It all started with a marble. Small, insignificant, and yet capable of driving me to the edge of frustration. Somehow, this marble found its way into the air vent of my Tesla Model Y. Perhaps it was a child’s stray plaything, or maybe the universe was just feeling cheeky. Either way, every time I got into the car, the marble rolled around like a rogue pinball in an arcade game. Every turn, every brake, every bump in the road—it made its presence known.

The sound was maddening. No matter how much I loved the silence of the electric motor, this marble’s relentless clinking robbed me of the peace I’d come to expect. My solution? Turn the radio up full blast to drown it out. But there’s only so much volume you can bear before you feel like you’re at a concert you didn’t want to attend.

Then came the snow and ice. One frosty morning, I decided to turn the car around on the grass to avoid a slippery driveway. Big mistake. The tyres spun uselessly on the frozen ground, the car refusing to budge. Back and forth I went, trying to free it, the marble still gleefully clinking in the vent like it was enjoying the chaos. Stuck, irritated, and cold, I finally fetched a shovel to clear the ice under the wheels. After what felt like an eternity, the car was back on solid ground.

Life went on. The school pick-up came around, and as the kids piled into the car, I braced myself for the inevitable cacophony of marble-on-metal. But instead, silence. Sweet, unexpected silence.

“Hang on,” I said, turning to my daughter. “Can you see a marble on the floor?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed with delight, holding up the rogue troublemaker. She ran into the house, triumphant, clutching her victory prize. The back-and-forth motion on the ice had dislodged the marble from the vent, freeing me from its auditory torment.

And that’s when it hit me: life and business are a lot like this. Some weeks, you get stuck. The wheels spin. The noise is unbearable. But sometimes, in the midst of the struggle, something unexpected happens. Problems have a funny way of shaking loose solutions you didn’t even know you needed.

Getting stuck on the ice wasn’t fun. It wasted time, energy, and patience. But it also dislodged the marble that had been ruining my drives for weeks. A minor inconvenience led to a quiet car—a reminder that what feels like a setback can actually be an opportunity in disguise.

So, the next time you find yourself stuck—whether it’s on ice or in a tough week at work—remember the marble. Problems have a way of leading to solutions, and sometimes the thing that seems like bad news is actually paving the way for something good.

As they say, when one door closes, another opens. Or, in this case, when a car gets stuck, a marble gets unstuck. Problems, it turns out, are just opportunities with a better story.

AI agents are reshaping learning and development, and it’s time to pay attention. Companies like OpenAI (ChatGPT), Anthropic (Claude), and Google (Gemini) are leading the charge, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

What does this mean for L&D? Personalised learning becomes seamless—AI identifies skills gaps and delivers relevant training without human intervention. Repetitive tasks like scheduling, progress tracking, and compliance reminders? Automated. The focus shifts from admin to real growth and impact.

The key is integration. Start small. Test AI in one area—like onboarding or compliance—and measure the results. Use that momentum to expand its role. Keep an eye on the bigger picture, too. AI is evolving fast, and staying informed is crucial.

These tools aren’t just a productivity boost; they’re transforming how organisations learn, adapt, and improve.

AI agents are changing the way we work. These tools don’t just provide information—they act, automate, and deliver results. They handle repetitive tasks, freeing people to focus on more valuable work. In learning and development, this shift is long overdue.

Take compliance training. It’s tedious, essential, and time-consuming. AI agents can track certifications, send reminders, and enroll staff in courses automatically. No admin time wasted. In retail, they streamline onboarding by delivering personalised training to new hires on their first day.

But it’s not just about efficiency—it’s about relevance. AI agents can monitor skills gaps and recommend training before it’s too late. Struggling with Excel? The agent assigns a targeted course. Falling behind on sales? It schedules a coaching session. All without intervention.

For global teams, they localise content for different regions, adapt to cultural needs, and analyse performance trends to identify where help is needed. They act like personal tutors, ensuring learning stays relevant and impactful.

