One Million Pupilsdown Pens to Focus on Speaking and Listening in the Classroom

Press release – 09.10.2013

ONE MILLION PUPILSDOWN PENS TO FOCUS ON SPEAKING AND LISTENING IN THE CLASSROOM

Pupils from over 2,000 schools across the UK are today (9th October) putting down their pens for No Pens Day Wednesday – a national speaking and listening event.

Organised by The Communication Trust, a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, No Pens Day Wednesday encourages schools to focus on language by spending one day focused on learning through speaking and listening instead of writing.

Anne Fox, Director of The Communication Trust, says: “If the UK is serious about ‘best educational practice’, we need to be actively developing pupils speaking and listening skills. No Pens Day Wednesday is back by popular demand as schools recognise the strong links between spoken language and educational outcomes. We’re delighted that more schools than ever before are getting involved this year.

“We recently raised serious concerns over the removal of speaking and listening from GCSE English, particularly now communication skills are part of the Ofsted Framework and national policy. We need to ensure that spoken language is not side-lined in the classroom and the popularity of No Pens Day Wednesday shows this desire is shared by educators as well.

“At a national level, we are battling to keep speaking and listening firmly on the political agenda yet in schools momentum is growing. As a result, we have partnered with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) to develop fun activities for schools in this first academic term. These activities include No Pens Day Wednesdayand the RCSLT Voice Box joke competition for primary schools.

“These fun activities are underpinned by serious messages about the vital importance of speech, language and communication skills. The Trust will soon be launching its Communication Commitment,which takes schools on a journey towards a long-term, whole school approach to speech, language and communication.

“The step-by-step action plan has been created for schools, with schools and taking part in either No Pens Day Wednesday or Voice Box making progress towardsfulfilling their Commitment. It is an exciting time as the Trust works with our consortium to ensure a generation of great communicators.”

Jean Gross, formerly the Government’s Communication Champion for children, says: “The changes to the curriculum and testing regimes risk making schools today dull and unhappy places to learn. I am delighted that No Pens Day Wednesday has caught on and is rapidly becoming a national institution, with thousands of schools taking part.

“It shows the appetite for focusing on children’s spoken language development and the appetite, I’m glad to say, for having some fun in school. No Pens Day Wednesday encourages good quality classroom talk and there are positive long-term implications of taking part. Three quarters of schools that took part last year stated they now view speech, language and communication differently in their school and I hope they will take up the Communication Commitment.”

Now in its third year No Pens Day Wednesday, supported by Pearson Assessment, is providing teachers at primary and secondary schools, academies and special schools with lesson plans that contain clear speaking and listening outcomes and refreshed activity templates. Schools will be conducting lessons without pens using podcasting, debating, vocabulary games and ‘talk’ homework amongst other activities.

Whilst No Pens Day Wednesday is officially taking place today, schools can take part on any day that suits them using the materials and activity templates. Developed by specialist teachers and speech and language therapists, new materials are available for schools this year, including take home information for families, advice on working effectively with support staff in speaking and listening lessons and follow on factsheets to embed the positive impact of speaking and listening in school.

More than a million children in the UK have some form of speech, language and communication need (SLCN) – that’s 2-3 in every average classroom. The Communication Trust supports the children’s workforce to develop the speech, language and communication skills of the children and young people they work with in order to ensure that those with difficulties are better identified and supported.

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For more information, please contact Laura Smith or Della Bolat from Consilium Communications on / 07766651366 or / 07841763833

Notes to editors

About No Pens Day Wednesday (NPDW)

• No Pens Day Wednesday was originally developed as a milestone event for the national year of communication (Hello campaign) run in partnership with Jean Gross in her former role as the Government’s Communication Champion for children.
• Over the last two years since No Pens Day Wednesday began, nearly 2,000 schools have taken part. This has resulted in nearly 750,000 pupils benefitting from spending a day focusing entirely on speaking and listening activities.
• The Communication Trust provides resources, ideas and guidance on how schools can run No Pens Day Wednesday. Schools can register to take part at
• More information about the Hello campaign can be found at

About The Communication Trust

• The Communication Trust is a coalition of nearly 50 leading voluntary sector and community-based organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication.
• We support the children’s workforce and commissioners to meet the speech, language and communication needs of all children and young people.
• We do this by raising awareness, influencing policy, promoting best practice among the children’s workforce and commissioning work from our members.
• In 2011 the Trust ran the Hello campaign (national year of communication) in partnership with Jean Gross in her role as the Government’s Communication Champion for children.
• The Trust works extensively with partners including the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), Achievement for All, Council for Disabled Children, Early Support Programme and specialists across early years, schools and youth justice.
• For more information, visit

About The Communication Commitment

• The Communication Trust is supporting schools to make a Communication Commitment – a whole school approach to communication.
• This Commitment will take schools through a number of steps, assessing their needs in relation to communication and SLCN, will help them to prioritise what they should address to ensure the best possible teaching and learning, and will then signpost them to suitable and effective resources and approaches from the Trust and its 50-strong consortium of organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication.
• Once schools have completed their action plan, schools will receive a Commitment Certificate and support to plan a celebration in recognition of what has been achieved.
• The Communication Commitment is being officially launched in October. A test site is currently available for pilot schools and media to find out moreat
• From October, the Communication Commitment will be live at

About The Voice Box

• Voice Box is a joke telling competition run by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) in partnership with The Communication Trust.
• The Voice Box competition provides an excellent forum for primary aged pupils to show off their communication skills in an inclusive and friendly environment.
• Mainstream and special primary schools in England are invited to work on their own, or with their speech and language therapists, to hold a joke-telling competition between September and October 4th 2013.
• The shortlisted joke tellers and their parent or guardian will be invited to the Houses of Parliament on

Monday 28th October for a national final, hosted at Speaker’s House, with guests welcomed by The Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons.

• For more information, visit