Friends' Newsletter

Stoke Pupils are Speaking Up!

Speech

Pupils in schools across Stoke-on-Trent are finding their voice with ESB

speaking and listening skills, as well as self- esteem. When asked about teaching ESB, one teacher commented on how it helps to improve '[both] communication and language, and personal, social and emotional skills' which are crucial to Early Years development. Key findings of the study reveal that 71% of teachers asked felt that ESB was either 'extremely successful' or 'successful' in helping their class to select and use appropriate registers for effective communication. Of the 50 Early Steps learners asked, 75% of them felt ESB had improved their listening skills, while 73% felt ESB had make them a better speaker. In the Debating group, an impressive 100% of them felt confident working in a team and responding to arguments . On 7 th June this year, ESB held a successful conference for teachers in Stoke-on-Trent at the city’s Bet365 Stadium to showcase the progress schools have already made since embracing ESB assessments.

Over the last three years, our relationship with schools in Stoke-on-Trent has gone from strength to strength.

Following a pilot scheme initiated in 2014, ESB’s innovative project in Stoke has led to 39 schools registering as ESB centres. This was helped by Stoke Local Education Authority’s match funding offer in 2016. With 20 of those schools taking Speech assessments this academic year, from Early Steps all the way up to Senior Proficiency and Debating qualifications, Stoke-on-Trent pupils are stepping up and finding their voice with ESB. To track the progress ESB has made in Stoke-on-Trent schools, our Product Development Team has carried out a micro-study project on two key primary schools in the city, interviewing teachers and conducting surveys with small groups of students to record their development in relation to

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