Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, visited Broom Barns Community Primary School to see how much progress has been made with children's speaking and listening skills through the Talk of the Town project.

Stephen McPartland MP said, "This is an amazing project that is really helping our young people improve their communication skills and develop their learning. We all know that the best way to improve your chances in life is to work hard at school and the investment from the team at Talk of the Town, parents, governors, staff and pupils is already making a huge difference. It was fantastic to see the children in action and the benefits they are already gaining from the project."

Tina Jarman, Headteacher of Broom Barns Community Primary school, said, “Broom Barns became involved with the Talk of the Town project  because we recognised communication is fundamental to learning.   We are delighted with the progress we’ve been making as part of the project.  Our staff team are getting even better at knowing how to further support children’s speaking and listening skills in class, identifying those children who need some additional help and getting them that help when they need it.”

Anne Fox, Director of the Communication Trust which manages the Talk of the Town project, said, “We're delighted with how the project is going so far and the schools have been amazing to work with. When the project is finished we hope to have a model which every community can adopt. Having local champions, including Stephen McPartland MP, who have an understanding of the project, will be key to its success.”

Talk of the Town embeds a range of activities to support all children’s language development, and is already making huge difference.

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