Oracy

 

ACHIEVE - LEARN - FLOURISH 

The Aspire Learning Federation is made up of two schools - Elm Park Primary School and R J Mitchell Primary School in the London Borough of Havering.

 

 

 

At R J Mitchell Primary School, we recognise the vital role of oracy in developing confident, articulate, and engaged learners.  We want pupils to leave our school equipped with the ability to speak to a variety of audiences with clarity and fluency while recognising the importance of listening and valuing their own opinions, adapting their language for different purposes, and sustaining logical arguments.  

 

Our oracy curriculum is designed to enhance pupils’ speaking and listening skills, ensuring they are equipped to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts.  We follow the Voice 21 Framework, which provides a robust structure for teaching oracy, and we integrate the rich vocabulary from the CUSP curriculum to enrich our pupils’ language development.  

 

Voice 21

Learning to speak and speaking to learn is central to our culture at R J Mitchell Primary School. We believe the four strands of oracy (Physical, Social & Emotional, Cognitive, and Linguistic) underpin success in academic and social aspects of school life and beyond. 

Exploratory talk and presentational talk opportunities are used in every class and are based on the progression guidelines developed in line with Voice 21.  Teachers plan for oracy in every lesson across the curriculum and use vocabulary and sentence stems as key scaffolds to support progress.  Our oracy curriculum covers the key benchmarks so that staff:

  • Set high expectations for oracy

  • Value every voice

  • Teach oracy explicitly

  • Harness oracy to elevate learning

  • Appraise progress in oracy

Inclusion

We believe every pupil should have the opportunity to develop their oracy skills, regardless of their starting point.  Our curriculum includes targeted interventions (Speech Link, Language Link, Talk Boost & Language for Thinking) from Reception to Year 6.  

We use inclusive scaffolding prompts during discussion to enable pupils to participate fully in oracy activities. 

 

Oracy in the Wider Curriculum

Our oracy curriculum provides pupils with numerous opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills beyond the classroom.  Through class assemblies and musical performances, pupils are encouraged to express themselves confidently in front of an audience, fostering their public speaking abilities.  Class Learning Forums allow pupils to engage in meaningful discussions, share their ideas, and collaborate with peers, while our Digital Leaders produce news videos to enhance their communication skills in a modern context.