LEO Academy Trust: Boosting Engagement, Inclusion, and Oracy

LEO Academy Trust have been using now>press>play since 2019 across 12 of their schools. We caught up with Cheryl Shirley, Director of Digital & Julaan Govier, Curriculum Leader to discuss how they’ve embedded now>press>play across their school curriculum to boost engagement, inclusion, and oracy.

They share how immersive audio experiences have transformed learning — from quiet pupils finding their voice to whole classes collaborating and speaking with confidence.

Discover how they use now>press>play for curriculum entry and exit points, oracy development, and even silent discos, all while saving teachers time and strengthening consistency across their trust.

How did you first hear about now>press>play, and what was it that caught your eye?

We took our digital leaders to the BETT show, and we were instantly drawn to the pink headphones. At the time, our trust priority was about the improvement of oracy across the trust - and that was something that we just thought was really powerful.

The minute the children put the headphones on, they’re instantly transported to another world. At the beginning, I was thinking, well, do we actually need the headphones, will they feel isolated? Is it something I can just play out loud to the class?

But actually, I've definitely found, watching the children, that you see the opposite of that. You see focus because the headphones are on, and you also see a lot of collaboration going on, and they’re really looking at what everyone else is doing.

I think this was something that drew me to now>press>play. Seeing every child engaged, those children who would often be on the periphery, not really wanting to take part, they weren’t there anymore. So that was a real draw.

What did you notice in terms of engagement?

We’re always looking for opportunities for oracy, performance, drama—that’s one of our school improvement focuses at the moment.

Every child is engaged. It’s a nice way for teachers to show they’re part of it too. You don’t want to be the teacher on the side, standing with arms crossed, just watching. I’m there with my spear as well, crawling on the floor, or whatever else we’re doing!

On the first day of returning this year, I did now>press>play with my class, it was a nice way for them to see I’m human and that I’ll take part too. Learning isn’t being done to me—we’re all in this together. The enthusiasm was amazing.

It’s also a great opportunity to get some really good photos as well with their spears!

It’s interesting to see them coming together when an Experience says “you’re sitting on your throne,” the next thing two children are creating a frame, with one child sitting on it. That’s the beauty of it. 

I’ve even got a widget on the timetable on my board that says “History: now>press>play.” If they see that, they know it’s happening today. There’s that element of excitement.

It’s also nice getting to know the children in your class. That first day this year, I was like, “Oh, she’s going to be good at drama performance,” or “He’s really expressive.” You get to see another side of their personalities.

Particularly children who are quiet—when they’ve got the headphones on, they’re in their own world. They don’t think you’re watching them so much, and they let their full character out. So it’s a lovely shared experience for everyone.

How do you use now>press>play in different parts of the scheme of work?

For us, we started off in the early stages of making our curriculum more bespoke. We went down the route of having an entry point and an exit point—some sort of hook to get the children in and motivated.

now>press>play has featured heavily in those entry and exit points.

For example, the Shang Dynasty Experience one was used to launch the project on the first day back at school. It picks up on the lessons and core learning we need to do within the curriculum. In that Experience, they’re introduced to Fu Hao, a military general who was significant historically.

They did that six weeks ago, and we’re still unpicking it now—it’s almost like pre-teaching. The children, especially lower-ability ones, have already been exposed to ideas like bronze and jade.

When we looked at artifacts later, they recognised that they were made of bronze and jade. It helps with what we call “sticky knowledge”—things they need to know.

We also use it as an exit point. For example, we’ve just finished a big unit on Space. We’re having a “space dome” day—one session is now>press>play where they meet Neil Armstrong, set off in a rocket, and go to the moon. They genuinely feel like they’ve been to the moon!

It’s a lovely way to celebrate learning.

We also use it for seasonal events—Black History Month (Rosa Parks), Science Week, and Transition activities.

We’ve worked closely with now>press>play to map the Experiences to our curriculum areas, which has been really helpful. When you incorporate EdTech, it can feel like an add-on—but mapping it ensures it fits naturally.

Even the Silent Disco is a big hit. Staff actually pitch for who gets to use it first—for Christmas parties and the like!

The technology can be used for other things too. If a teacher wants to follow up with something or share audio instructions, they can use it as a broadcast device.

The new Oracy Opportunities are great too. I did my Google Innovator project on oracy, because we’re seeing children lose conversational and debate skills. This really supports that.

The Glossary Resource is a fantastic feature, it pre-teaches tier-three vocabulary, showing definitions and word types, helping pupils understand new terms.

Also, the transcripts are a big time-saver. I can copy and paste the transcript of the Experience, use it to create success criteria, and it’s all there—no retyping needed.

The setup is straightforward and the app is easy to use, we can also access it on Chromebooks. Even at home, I can browse the resources, download them, and have everything in one zipped folder to use as I need.

Do you feel that the resources have saved you time?

Yeah, definitely. The Shang Dynasty Follow-on Oracy Resource with the Priest was great—they did it six weeks ago and still remembered it. It’s also an easy win for teaching oracy. It’s hard to teach oracy—it’s not a standalone subject.

now>press>play provides those drama and speaking opportunities. It aligns perfectly with our trust’s focus. We’ve now got an oracy lead in both schools and have developed sentence stems to help pupils “speak like a scientist” or “speak like a historian.”

It’s a big trust-wide focus for us.

From a trust perspective, can you see the impact on teaching and learning and within your PedTech philosophy?

Yes, it threads everything together.

At first, curriculum leads wondered where it would fit—but now it’s something they choose to go to. It’s really embedded across the trust.

When you integrate technology, you have to think about your why. There’s so much out there, but if oracy is your focus, this is the perfect way to support it.

It’s about choosing the right tools for the right job. We’ve got now>press>play in all of our schools—it’s part of our digital package. Teachers talk about it across schools, which helps everyone.

We encourage staff to visit each other’s schools to see it in action. Seeing people like Julaan use it purposefully has really helped, especially in supporting writing in schools still developing that part of the curriculum.

What would you say to someone who’s looking at now>press>play, likes the look of it, but isn’t sure yet?

Get the adults involved as well! When we have visits, I always say, “Put the headphones on.”

And speak to the children—they love it. It makes learning fun. They draw on those experiences throughout a topic or unit, and those are the things they remember.

Those lived experiences—real or imagined—stick. They feel like they’ve lived it.

And for Years 5 and 6, you might think they’ll find it “uncool,” crawling on the floor or pretending with spears—but they actually love it.

Especially when teachers model it and join in—it creates a sense of we’re all in this together. The only one left out is the one not participating.

Thank you to LEO Academy Trust for sharing their experience using our resources. We're thrilled to continue supporting the trust in boosting engagement, inclusion, and oracy across their schools.