up, hands down, hands in the middle”, which involves students or teachers making proposals and receiving immediate feedback from the room. It works well in large assemblies and staff forums.
• “Facilitator protocols”, which involve facilitators working in smaller groups, asking for clarifying questions and friendly amendments. Everyone needs to be part of the discussion.
• A “tuning” process: once proposals are fully worked up, students or teachers present for seven minutes, answer questions for two, and then absent themselves from the discussion in order to listen to the feedback.

Taking on the world

If you believe children can have an impact on the world while at school and you want this to happen, oracy is a big help. Since we opened in 2012, we have created space in the curriculum for projects that have end results.

Sometimes they are part of the core curriculum and rich in carefully sequenced knowledge. A few years ago, for example, Year 9 students explored the maths behind the pollution that a proposed concrete factory was going to cause in the local area. They wrote submissions to the local authority and spoke at the planning meeting where the application was rejected.

Sometimes projects are part of the wider curriculum offer. Last year, sixth-formers crowdsourced funding from Kickstarter to make a documentary about homelessness (a big issue in our local area). The launch of the documentary was preceded by an open symposium-style meeting with representatives from the local authority, homeless charities and homeless people, chaired by the students.

A big commitment

Dedicating so much time to developing oracy skills could seem superfluous and surplus to the many existing requirements placed on schools. And, of course, taking dialogue to this point needs a big commitment from staff and students.

However, I can attest to oracy’s power. It enhances the impact of what schools must do: get children thinking, and get teachers talking and building a culture. But it also shapes what schools could do, giving students the tools, confidence and voice to be their own people even when the ground shifts beneath them. For me, that’s the whole point of education.

The Tes oracy series

Part one: A focus on oracy can transform your school - 19 July issue

Part two: How learning discussion skills can deliver social change - 26 July issue

Part three: How emphasising oracy had a profound impact at one school- 2 August issue

Oli de Botton is head of School 21 in East London

This is the last in a three-part series on oracy. In the 19 July issue, Oli explained how a focus on developing students’ ability to express themselves has transformed his school and, on 26 July, he looked at how building speaking skills can bring harmony to the learning environment

This article originally appeared in the 2 August 2019 issue under the headline “Why we don’t need a little less conversation, a little more action”