St John Plessington Catholic College hosts Oracy Conference Day

Over 270 Year 7 students at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, recently took part in an important Oracy Conference Day themed around ‘human rights for all’.  

The day consisted of many activities including a variety of workshops and an inspiring visit from MP for Wirral South, Alison McGovern.  This was part of the Year 7 personal development curriculum at the school.

Throughout the workshops, students learnt about the importance of human rights and the array of work that St John Plessington Catholic College does as a UNICEF Rights Respecting School, an award that it received in 2022.  

The Rights Respecting School Award is given to schools that create safe and inspiring places to learn where children are respected, nurtured and thrive through four key areas of impact: wellbeing, participation, relationships and self-esteem. 

St John Plessington Catholic College embeds these values in daily school life and is actively working towards achieving the gold UNICEF accreditation, particularly through its well-thought-out personal development curriculum.  

Students explored the key topic of ‘human rights for all’ to a further extent by openly discussing the matter and maturely debating, learning from one another and developing their oracy skills.  

The school welcomed its local MP, Alison McGovern, to speak to the year group about her work as a Member of Parliament and the significance of oracy, highlighting how it has played a key role in her political career.  

Alison discussed her career with the students and held a Q&A session where they were able to ask thought-provoking questions. Students enjoyed asking about everything from politics and the economy to even which celebrities she may have met.  

Year 7 thoroughly enjoyed the day and were thrilled with the opportunity to develop new skills, boost their confidence in public speaking and inspired by their engagement with Alison McGovern.  

Oracy lead at the school, Matthew Jones, commented: “The day was very successful, and our pupils got a lot out of participating in the event and Alison’s visit to St John Plessington. 

“We work really hard to ensure that children’s rights are promoted and respected here at the college and encourage pupils to engage in conversation and debate about a range of human rights issues around the world. 

“The personal development of our pupils is vital to the work that goes on here in school and we were privileged to have Alison work with us and support our pupils in the development of their oracy skills.” 

Mr Peadar McLoughlin, the acting head of school at St John Plessington Catholic College said: “We are delighted that our Year 7 students benefitted from the recent Oracy Conference Day. It’s a great opportunity for students to develop their speaking skills and put this into practice in discussions about hugely important topics such as their rights as humans and what it means to be part of a Rights Respecting School. 

“At St John Plessington, care and concern for others is placed at the centre of our work. We strive to help every pupil achieve their full potential and equip them the best we can for adult life, academically and personally.” 

St John Plessington Catholic College is proud to be part of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust. The trust places language and communication at the centre of its work and is currently developing a wide offer around this for all its schools.