Q4/Spring Term Monitoring Round Up – Talk Matters

Key takeaways (see further trends below)

• Across all boroughs, there is clear progress towards embedding oracy as a core part of school culture, with growing consistency in approaches and strong staff buy-in.
• Pupil confidence, participation, and quality of talk continue to improve, with particularly strong impact seen in behaviour, social interaction, and readiness to learn. This is reflected in pupil voice, with one child saying: “I am proud of how my contributions have been listened to in class.”
• The link between oracy, wellbeing, and behaviour is becoming increasingly evident, with schools using structured talk and enrichment to support positive outcomes
• Staff confidence and consistency are growing, supported by CPD, peer learning, and shared practice across schools.

Talk Boost:

• This monitoring, we have complete data for 717 KS1 children, making the findings even more robust
• 96% of children narrowed the gap to their peers, with 71% of children narrowing the gap by more than 50 percentage points.

Early Talk Boost

• This term we have higher numbers for Early Talk Boost, from across 5 boroughs.
• Of the 302 children with pre- and post-assessments, 95% narrowed the gap and 76% narrowed the gap by more than 50 percentage points.

Please feel free to share these results with your schools and pass on our sincere thanks to all the TAs and teachers who are doing all the hard graft behind these figures.

Insights from Spring Term Monitoring

So far, your efforts have helped to:

• Upskill 3,656 school staff in oracy
• engage 5,768 parents and carers (up from approx. 1,000 last term)
• provide wellbeing activities to 17,944 children (up from approx. 4,000 last term)

Narrative summary: Trends across schools, Spring Term 2026

One of the strongest themes running through this term’s narrative summaries is the growing sense that Talk Matters is becoming “increasingly embedded, with a clear shift from isolated strategies to a whole-school culture where talk supports learning, behaviour and wellbeing.” This is reflected in school feedback, with one noting that they have “managed to create an oracy‑rich environment where every child’s voice is valued.”

Oracy is now part of everyday school life

• “Agreed strategies are consistently visible in assemblies, collective worship, and classroom practice.”
• “Oracy strategies are now embedded in planning and teaching, with staff delivering training to colleagues, making practice more visible at a whole-school level”
• “Oracy now has a much higher profile among staff. “Talk Thursdays” are firmly embedded… structured talk is expanding beyond classrooms; “talk partners” are now actively used during whole-school assemblies and other foundation subjects”

Oracy is contributing to improved wellbeing, behaviour, and social skills

• “Pupils are better able to resolve conflicts through discussion rather than negative reactions.”
• “Children speak knowledgeably and with understanding about what they have learned in their ‘MyHappymind’ sessions, particularly “happy breathing” and how it helps to reduce anxiety”
• “Introduction of OPAL play has led to a reduction in CPOMS incidents and playtime-related behaviour issues, alongside improved pupil engagement during breaks”

Staff confidence and consistency are growing

• “Oracy Champions… are becoming increasingly proactive in driving oracy across the school”
• “Consistent use of tools such as talk partners, sentence stems, and structured discussion routines reflects a more unified approach.”
• “Staff delivering training to colleagues [is] making practice more visible at a whole-school level.”

Parental engagement is improving

• Parents have responded very positively… particularly valuing the increased confidence they see in their children.
• “Being able to offer additional activities and events for families, viewing these as rewarding “treat” opportunities that strengthen engagement and community links.
• Parent feedback notes: “We’ve noticed a real improvement in the delivery of the children’s performances” and “Their voice projection and intonation have become much more confident and expressive.”

Challenges are being felt in the following areas:

• Staff absence, turnover and workload continue to create challenges for consistent implementation, particularly around Talk Boost delivery and intervention capacity. Some schools have responded by widening training across staff teams to build resilience and continuity.
• Sustainability is becoming an increasing priority across boroughs. As schools further embed practice, many are beginning to focus on long-term legacy and how to maintain oracy and wellbeing approaches beyond the lifespan of current funding. In response, several boroughs are developing oracy hubs, conferences, and peer networks to strengthen ongoing collaboration and shared learning.