Championing Oracy at the Bexley Oracy Conference

Our first ever Bexley Oracy Conference was held on Friday 13th March 2026 and it was also the official launch of the Bexley Oracy Network!

Over 60 attendees from over 40 educational settings attended to hear from a variety of key note speakers.

We first heard from Elisabeth Alagiah-Glomseth about the work of the London’s Violence Reduction Unit and how this linked to the Talk Matters project, which was the start of the journey of Oracy in Bexley. Their interim report from the findings of this project has just been shared due to the incredible impact the oracy work has had. The report can be found here: Speech, language and communication needs support – Talk Matters | London City Hall

This was followed by two sessions with Topsy Page, looking at practical strategies to develop Oracy across all ages and stages of education, all underpinned by research from Oracy Cambridge and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

We then heard from two schools who have been involved with the Talk Matters project. It was so inspiring to hear from these schools, seeing how Oracy has been developed and the impact that Oracy has had in their schools. Thank you to Wendy from St Paul’s (Slade Green) and Matt from Orchard for sharing their experiences!

Finally, Marc Naylor launched the Bexley Oracy Network (BON), sharing how schools can be a part of the network and the resources available through the BON website (accessible to those schools who have signed up).

Thank you to everyone who came – there was such a buzz around the room and it was fantastic to see such engagement, from the beginning right through to the end!

If you are interested in joining the network, please complete the expression of interest form via this link: https://sep-bexley.org.uk/wider-membership-registration/