Meet the speakers

Mel Carlin

Mel Carlin is Strategic Lead for School Improvement across Abbey Multi Academy Trust, a family of schools committed to transforming lives through education. She leads oracy development across the Trust, securing Bishop Young Academy’s recognition as one of the first secondary schools in the country to achieve the Oracy Centre of Excellence Award, with two more schools in the accreditation window this Spring. A passionate advocate for equity in education, her impact has been nationally acknowledged, including in the Speak for Change (2021) report.

Jeffrey Boakye

Jeffrey Boakye is an ex-teacher turned writer, speaker, broadcaster and educator, with expertise in issues surrounding race, masculinity, education and popular culture.
Jeffrey taught English in London and Yorkshire for 15 years and now provides training for educational establishments on race, identity, masculinity and education. He is also Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Manchester’s Institute for Education, has eight published books and hosts BBC Radio 4’s Add to Playlist. He received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of
Letters from the University of Leicester in January 2023. Jeffrey is also a primary school Governor and is proud to be a Patron of The National Association for Teaching of English (NATE) and an Ambassador of The PTI.

Baz Ramaiah

Baz Ramaiah is Head of Policy at The Centre for Education and Youth, former Head of Policy at the Cultural Learning Alliance and a trustee of Big Education. He works on a broad portfolio of education policy, with a focus on how enrichment and cross-sector collaboration can improve pupil outcomes. He appears regularly in broadcast media to discuss developments in education policy.

Barbara Bleiman

Barbara Bleiman is an ex-English teacher, was previously Co-director at the English and Media Centre (EMC) and is now a part-time Education Consultant there. She has always had a keen interest in oracy. She co-ordinated the EMC project on group talk, ‘It’s Good to Talk’, was interviewed recently for the Oracy Education Commission’s podcast series, wrote a
piece for their publication on oracy, Speaking Volumes, and has published a guest blog for the Oracy Cambridge website. She has written numerous articles and blogs on English teaching, as well as a book for teachers, What Matters in English Teaching. She is also a writer of fiction and children’s poetry.

Daisy Christodoulou

Daisy Christodoulou is Director of Education at No More Marking, a provider of online comparative judgement assessments. She works closely with schools in the UK, Australia and USA on developing new approaches to assessment, and on applications of artificial intelligence in the classroom. Before that, she was Head of Assessment at Ark Schools, a network of academy schools. She has
taught English in two London comprehensives and has been part of UK government commissions on the future of teacher training and assessment.
Daisy is the author of three books about education: Seven Myths about Education (2013), Making Good Progress? The future of Assessment for Learning (2017), and Teachers vs Tech (2020).

Tim Oates CBE

Tim Oates is Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge University Press & Assessment. He has chaired various curriculum groups for the Department for Education in England, including leading the National Curriculum review in 2010. He has published widely on
assessment and curriculum issues, and routinely provides briefings and advice to UK and other governments. He is Fellow of Churchill College Cambridge and in 2015 received a CBE for services to education.

Dame Alison Peacock

Kanwal Sheikh

Kanwal is an Oracy Specialist at Earlham Primary, dedicated to fostering a supportive learning environment where every voice is heard and valued. Kanwal is passionate about explicitly teaching Oracy skills to empower learners to communicate with confidence and eloquence, equipping them with essential tools for academic achievement and lifelong personal growth.