Meet this year's inspiring session speakers

Charmaine Auckburally is passionate about wellbeing and empowering children to use their voice. She is Professional Mentor and Oracy Lead at Mount Pleasant Junior School, where 98% of pupils have English as an additional language. Charmaine and her colleagues have successfully woven oracy throughout their curriculum, so that children experience purposeful opportunities to embed their learning. This has led to their recent accreditation as an Oracy Centre of Excellence.

With over 30 years in education, I began supporting children with SEND before qualifying as a teacher in 2005. Since then, I’ve held leadership roles including Key Stage Lead, Assistant Head, and Oracy Lead. Passionate about supporting children in high-deprivation areas, I work with EAL learners, Pupil Premium pupils, refugees, and asylum seekers. At The Abbey MAT, I’ve embedded oracy practice through Voice 21 and the Harkness method, contributing to transformative impact across schools, three of which achieved School of Excellence status.

Sally is Primary Trust Lead at Castle Phoenix Trust and Evidence Lead in Education at Tudor Grange Research School. Sally works with senior leadership teams across eight schools to improve leadership at all levels, learning and teaching and student outcomes. She is passionate about language development, fostering a love of reading and empowering every voice through the transformative power of effective oracy education.

I am Head of School and Oracy Lead at Longsight Community Primary in Manchester. We have been a Voice 21 school for four years and have been a Centre of Excellence for one year. I have been teaching in primary schools across the North West for 21 years. 

With over 20 years in education, I am a passionate Science teacher, working mum, and dedicated leader driving improvement across a Multi Academy Trust. I have a proven record of rapid school improvement through evidence-informed pedagogy, quality assurance, and leadership in RSHE, safeguarding, and mental health. As Trust Education Lead, I oversee curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy frameworks, coach and mentor staff, and collaborate with Ofsted, local authorities, and partners to ensure excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement across all schools.

Neil Mercer, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, is Director of Oracy Cambridge and a Life Fellow of Hughes Hall. A psychologist, his research explores children’s spoken language, reasoning, and teachers’ roles in development. Internationally active with educators and policymakers, he received the Oevre Award (2019) and John Nisbet Fellowship (2021) for contributions to educational research. His latest book, Oracy: The Transformative Power of Finding Your Voice (Penguin, 2025), will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Aretha Adeoye is a student of Nigerian heritage, currently in Year 10 at Meden School in Warsop. At school, she has a "top attitude to learning" in her year group and was rated Outstanding in her learning by all of her teachers last year. Aretha has extensive experience within oracy. She was a runner-up in the Chesterfield Rotary Public Speaking Competition, delivered a Keynote speech at the Nova Academy Trust, and co-presented at the Youth Power Awards 2025. During her time at Meden, she has presented a school awards ceremony for staff loyalty and engaged in dialogue with stakeholders about how teachers can impact young minds. Aretha has been recognised at school for her dedication, poise, and leadership; she is considered a role model among her peers.

Hello, my name is Jake Curtis, and I am honoured to be joining the Great Oracy Exhibition, I think that I will be a brilliant addition to the team and my ability to use oracy will be shown throughout the event. As you may know I love football and as I am a captain of a football team, I feel like I need confidence to succeed, I could also use my confidence to express myself and my thoughts to enable me to have the best chance to thrive in the event and engage with the visitors to this amazing event.

Aryan joined Foxford Community School in Year 7 and is now moving into Year 10. He is a valued and well-respected member of the school community. Energetic and ambitious, he runs his own computer business, loves football, and is a strong communicator and listener. He hopes to pursue a career in business.

Sharon joined Foxford Community School in Year 8 after moving to Coventry from Nigeria. She is a passionate advocate for education and a well-respected member of the school community. A strong communicator, she enjoys braiding hair and crochet in her spare time and is the middle child of three.

Emily Thomas is a teacher currently working as the Oracy and Key Stage 1 Leader at Pinner Wood School. In 2022, Emily's dedication to Oracy earned her a highly commended prize as part of the Douglas Barnes Award in collaboration with Voice 21. This piece of research was further published in the English Association Journal. She has conducted impactful Oracy CPD training sessions for primary and secondary schools across North West London, and has worked with the Big 10 (Big Education) to showcase her school’s signature practice. Emily was a recent panellist on the FED Power of Oracy webinar and continues to advocate for the impact of Oracy in education.

