Coley Primary School – How do we teach oracy?
Intent
Speaking and listening are fundamental to the teaching of English and permeates the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. We want our children to develop effective communication skills for the here and now and also in readiness for later life. Having recently invested in Oracy training with Voice 21 (a national charity that exists to enable teachers and schools to provide a high quality oracy education so that all young people can find their voice for success in school and life) we are committed to building and embedding a culture of oracy throughout our curriculum.
We will ensure that teachers and senior leaders are equipped with the skills to develop oracy for teaching and learning, to plan for talk across the curriculum and to elevate speaking beyond the classroom. By building a culture of oracy within our school, we want to develop our children’s confidence, spoken language and written outcomes across and beyond the curriculum.
Our aim is to enable the children to improve their levels of oracy so that they are express themselves clearly and are able to communicate effectively and confidently in front of any type of audience. These skills are being encouraged in every area of our curriculum as good oracy skills can enhance every type of learning including maths and science. A key part of oracy is for children to think carefully about the language they’re using, and tailor it to their subject, purpose and audience.
So much in life depends on being a good communicator, so it’s vital that children learn the importance of oracy from a young age. Children who start school with limited communication skills are six times less likely than their peers to reach the expected standards in English at the end of Year 6. We are aware of children’s different starting points therefore developing oracy skills is crucial in improving our children’s life chances.
We also recognise that children who communicate well are more likely to form good relationships with other children and adults, therefore it is important that our children are able to listen to others, and respond appropriately. Purposeful talk is used to drive forward learning, through talk in the classroom, which has been planned, designed, modelled, scaffolded and structured to enable all learners to develop the skills needed to talk effectively.
Implementation
At Coley Primary School we have adopted the Voice 21 framework for oracy which breaks down the teaching of speaking and listening into four strands:
Physical
Cognitive
Linguistic
Social and Emotional
We promote classrooms rich in talk, in which questions are planned, peer conversations are modelled and scaffolded and the teacher uses talk skilfully to develop thinking. From EYFS to Year 6, children are given opportunities to develop oracy skills and build their confidence in talk for formal and informal situations, both in and outside the classroom.
We have an embedded oracy curriculum ensuring the children have an opportunity to practice a variety of types of talk and practise the skills needed for different oracy outcomes:
The deliberate, explicit and systematic teaching of oracy across the school and throughout the curriculum will support our children to make progress in the four strands of oracy. Our children will have opportunities to 'Speak like an Expert’ Deepening and embedding subject knowledge, understanding and reasoning.
A range of purposeful opportunities are used to encourage learning through talk and learning to talk, including:
Impact
Oracy skills will be assessed using the oracy framework. Teachers and Senior Leaders can use the progression statements from the Oracy Progression Map to monitor progress and attainment. Each year group has oracy objectives which build on and extend from the previous year ensuring progression as the children move through the school.
Through the teaching of oracy, children will be able to:
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