Lucy Powell to put speaking skills on same level as reading and writing in 'Orwellian' plans

Lucy Powell has said she will put oracy, or speaking skills, on the same level as reading and writing in a major shake-up of British education. Labour's Education Secretary, speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) annual conference, set out her "mission" to transform the Department of Education (DfE) into the "department of hope".Under Ms Powell and Andy Burnham, the DfE will build a "system that rewards inclusion", she added.Further outlining her vision, she said the education system should "widen the narrow view of what good is". TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say She specifically pointed at school exclusion as an area she wants to "improve"."Poor behaviour must have strong consequences, but once someone falls out of the system, it's all that much harder to get them back," she said.The plans stand in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who have called for strict behavioural standards.Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said Labour was "all over the place on education", and that Ms Powell's "department of hope" rebranding sounded "Orwellian".She told The Mail: "The Ministry of Peace made war, the Ministry of Love tortured people, and now Lucy Powell has the Department of Hope while school standards are being destroyed."Under the DfE’s proposed reforms, schools will be expected to set work for pupils to complete at home during the first five days of a suspension or exclusion "to minimise disruption to learning"."Reintegration support partnerships" could be introduced between schools and families to help children return successfully after a suspension.There were 913,000 suspensions - when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time - and 9,900 permanent exclusions in state schools in England in the 2024/25 academic year, DfE data shows.Artificial intelligence is a driving factor of some reforms, amid previous warnings that the technology risked "dumbing down a generation". Ms Powell now plans to put a focus on "skills that makes us human" - such as oracy."I can announce today that I will give oracy equal status to reading and writing, as a new strand of the English curriculum," she told academy trust leaders in Birmingham on Thursday.LATEST IN EDUCATION:Top British university tells students to snub tradition to accommodate foreign pupilsOxford University ditches British phrases in favour of 'inclusive' language for foreign studentsUniversity freshers ordered to undergo 'white privilege' training before moving into halls"Working with you, working with Ofqual, and as part of our curriculum review, oracy will light up every classroom."Both in content and in assessment, speaking, listening and communicating will be a core part of every child's education, from primary to GCSE and beyond."Speaking and listening exams were dropped from counting towards English GCSE final marks more than a decade ago.Baroness Spielman, the previous head of the schools regulator, Ofsted, said the Education Secretary was offering the "worst of all worlds" and warned it was a "signal that she will reopen the routes by which schools used to push up pupil grades in GCSEs to make it look as though they were doing better than they really were".She added: "It is children who will be the losers."The Shadow Education Secretary said: "Blowing open the curriculum and assessment review once again creates more confusion for schools and risks undermining the consensus on the importance of a knowledge-rich curriculum."Opening the door to inclusions over exclusions would be a disaster and a completely misguided policy. Discipline is one of the biggest issues facing schools, and whilst exclusions are always a last resort, they must remain an option for serious misbehaviour."We've seen what happened in Scotland where they have pursued inclusion policies and violence has risen. Labour need to get their head out of the sand and follow the evidence when it comes to standards and behaviour."Responding to accusations the inclusion of oracy would effectively be a "dumbing down" of the education system, Ms Powell told The Times: "The only thing being dumbed down here is the expectation that children from ordinary backgrounds should settle for less."For years many of the country's most privileged pupils have benefited from debating, public speaking and presentation skills because everyone recognises these open doors in later life."Every child deserves those opportunities [so they can] make their case and succeed in work and life." Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter