Page 4 - The East Sussex Way

Foreword

I began my working life in education in HM Prison Brixton. All
educators should spend time in the education department of one of
Her Majesty’s prisons. It is a poignant reminder that basic literacy is a
birthright that should be denied nobody.

In my days at the National Literacy Trust, I used to give talks entitled
‘Have you ever met a mugger who’s read Middlemarch?’ – my way
of saying that whatever else we do for children and young people
in classrooms, we must give them the dignity of being able to speak,
read and write with ß uency to make their way in the endlessly
fascinating global society which they inhabit.

For close on two years in classrooms, teachers’ and students’ voices
have been muzzled. In the early months of online learning, children’s
voices were little heard, teachers relying on the ‘chat’ function to
check understanding, and once masks became the order of the
day in secondary classrooms, the vital conversational sparks and
interactions were curtailed.

Teachers and support staff across all phases have made the very
best of their own facial restrictions, but I know few who were not
beaming as they cast off their protective gear.

Life in any classroom is simply not the same when smiles are hidden,
students’ mutual conversations are half-heard, and answers to
teachers’ questions are mufß ed. The very wearing of a mask affects
how we structure our speech.

Someone will be quick to observe that there is published research
into ‘the masked classroom’ which pre-dates Covid, and that
research showed advantages and disadvantages. I don’t believe
it! In all the classrooms I’ve visited over the past months, I detect
loss: the pivotal role of oracy and keen listening have suffered
immeasurably.

Two particular groups of students have felt the effect of the masked
voice. Those with English as an additional language and those
with identiÞ ed speech and language needs have been impacted
signiÞ cantly.

With masks optimistically a thing of the past, the coming months in
schools and colleges across the country should ensure that every
voice is heard and every smile encouraged. Let us plan for this trinity:

• Reading aloud across the curriculum.
• Oracy opportunities at every turn, for every child.
• Vocabulary practice - say it loud, say it proud.

Let the fun and fundamentals of speech and language sing in our
classrooms.
Roy Blatchford, Chair, East Sussex Secondary Board

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