Abbey Multi Academy Trust has launched the Yorkshire Oracy Hub, a pioneering new regional network supporting schools across Yorkshire to strengthen how pupils talk, listen and express themselves in the classroom.
More than 80 schools spanning primary, secondary, early years, special and alternative provision settings are set to take part in its first year. Oracy is recognised as one of the most effective ways to close the disadvantage gap, with research showing it can add around six months’ progress a year. The Hub aims to ensure children across Yorkshire and the Humber, where disadvantaged pupils start school around five months behind their peers, can reap the benefits.
Led by Abbey Trust, which runs a family of eight schools across West Yorkshire, the Hub is a collaborative professional network bringing schools together at every stage of their oracy journey. It is free for all Yorkshire schools to join in its first year, reflecting the Trust’s ambition to make high-quality oracy development accessible across the region, not just within its own academies.
The programme runs across the 2026/27 academic year, with five online sessions – which started this month – exploring themes including building talk-rich classrooms, oracy and inclusion, and progression in oracy. Each session combines expert input, practical examples from Yorkshire-based schools and dedicated time for delegates to share what is working in their own settings. The year culminates in a full-day conference hosted by Abbey Trust in Leeds on Wednesday 23 June 2027.
The launch builds on Abbey Trust’s wider commitment to oracy, following its first oracy conference earlier this year, which brought education professionals together to share best practice in the subject.
The Hub is rooted in the learnings of the trust’s Oracy Centres of Excellence which are making sustained progress, performing in line with or above similar schools nationally. The impact of this approach is reflected in Abbey Trusts results. The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths has improved for four consecutive years, and a recent Ofsted at Abbey Grange highlighted the ‘striking impact’ of the use of oracy to teach vocabulary.
Helen Pratten, Chief Executive Officer at Abbey Multi Academy Trust, said:
“Oracy gives children the confidence to think, speak and be heard, and that matters in every classroom, not just our own. Seeing more than 80 schools across Yorkshire join the Hub in its very first year shows just how much appetite there is for this work. We’re proud to lead a network that puts schools’ own expertise at its centre and helps every child find their voice.”
Abbey Trust is a values-led family of five primary and three secondary schools in Leeds and Calderdale, dedicated to delivering an excellent education for every pupil it serves.
Jo Brumby, Head of Product Management at Voice21 said:
“Voice 21 are proud of these Oracy Centres of Excellence in developing and leading the Yorkshire Oracy Hub. Their aim of supporting schools across Yorkshire to improve outcomes and life chances for the region’s young people is at the heart of what we believe: that every child should have access to a high-quality oracy education.”
Louise Price, Deputy Headteacher at Hessle High School and Sixth form College in Hull, said:
“We attended the first session this month which was a great start to the programme. As a school in East Yorkshire, it was really valuable to connect with schools outside our local authority and hear what’s working for them.”
Attendees at the Oracy Conference
