Speaking Schools Australasia is implementing big changes to our public speaking and debating term programs and how they’re structured! 

To simplify what we offer, better ensure that all classes can go ahead, provide fresh learning material for students to learn every term and streamline all of our programs, our existing 14 term programs are being reduced down to 9, with modified age groups for all programs above Year 5+.

Notably, it is very important to us that no students are left behind as part of our refresh, and we intend to keep as many options available for as many students as possible. Moreover, the refreshed course content is aimed at placing practice over theory, so students are able to properly apply essential concepts in a range of different activities.

We’ve also introduced similar changes to our holiday workshops, which you can find here.

Please give the below a read to understand the updates for your child’s year group!

 

My child is in Kindy! What changes can I expect?

Our Speaking Skills Butterflies will receive a refresh and a facelift, but will otherwise remain the same. The only real difference is a new pink icon and more activities for our youngest students! 

 

My child is in Year 1 or 2! What changes can I expect?

We will be reducing our Year 1 & 2 term programs down to two options.

Firstly, we will be offering our Presentation Skills Leopards program. This mixed-experience program is aimed at all Year 1 students and less experienced Year 2 students (although any Year 2 student is welcome to join). Sessions will run for either 1, 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the venue (similar to our previous Cubs and Leopards programs).

Secondly, we will be offering our Presentation Skills Lions program. This is also a mixed-experience program, but is instead aimed at all Year 2 students and more experienced Year 1 students. Sessions will similarly run for either 1, 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the venue (similar to our previous Cubs and Leopards programs). If you’ve got an inexperienced Year 1 student who is considering joining Lions, please get in touch and we can see whether we can accommodate them!

So, what is the difference between the two? Both place a firm commitment on building confidence and using activities to boost student ability. Both also follow a full-year cycle, meaning that students who start Leopards at the beginning of Term #1 in 2024 will not repeat content until they finish Term #4 of Lions in 2025 (before they move on to Public Speaking Wombats or Debating Wallabies).

Finally, what should I do if my child did Speaking Skills Cubs in Term #1, 2024? Unfortunately, we will no longer offer the Cubs program. However, depending on their age group, all existing Cubs students would be able to slip into either Leopards or Lions without any issues!

 

My child is in Year 3 or 4! What changes can I expect?

We will be reducing our Year 3 & 4 term programs down to two options.

Firstly, we will be offering our Public Speaking Wombats program. This mixed-experience program, which focuses on various public speaking skills, is aimed at students in Years 3 and 4. Sessions run for either 1 or 1.5 hours, depending on the venue (similar to our old Speaking Skills Joeys program).

Secondly, we will be offering our Debating Wallabies program. This is also a mixed-experience program that instead focuses on ‘value’ and ‘comparative’ style debates, and is aimed at students in Years 3 and 4. Its sessions run for either 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the venue.

So what is the difference between the two? Aside from a focus on building student confidence and skills, both are also being placed on a two-year cycle, meaning that students who start either program in Term #1, 2024, will not repeat any content before finishing at the end of Year 4 in 2025 (and move onto either Public Speaking Penguins or Debating Parrots).

The main difference between the two is the content that they cover – whilst Wombats covers public speaking, Wallabies takes students through the world of debating. Given that both programs are mixed-experience, students are welcome to also jump between them (or even do both simultaneously) – there will be no penalty for mix and matching.

Finally, what should I do if my child did Speaking Skills Joeys or Debating Wolverines in Term #1, 2024? Unfortunately, neither program will be offered moving forward – we would recommend that:

• Former Joeys students take up either Public Speaking Wombats (which most closely resembles Joeys) or Debating Wallabies, whichever they are more interested in;
• Former Wolverines students get in touch with us or their venue provider to discuss what options are available to ensure that your child can continue their debating journey without issue!

 

My child is in Year 5! What changes can I expect?

We will be reducing our Year 5 term programs down to two options.

Firstly, we will be offering our Public Speaking Penguins program. This mixed-experience program, which focuses on various public speaking skills (on more advanced topics than those in younger years), is aimed at students in Years 5, 6 and 7. Sessions run for either 1 or 1.5 hours, depending on the venue (similar to our old Speaking Skills Owlets program).

Secondly, we will be offering our Debating Parrots program. This is also a mixed-experience program that instead focuses on ‘policy’ style debates, and is aimed at students in Years 5, 6 and 7. Its sessions run for either 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the venue.

So what is the difference between the two? Aside from a focus on building student confidence and skills, both are also being placed on a two-year cycle, meaning that repetition of content is very unlikely.

The main difference between the two is the content they cover – whilst Penguins covers public speaking, Parrots takes students through the world of debating. Given that both programs are mixed-experience, students are welcome to also jump between them (or even do both simultaneously) – there will be no penalty for mix and matching.

Finally, what should I do if my child did Speaking Skills Owlets or Debating Pelicans in Term #1, 2024? Unfortunately, neither program will be offered moving forward – we would recommend that:

• Former Owlets students take up either Public Speaking Penguins (which most closely resembles Owlets) or Debating Parrots, whichever they are more interested in;
• Former Pelicans students get in touch with us or their venue provider to discuss what options are available to ensure that your child can continue their debating journey without issue!

 

My child is in Year 6! What changes can I expect?

We will be reducing our Year 6 term programs down to three options.