Cathy has worked in schools for 13 years after a career in Whitehall communications. She led reading for pleasure projects with The Guardian, CLPE, and the National Literacy Trust. Now English Lead and Joint Oracy Lead at a Worcester primary, she believes oracy is essential and a moral right, helping the school achieve Oracy Centre of Excellence status in 2025.

Nikki, a teacher for 32 years and Maths Lead, is passionate about oracy. She has ensured it is embedded across St Barnabas, working with colleagues to develop strong listening and speaking skills.

Words are the portal to freedom. As English/Oracy Lead at CELC, a secondary PRU in Coventry, creative writing is her specialism. Sharon published ‘AURUM’, an anthology of her students’ prose and encourages students to mentally visit the ‘shadowlands’; the strange places we inhabit between nightmares and daydreams. Abstract thinking and elevated vocabulary form the basis of unique writing. She uses ‘Lyricature’, to produce GCSE prose, ensuring thoughts and memories become ink sculptures.

Joe Cook is a musician, lyricist, music producer spoken word artists and educator from Birmingham UK. Joe plays drums and percussion and writes songs in bands performing across the UK and Europe. Through a love of lyricism Joe found spoken word poetry. Joe’s work has been shared on various BBC Platforms. Recently Joe’s work has been published in Little Tiger Books and his commission ‘Our 21 Loved Ones’ was broadcasted on BBC WM as part of the 50 Year Memorial Service for The Birmingham Pub Bombings. Joe works with young people across the UK delivering music and writing workshops.

Amy is working with the Learning, Impact and Influence team this year as the Learning and Education Lead. Building on her experience as a Programme Lead at Voice 21, she is leading a range of exciting projects, including the Oracy and Employability project, funded by Royal Holloway, University of London. Amy has supported Voice 21 Oracy Schools across the UK to embed a high-quality oracy education in a wide range of contexts, including colleges and alternative provision settings. With a background in primary teaching, Amy has a deep understanding of classroom practice. She is passionate about empowering all young people with the oracy skills they need to thrive—not just in school, but in their future lives and careers.

Amy Gaunt is Director of Strategic Development at Voice 21,  the national oracy education charity. Amy joined Voice 21's founding leadership team in 2016 and has supported its growth from one London school to a network of over 1000 schools across the UK. She is passionate about teaching and learning and ensuring every child has regular opportunities to develop their thinking and understanding through talk whilst at school. Amy is co-author of Transform Teaching and Learning through Talk: the Oracy Imperative and Voice 21's Oracy Benchmarks. She has recently completed an MA Education at the Institute of Education. Before joining Voice 21, she  was a primary school teacher, both in London and internationally.

Chaitan Rajania is a Senior Leader across Madani Schools Federation in Leicester. Chaitan & Madani Schools have been working with Voice 21 for 8 years, and along the journey Madani Schools have become a hub school for Oracy in Leicester and they were one of 3 secondary schools nationally to become a Centre of Excellence in our first round of accreditations. Oracy is at the heart of everything Madani does and in her session, Chaitan will be looking at Oracy as a holistic tool to support all learners beyond the curriculum.

Gemma Papworth is Oracy Lead at a Secondary School in Croydon and is committed to developing Oracy skills for all, recognising their power to enhance life chances and open future opportunities. She is passionate about supporting learners to build confidence in their speaking and listening, enabling them to express themselves clearly and effectively. By fostering these essential skills, Gemma helps young people progress in the modern world, equipping them with the confidence and communication tools they need for both academic success and lifelong personal growth.

We are Charter Academy, part of the Castle Phoenix Trust and we put the children at the heart of all we do. Since becoming an Oracy Centre of Excellence over a year ago, we’ve proudly opened our doors to share best practice, not only within our five primary and three secondary schools, but further afield. Our team is passionate and forward thinking when it comes to empowering pupils through oracy, helping every child to thrive and most importantly, to know ‘our voice is our power!’

