Finding Their Voice: Why Oracy Is Education’s Next Big Leap — and How Learning Loft Is Leading the Way

Learning Loft
Sep 8
3 min read

The Missing “R” in Education

We all know the three Rs: reading, writing, arithmetic. But what about the fourth R? Oracy — the ability to speak, listen, and communicate with confidence — is the beating heart of learning, yet it has long been overlooked.

This is changing fast. Politicians, charities, and educators are calling for oracy to take centre stage. The question is: how do schools actually make it happen?

Why Oracy, Why Now?

Post-pandemic pressures: Two-thirds of primary teachers and almost half of secondary teachers say their students’ spoken language skills have slipped since Covid.
Confidence crisis: 44% of teachers believe pupils struggle to express themselves clearly.
Life beyond the classroom: Employers rank communication as one of the most important workplace skills — but too many young people leave school without it.

In other words, oracy isn’t just about classroom talk. It’s about preparing young people to thrive in every aspect of their future.

The Movement for Change

Organisations like Voice 21 and the English-Speaking Union (ESU) have done incredible work in raising awareness. Voice 21 now partners with over 1,000 schools to embed oracy, while the ESU continues its century-long tradition of promoting debating and dialogue.

The government too is under mounting pressure to embed oracy into the curriculum. Former education secretaries, leading writers, and campaigners agree: speaking and listening must be given equal weight alongside reading and writing.

The momentum is here. What’s been missing is a practical, scalable, everyday solution.

The Cost of Talking: How Do Schools Pay for Oracy?

Oracy programmes and assessment tools are already on the market, but costs can be prohibitive.

Voice 21 membership: Around £2,500 per year for a primary and £3,000 per year for a secondary, with extras for additional staff or training.
No More Marking: Their writing assessment platform is £595 + VAT per year per school, and oracy assessments are expected to fall into a similar range — but these focus on single subject areas or projects.

So, a school could easily spend £3,000–£8,000 a year for partial oracy support.

Enter LoftTalk: Oracy Without Limits

That’s where Learning Loft comes in. We’ve built the world’s first all-in-one oracy platform:

Record, assess, track: Students can practise speaking, receive feedback, and be benchmarked with an “oracy age.”
Multilingual: Available in 6+ languages, making it inclusive for today’s diverse classrooms.
Unlimited capacity: Every student, teacher, and parent can use it — with no cap on numbers.

And here’s the kicker: all this costs just £995 per school, per year.

Not Just LoftTalk — The Whole Learning Loft Ecosystem

When a school joins for £995, they don’t just unlock LoftTalk. They get the full Learning Loft suite:

LoftTrack – data tracking made simple.
LoftTopia – a gamified learning world.
LoftLibrary – interactive literacy resources.
LoftTick – streamlined marking and feedback.
CPD, assemblies, PowerPoints, resources – ready to go.
Tutoring platform – extra support for learners.

One licence, unlimited users, unlimited potential.

Why Educators (and Families) Love It

LoftTalk isn’t just powerful — it’s super easy.

Anytime, anywhere: Use it on a laptop, iPad, or phone. It’s also a handy app on the App Store, so students can practise at home.
Unique logins for students and parents: Learners can rehearse in comfort, parents can get involved, and results can be instantly shared with teachers.
Takes pressure off teachers: No more scrambling to record every assessment in class — students can record themselves as often as needed.
Confidence through practice: Planning for a speaking and listening assessment? Record it ten times, watch your progress, and feel your confidence grow.

LoftTalk makes oracy development seamless — not another job for teachers, but a tool that empowers students to take ownership of their own voice.

The Future of Oracy Starts Here

The oracy movement is real. The urgency is clear. The cost of ignoring it is too high.

At Learning Loft, we believe every child deserves to find their voice — in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Mandarin, and beyond. With LoftTalk and the full Learning Loft ecosystem, schools can make oracy the beating heart of education again.

👉 Ready to give your students the gift of a voice? Join Learning Loft today for just £995 per year — unlimited oracy, unlimited learning.