Children used to be seen and not heard but at one Liverpool comprehensive they are encouraged to talk and talk and talk.
The school is a trailblazer for oracy — the skill of clear communication — that Sir Keir Starmer has made a mission for Labour if it wins the next election.
Improving standards in state schools would help to break the “class ceiling” for children from poorer backgrounds, he said. It would give a voice and opportunities to “those who too often feel invisible in their own country.”
North Liverpool Academy serves an inner-city area and almost half of its pupils are on free school meals. It realised that many children were starting school with such poor vocabulary that they could not understand lessons.
