The report findings

Introduction

Several surveys and initiatives over the past few years have highlighted the link between language skills and literacy. Two years ago, a YouGov poll of teachers for the charity Speech and Language UK¹ estimated that 1 in 5 children were struggling with talking and understanding words.

Last year, the Oracy Education Commission² pointed out that although this meant almost two million children in the country were not at the expected level for language and communication by the end of Reception, "there is no further monitoring data for their language as they progress through school", and that "only half of primary teachers and a quarter of secondary teachers were confident in their understanding of the spoken language requirements in the National Curriculum."

Two years on, we wanted to see if teachers thought speech and language problems were as widespread today, and if they were, what was causing them and when did they think they tended to become apparent. We also wanted to discover if there was a tendency to mistake communication issues for subject or behavioural problems, what teachers thought the effects of poor oracy had on literacy, and if they thought parents were aware of the link between the two.

We commissioned YouGov to survey over 1,000 teachers across the UK in both primary and secondary schools - and although opinions varied between the phases, there was broad agreement on most issues. In short:

• Half of teachers think up to 20% of their students have speech and language issues and a further third think up to 40% do
• Almost all think the problem has worsened in the past five years
• Teachers believe the decline in conversation at home, more time spent on social media and streaming videos, and less time spent reading outside of school are to blame
• Half say problems become apparent as soon as children start school
• Nearly half think it's easy to mistake speech and language issues for maths and literacy problems
• Three-quarters think that parents are often in denial about any issues their children may have
• A similar proportion believe that people, wrongly, assume that these issues mainly affect disadvantaged children
• Almost all teachers think parents do not understand the link between oracy and literacy or how the decline in children's communication skills has made teaching more difficult.

Even though there is a growing awareness of speech and language issues in schools, if not outside them, teachers still need a reliable, objective way of backing up their hunches - and if their suspicions are confirmed, to know what solutions are available. Elsewhere in this report, headteacher Genna Hitchin explains how she uses WellComm as part of her oracy and reading strategy.

Why do teachers think communication skills have deteriorated?

Although teachers in both phases agree that the ubiquity of online and visual content, pandemic after-effects and the decline in conversational time at home are to blame, opinions diverge about which factors have been most influential:

Primary school teachers:

Secondary school teachers:

How confident are teachers at correctly identifying speech and language issues?

Primary school teachers are more confident in their ability to spot any problems than secondary school teachers, but both groups think it's easy to mistake speech and language issues for reading and maths problems:

• 71% of primary teachers, compared with only 40% of secondary teachers, thought colleagues at their school were adept at spotting speech and language issues
• Over half of primary school teachers (53%) but only a third of secondary school teachers (33%) don't think they mistake behavioural issues for speech and language issues, though 27% of primary teachers rising to 36% of secondary teachers do
• However, 46% of primary teachers - rising to 53% of secondary teachers - agree that it's easy to mistake speech and language issues for reading and maths problems, though 31% of the former and 17% of the latter disagree.

What do teachers think the challenges are for schools?

Teachers strongly believe that the public don't understand that the decline in children's speech and language skills has made teaching more difficult. And while they agree on the importance of oracy and the need for it to be taught, they are wary of it becoming an official target:

• Almost all teachers (93% of primary and 84% of secondary school teachers) think the public don't understand how much schools are struggling with speech and language issues
• Similar numbers (92% of primary and 85% of secondary school teachers) agree that the decline in speech and language skills has made teaching more difficult
• Half of teachers (49% of primary and 52% of secondary school teachers) say that too many of their colleagues think oracy is just talking without needing structured teaching, though 31% of the former and 23% of the latter disagree
• 8 in 10 teachers (79% of primary and 77% of secondary school teachers) believe that if oracy becomes a government target it will affect how much time is spent on other priorities
• 43% of primary and 52% of secondary school teachers agree that schools aren't fully aware of the rise of speaking and language challenges children are presenting with - though 39% of the former and 23% of the latter disagree.