Labour is accused of 'destroying school standards' as Powell plans to put 'speaking skills' on par with reading and writing in GCSEs
Lucy Powell, who will warn that strong verbal communication has long been "a marker of privilege," is set to announce oracy will be "hardwired" into the national curriculum on equal footing with reading and writing.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell has been told 'children will be the losers' after announcing that speaking skills will be assessed at GCSE level with the same weight as reading and writing. Powell unveiled the plans at a school leaders' conference in Birmingham, also signalling that fewer pupils will be excluded for bad behaviour and vowing to 'widen the narrow view of what good is'. Baroness Spielman, the former Ofsted chief, said Labour was offering the 'worst of all worlds', while experts warned the proposals risk fuelling grade inflation.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott drew a direct Orwell comparison: '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.'
Professor Alan Smithers of Buckingham University called the proposals 'woolly', adding bluntly: 'Hope won't get pupils through exams.'
