Intent - we are creating confident speakers by...

Oracy is at the forefront of our school life with everyone talking, learning and encouraging each other. Speech and communication lies at the heart of our classroom practice and we inspire pupils with a deep enjoyment of learning through our curriculum provision. Oracy is the prime way in which teachers provide instruction and support to their students and is central to how most students engage with the curriculum.

Oracy can be seen as an outcome, whereby students learn to talk confidently, appropriately and sensitively. Children will learn through talk, deepening their understanding through dialogue with their teachers and peers. Pupils will be taught the importance of effective speaking and listening and this will help them to develop essential life skills such as resilience, collaboration and independence that enables them to gain the most from all subjects. The rules for being a good speaker and listener will be present in each classroom and referred to throughout all lessons. It will be evident that every classroom has an oracy based culture.

Oracy involves teachers and their students thinking carefully and deliberately about the sorts of spoken language they are using, and this will vary across subjects and with different age groups. Different types of talk will be appropriate at different points in the learning. The teachers will use a skills ladder to plan into their lessons the age appropriate sorts of spoken language. The skills ladder can also be used for assessing individuals. Throughout all of our teaching, children are taught and exposed to a wide range of subject specific vocabulary. These will be displayed as sticky words in each classroom. Through our immersive styles of teaching all children are expected to use and apply their developing spoken and written language. This ensures that all pupils, especially the many who arrive at our school with little or no English, leave us fully able to make sense of, and contribute to, modern British society.

Implementation - this is how we teach Oracy, Speaking and Listening skills

At Wolsey House Primary School, we aim to develop and encourage fluent and confident speakers by providing a range of oracy experiences .This is a key priority throughout the school due to our low entry levels. We understand the need to ensure that talk is promoted from Nursery to Year 6. All of our pupils are encouraged to take a full and active part in spoken language activities, at a level appropriate for their needs.                                                                                               

We ensure the children have access to all areas of our vocabulary-enriched curriculum. Where individual needs, gaps in understanding or intervention needs for pupils are identified, these are addressed through the main curriculum sessions or as an individual intervention, to meet the needs of the pupil.                                                                                 

Many children have input from speech and language therapists and we welcome the expertise they bring to the school. Adding to this, we prioritise oracy skills, communication and language through the introduction of stand-alone oracy lessons in all year groups. These experiences are then built upon in other lessons. 

These oracy experiences include: 

• T4W lessons are used to develop high-level vocabulary and Standard English

• Introduction if sticky words
• Talk partners in all curriculum areas (mixed ability)
• Paired and collaborative work, including discussions and debates
• Drama and role-play activities
• Circle time and Jigsaw each week in all year groups
• Listening to and discussing stories as a whole class (through reading review sessions and for pleasure)
• Presentations of learning
• Singing – this supports in our pronunciation, projection of our voices, use of expression and improving confidence. 

It should also be recognised that there are opportunities for children to develop their oracy skills outside the curriculum. These activities include:  

• Assemblies
• School Council– giving the children a chance to give their views about their school life
• Pupil voice discussions in all subject areas
• School performances
• Participation in local events – Visits to care homes, sporting activities and community events
• Educational visits

Impact - this is what the children have learnt - the knowledge and skills developed in Oracy

The quality of teaching and learning across the school will improve as a result of the whole-school drive on Oracy and a Challenge Curriculum. Whole-school quality assurance learning walks will show the teaching of ambitious, meaningful and transferable vocabulary language, displayed on the wall as sticky words. The students will become familiar with these new words and use them appropriately.

The teachers in the school have adopted an oracy base theme in their classrooms and feel confident teaching oracy techniques due to training and this has had a positive impact on the quality of teaching & learning. The development of teachers and students oral skills allows teachers to be skilled at using questioning to give students confidence to talk in class and so build their understanding.

Oracy based experiences highlighted in the implementation will have a positive impact on students confidence in speaking. Having being given the opportunities to talk throughout their curriculum and taught oracy strategies across the school, students have not only been given the potential to improve student academic outcomes, but it enables students to develop the social and emotional skills needed to become active citizens and effective communicators.

The impact on student outcomes will improve EYFS GLD. There will be pleasing progress made by all students in all areas of the curriculum, for the rest of the school. Students will achieve improved results in Year 2 and 6 SATS.

The impact of Oracy will be evidenced through the monitoring of attainment and progress of all children by class teachers. Oracy skills will be assessed using the Oracy skills ladders. Each year group has Oracy objectives which build on the preceding years study to ensure progression in this area as children move through the school.

The Oracy Lead, SLT, Head teacher and link Governor will be responsible for monitoring the impact of Oracy and standards of spoken language across the school, through work scrutiny, planning scrutiny, learning walks and lesson observations and any other relevant monitoring activities. It is every class teacher’s responsibility to ensure Oracy strategies are used effectively in every day teaching.