OUAB Communications Policy

1. Purpose

This policy sets out how OUAB Community Interest Company (“OUAB CIC”, “we”) speaks, writes and publishes. It applies to storytelling sessions, workshop scripts, websites, social media, press, fundraising, school and local-authority proposals, and any other material issued in our name. OUAB CIC exists to make high-quality, immersive storytelling freely available to children and communities, and to foster literacy, reading and elementary learning. Our communications must serve that purpose and must not dilute, politicise or confuse it.

2. Scope

The policy binds directors, employees, contractors, volunteers and anyone creating content for OUAB CIC. It covers public-facing and internal communications, including emails, slide decks, grant applications and commercial propositions.

3. Neutrality of content

OUAB CIC does not entertain politics, religion, ideology or sexuality in its content.

3.1 What this means:

• We do not campaign for, against or on behalf of any political party, candidate, manifesto or contested public policy.

• We do not promote, criticise or teach any religion, denomination or belief system, nor do we use sessions as a vehicle for worship or religious instruction.

• We do not advance political, social or cultural ideologies. Stories may contain moral choices, kindness and consequence; they must not instruct children in an adult worldview.

• We do not introduce sexual content, sexual identity themes or adult relationship material into workshops, resources or public communications aimed at children, families or schools.

3.2 What this does not mean:

Neutrality is not a statement about the children and families we serve. We welcome every child. Folktales, myths and classic stories that form part of world literature may be used where they serve literacy and are told in an age-appropriate way. Seasonal or cultural festivals may be acknowledged as community events without becoming religious or political teaching. Staff personal views remain private and are not expressed through OUAB channels.

3.3 Knowledge, science and the limits of our remit

Neutrality does not mean that OUAB treats every claim as equal. Workshops may draw on basic, verifiable knowledge; numbers, natural history, the solar system, the water cycle, the difference between a living animal and a story-creature, because literacy and elementary learning rest on a shared world that can be checked. Outlandish claims may be challenged where they contradict that basic, verifiable knowledge. Where a scientific or factual point used for that purpose sits in tension with a political, religious or cultural ideology, we do not take a side in the dispute. We state what is needed for the lesson, in plain, age-appropriate language, and we stop there. Arguments about adult worldviews, contested public policy, or which ideology should govern the facts are outside the remit of our provision.

4. Language standard

4.1 UK English is the house style

All OUAB CIC content is written in British English. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage follow UK conventions. In particular:

• Use UK spelling (organise, colour, programme, centre, travelling).

• Use UK punctuation, including single quotation marks as the primary form where a house choice is needed, and logical placement of punctuation with quotation marks.

• Use the -ise / -isation forms rather than -ize, unless quoting a proper name.

• Prefer plain English. Short sentences. Concrete verbs. No jargon where a simple word will do.

• Write dates in the UK form (8th September 2026). Use pounds sterling for UK activity.

Scripts, captions, social posts, website copy, school letters and educational resources must meet this standard before publication.

4.2 Allowance for US terminology in business communications

When we write business communications and proposition, including pitches to international partners, platform vendors, funders or clients who work in American commercial English,  we may adopt US terminology where it is the expected vocabulary of that market. Examples include “program” rather than “programme” in a US grant form, “center” in a partner’s product name, “fall” only if quoting a counterpart’s calendar, or standard US product and platform terms.

This allowance is limited to terminology required for clarity and professionalism in a business document. It does not licence a general shift into American spelling or style across the organisation. Educational content, workshop narration, family-facing materials and the OUAB public voice remain in UK English. Where a document mixes audiences, UK English is the default and any US term is used only where it is the recognised name of a product, scheme, concept (e.g “community activation”) or counterpart organisation.

5. Practical rules

• Every public piece should be readable by a careful non-specialist and, where aimed at children, by the age group it serves.

• Do not use OUAB platforms to comment on news-cycle politics, religious controversy or culture-war subjects.

• If a partner asks us to carry a political, religious, ideological or sexual message, we decline. Partnerships are welcome; message capture is not.

• Quotations from classic literature keep the author’s words, with a brief, age-appropriate frame. We do not rewrite heritage texts to make a contemporary argument.

• Images, costumes and props follow the same neutrality and age-appropriateness as the spoken word.

• Complaints about tone or content are referred to the directors and answered in writing.

6. Rationale

These guidelines exist so that nothing we publish taints the core objectives of OUAB CIC: promoting literacy and elementary learning.

Children learn to listen, speak, read and imagine when the story is allowed to be a story. The moment a workshop, post or proposal becomes a vehicle for adult politics, religious instruction, ideological persuasion or sexual themes, two harms follow. First, the learning purpose is crowded out; attention moves from language, narrative and curiosity to a debate the child did not ask to join. Second, schools, parents and public partners lose the confidence they need to invite us in. A community interest company that serves children across many beliefs and none must be trusted as a literacy organisation, not as an advocate.

The same logic governs language. Consistent UK English is part of the education we model. Children and teachers in our communities are taught British spelling, grammar and punctuation; our materials should reinforce that standard, not undermine it. The limited allowance for US terminology in business and proposition writing is a practical courtesy to counterparts. It keeps commercial documents intelligible without letting a second house style leak into the work that sits in classrooms and community halls.

7. Review

The directors will review this policy at least once a year, or sooner if our activities, partners or legal duties change. Questions about application should be sent to the directors before the material is issued.