At Webanywhere, we’re integrating AI agents into our platforms to make this a reality. They help learners find answers quickly, assign tailored resources, and even handle admin-heavy tasks like progress tracking.

The result? More time for creativity, strategy, and real learning.

The pandemic disrupted almost every aspect of education, but its impact on children’s oracy skills—speaking and listening—has been particularly concerning, especially in the early years. For too long, the focus in schools has been on reading and writing. While literacy is undoubtedly important, the ability to communicate verbally, to express ideas clearly, and to engage in meaningful conversations has been largely overlooked. Now, there is growing recognition that this imbalance needs to be addressed, and oracy is beginning to take a more central role in the curriculum, particularly with the UK government signalling a shift in education policy.

During the pandemic, children were forced into isolated learning environments, where opportunities for speaking and listening were severely limited. Many young learners missed out on crucial stages of social and linguistic development. A report by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) found that children in the early years experienced significant setbacks in speech and language development, with nearly half of surveyed schools reporting an increase in the number of children needing support with speaking skills since the pandemic.

This issue has now been recognised by political leaders. Keir Starmer has spoken about how the pandemic has exacerbated long-standing inequalities in education, with oracy skills being a key area of concern. “We’ve seen a clear gap in children’s ability to communicate effectively, particularly among those from disadvantaged backgrounds,” Starmer stated in a recent speech. “This is something we must address if we are serious about levelling up education across the country.”

Bridget Phillipson, the new Secretary of State for Education, has also acknowledged the importance of oracy and is advocating for a more holistic approach to early years learning. In a recent interview, Phillipson said, “For too long, we’ve focused on reading and writing as the primary indicators of success in early education. But speaking clearly, listening attentively, and engaging in meaningful dialogue are just as important—both for academic success and for life outside the classroom. We need to ensure that oracy skills are nurtured as carefully as literacy skills.”

The government is now signalling a shift in education policy to address this. The Department for Education has announced plans to update the national curriculum, placing a greater emphasis on speaking and listening skills from the early years through to secondary school. These changes aim to give children more opportunities to develop their communication skills, recognising that strong verbal abilities are linked not only to academic achievement but also to better mental health, improved job prospects, and greater civic participation.

A new focus on oracy is not just about catching up after the disruption caused by COVID-19; it’s about acknowledging that communication is a fundamental life skill, one that should be at the core of education. As Bridget Phillipson noted, “Oracy education isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’—it’s essential. If we want to prepare our children for the challenges of the future, we must ensure they leave school not only literate but articulate.”

This shift in policy represents a crucial moment for the future of education in the UK, and platforms like OracyChampions.com are set to play a vital role in equipping the next generation with the skills they need to communicate confidently and effectively in a post-pandemic world.

OracyChampions.com is a simple tool with a powerful idea behind it: helping kids find their voice. We’ve all been there—those awkward silences in classrooms, the struggle to articulate an idea, the fear of speaking up. OracyChampions is designed to change that by giving students a platform to develop the one skill that’s foundational to everything else: communication.

The platform isn’t complicated. It doesn’t need to be. Teachers can set up oracy challenges, record voice notes, and track progress all in one place. But what really matters is the impact. You’ll see kids who once hesitated to participate suddenly take ownership of their thoughts. You’ll hear voices you didn’t even realize were there, stepping up and sharing ideas confidently.

This isn’t just about getting better grades or passing exams; it’s about preparing students for life. Whether they’re speaking in a group project, presenting to a room of peers, or explaining their thoughts clearly in everyday conversations, OracyChampions equips them with the communication skills they’ll need long after they’ve left the classroom.

At its core, OracyChampions is about creating more meaningful interactions. It’s not about making communication a separate subject but integrating it across everything we teach. Every topic, every discussion, every debate becomes a chance to practice speaking and listening—a chance to grow.

And the best part? It works with the tools teachers are already using. Chromebooks, iPads, you name it—OracyChampions fits right in, giving students and teachers an easy way to bring oracy into the heart of education without adding complexity. It’s learning by speaking, plain and simple.