Deputy Head at Parkfield Community School and Director of Technology at Excelsior
Multi Academy Trust, Helena is passionate about improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. She focuses on pedagogical design to improve dialogic
teaching and champions the development of oracy skills across the curriculum to boost aspirations, believing that strong curriculum design and equitable practices are the key to unlocking every student’s potential.

Words are the portal to freedom. As English/Oracy Lead at CELC, a secondary PRU in Coventry, creative writing is her specialism.  Sharon published ‘AURUM’, an anthology of her students’ prose and encourages students to mentally visit the ‘shadowlands’; the strange places we inhabit between nightmares and daydreams. Abstract thinking and elevated vocabulary form the basis of unique writing.  She uses ‘Lyricature’, to produce GCSE prose, ensuring thoughts and memories become ink sculptures.

Hi, I'm Craig, currently working as an Assistant Headteacher at Hamstead Hall Academy, Birmingham. I am responsible for literacy and work on teaching and learning across the school. Previously, I have worked as a PGCE Lead for the Arthur Terry SCITT and as an English teacher since 2012. My research interests are in English pedagogy, closing the disadvantage gap and English as an Additional Language. I have published articles for the English Association and have a MA in English Literature. 

An experienced teacher in both mainstream and SEN settings, Sue began her career in a mainstream school and in 1996 started working for the London Borough of Bromley as KS2 specialist teacher in both their language units.  It was here that she began supporting pupils with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Sue worked closely with Speech & Language Therapists (SLTs) to deliver specialist language teaching and supported pupils’ reintegration into mainstream classes. In 2006, she joined the teaching staff at Moor House and has extensive experience of devising and delivering a mainstream curriculum that has been highly differentiated for the language needs of the pupils in her class. 

Hilary is an experienced, evidence-based Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist within the field of language disorders, including DLD. Working across both Moor House School & College and the Research & Training Institute, Hilary provides highly specialist interventions to a small caseload of students with DLD in 1:1 small group and classroom sessions, working within an integrated, intensive speech and language therapy service. She also provides expert support, advice and training to both internal and external professionals, including Makaton (regional tutor), the SHAPE CODING™ system (accredited trainer), The Listening Program® (certified provider) and Signed English (tutor). Hilary is a regular presenter at conferences and co-author on many of our research projects.

Jane is an Associate Deputy Director (Secondary) for the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM). Prior to joining the NCETM Jane was a Secondary maths teacher and more recently a Director of Maths for a Multi Academy Trust with responsibility for strategic school improvement. During this period Jane was a Research and Innovation Lead for Oracy, exploring how disciplinary oracy can support pupils // to develop deep and connected understanding in mathematics. Jane’s interest in oracy started in her own classroom and now influences the professional development she designs and leads.

Former English teacher, Faculty Head and PGCE tutor, Dr Julie Blake is an innovator in the field of education. In 2012, with Sir Andrew Motion (then Poet Laureate), she co-founded Poetry By Heart, the national schools poetry speaking competition, which she continues to direct. Julie’s experience, research into the history of poetry for children, and encyclopaedic knowledge of poetry in the curriculum, leads her to advocate for a transformation in our approach to teaching poetry.

Truon Ellis is the Vice Principal and Oracy Lead at Haywood Village Academy, a two-form Primary Academy in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, which is part of the Cabot Learning Federation Trust. Truon has led a journey of elevating oracy across the past 5 years at the academy, with the last 3 years culminating in a drive towards obtaining a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence accreditation. A focus on Personal Development and Pupil Leadership has driven oracy throughout the academy, including through the vehicle of ‘Team Talk’, which has aided the school in achieving a second successive ‘Outstanding’ OFSTED judgement in May 2025.

As Voice 21’s Head of Learning, Kathleen oversees projects aimed at reviewing, strengthening and innovating approaches to oracy education. This work includes a DfE-funded project exploring oracy in the Early Years, an investigation into how oracy supports social and emotional regulation and perceptions of self in alternative provision settings and working with the Maths Hubs programme to establish a shared understanding of the role of oracy in mathematics education. Kathleen co-developed the Talk for Maths Benchmarks alongside Oxford University Press and also led Voice 21's Voicing Vocabulary project, establishing an oracy-centred approach to developing vocabulary at the transition from primary to secondary.