


Do children in England talk too little?
Labour talks of promoting “oracy” alongside numeracy and literacy
“RESPECTFULLY, I DISAGREE,” declares a youngster at Torriano Primary School in Camden, in north London, mustering all the gravitas that eight years on Earth can provide. Her class is studying “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” but they are also practising how to take part in a debate, by taking turns to say which character they think gets the worst deal. In a nearby classroom older children learn how to grab an audience’s attention by changing the volume and pace of their speech. In a reception class, cross-legged moppets wax nostalgically about the things they liked best when they were young.
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A crisis in prisons gives Britain’s new government its first test
Its response? Early releases, blaming Tories and hints at reform

Can Britain’s “mission-led” government defy gravity?
Sir Keir Starmer promises a new way of running Whitehall

The secret to good government? Actually trying
Effort always beats ideas in British politics
The think-tank shaping Britain’s new government
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