Firstly, we will be offering our Public Speaking Penguins program. This mixed-experience program, which focuses on various public speaking skills, is aimed at students in Years 5, 6 and 7. Sessions run for either 1 or 1.5 hours, depending on the venue (similar to our old Speaking Skills Owlets program).

Secondly, we will be offering our Debating Parrots program. This is also a mixed-experience program that instead focuses on ‘policy’ style debates, and is aimed at students in Years 5, 6 and 7. Its sessions run for either 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the venue.

Thirdly, we will be offering our Debating Pandas program. This is meant for advanced Year 6s, intermediate Year 7s and mixed-experience Year 8s – if your child is in Year 6, we would recommend only moving up from Debating Parrots to Debating Pandas if they’re sufficiently advanced (and ideally have been recommended to do so by their coach).

So, what is the difference between the three? Aside from focusing on building student confidence and skills, all are also being placed on a two-year cycle, meaning that repetition of content is very unlikely. Debating Pandas, in particular, is ‘semi-modular’ in nature, so the content will be different depending on the class each term.

The main difference between the two mixed-experience programs is the content they cover – Penguins covers public speaking, Parrots takes students through the world of debating. Given that both programs are mixed-experience, students are welcome to also jump between them (or even do both simultaneously) – there will be no penalty for mix and matching.

Alternatively, Debating Pandas is only recommended for Year 6 students who have demonstrated their debating ability, as there will be less scaffolded content and higher-level debates against older students.

Finally, what should I do if my child did Speaking Skills Owlets or Debating Pelicans in Term #1, 2024? Unfortunately, neither program will be offered moving forward – we would recommend that:

• Former Owlets students take up either Public Speaking Penguins (which most closely resembles Owlets) or Debating Parrots, whichever they are more interested in;
• Former Pelicans students get in touch with us or their venue provider to discuss what options are available to ensure that your child can continue their debating journey without issue!

 

My child is in Year 7! What changes can I expect?

We will be increasing our Year 7 term programs up to four options.

Firstly, we will be offering our Public Speaking Penguins program. This mixed-experience program, which has been expanded to include Year 7 students and focuses on various public speaking skills, is aimed at students in Years 5, 6, and 7. Sessions run for either 1 or 1.5 hours, depending on the venue (similar to our old Speaking Skills Owlets program).

Secondly, we will be offering our Debating Parrots program. This is also a mixed-experience program that instead focuses on ‘policy’ style debates, and is similarly aimed at students in Years 5, 6 and 7. Its sessions run for either 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the venue.

Thirdly, we will be offering our 2-hour Debating Pandas program. This is meant for advanced Year 6s, intermediate Year 7s and mixed-experience Year 8s – if your child is in Year 7, we would recommend only moving up from Debating Parrots to Debating Pandas if they’ve got the essentials downpat (and ideally have been recommended to do so by their coach).

Fourthly and finally, we will be offering our 2-hour Debating Club program. Formerly known as Practice Debates, this program is for more experienced students and is only recommended for advanced Year 7 students. It is completely modular in nature (so no two programs are ever the same) and assumes all students have debating experience.

So, what is the difference between the four? Aside from focusing on building student confidence and skills, both are on a two-year cycle or are modular in nature, meaning that repetition of content is very unlikely.

The main difference between the two mixed-experience programs is the content they cover – Penguins covers public speaking, Parrots takes students through the world of debating. Given that both programs are mixed-experience, students are welcome to also jump between them (or even do both simultaneously) – there will be no penalty for mix and matching.

Alternatively, Debating Pandas is only recommended for intermediate Year 7 students who have demonstrated their debating ability, as there will be less scaffolded content and higher-level debates against older students. Debating Club is then for advanced Year 7 students who have demonstrated strong debating ability, and would be able to match up to students much further into high school.

 

My child is in Year 8! What changes can I expect?

We will be maintaining our Year 8 term programs at two options.

Firstly, we will be offering our 2-hour Debating Pandas program. This is meant for advanced Year 6s, intermediate Year 7s and mixed-experience Year 8s – if your child is in Year 8, we would recommend that they give our Debating Pandas a try only if they’re reasonably comfortable in front of an audience.

Secondly, we will be offering our 2-hour Debating Club program. Formerly known as Practice Debates, this program is for more experienced students and is only recommended for intermediate Year 8 students who have prior experience (either through SSA or their school). It is completely modular in nature (so no two programs are ever the same) and assumes all students have debating experience.

What should you do if you have an inexperienced child in Year 8? We would recommend that they still give our Debating Pandas program a try – coaches go over the essentials at the beginning of the program to ensure a level playing field. However, should this not work for you, you’re welcome to get in touch and we can discuss whether Public Speaking Penguins or Debating Parrots might be a better fit for your child.

Please note that Debating Club is not recommended for inexperienced Year 8 students.

 

My child is in Year 9 or 10! What changes can I expect?

We will reduce our Year 9 term programs to one option and no longer offer an introductory program for Year 9 students.

The sole program for Years 9 & 10 will be our 2-hour Debating Club program. Formerly known as Practice Debates, this program is for more experienced students and is only recommended for intermediate-level Year 8 students who have prior experience (either through SSA or their school). It is completely modular in nature (so no two programs are ever the same) and assumes all students have debating experience.

What should you do if you have an inexperienced child in Year 9? We would recommend that they still give Practice Debates a try – coaches go over the essentials at the beginning of the program to ensure a level playing field. However, should your child be on the shier side, they may be better served with one of our holiday workshops.

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