'The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.'

Tony Robbins

Oracy

What is Oracy?

Oracy,  refers to the ability to express yourself fluently and communicate effectively with other people. More than being grammatically correct, oracy is concerned about how you speak and how you express yourself.

Having strong oracy skills means that you have:

1. The ability to structure your thoughts in a way that makes sense to others, and
2. The vocabulary to say precisely what you want to say.

So, what is oracy? Ultimately and essentially, it's about being a strong and effective communicator.

This means that it also refers to the range of speaking and listening skills, behaviours, and language necessary for communicating and working with others so that it makes sense to them. Oracy, in other words, covers the physical, social and emotional, linguistic and cognitive aspects of learning.

Our Oracy Curriculum

We passionately want our children to have a voice.  We want our children to be able to speak up for themselves, articulate their dreams and wishes and to have the words and the confidence to communicate with all of the people they will encounter in their lives.  We do not want the lack of a voice, hold any of our children back, as they travel through our school and though their lives.

Oracy is central to our curriculum, along with the acquisition of language and vocabulary, it forms the SAY IT! strand of our curriculum. 

The curriculum is developed from EYFS throughout the school and across the whole of our curriculum. We nurture children’s speaking and listening skills through a variety of approaches:

• Exploratory play
• Story time
• Hot-seating,
• Talk partner
• Say It! vocabulary approach
• Collaborative learning 

We develop these skills so that our children are capable of  expressing their own ideas clearly and confidently, in a safe and supportive environment, in all aspects and areas of their school life and into their future.

Oracy give us the basic skills we need to communicate with the world around us. Children are given a range of  opportunities to develop these skills, in a safe and stimulating environment. The wide range of oracy activities – which are weaved throughout our curriculum – help to develop ideas, vocabulary and confidence, as the more we talk, the more we pick up on different words that other people use.

Spoken Language Progression Document

Voice 21

In September 2022 we began working with Voice 21.   Miss North and Miss Wilkinson introduced some of the Oracy Project ideas to their classes.

Now that we have begun a new school year, the Oracy Project will be rolled out to all classes.

 Voice 21 works in partnership with teachers and schools across the UK to ensure every child receives a high-quality oracy education.

Why are Oracy Skills Necessary for Children?

Being a strong and effective communicator is a great skill to have throughout your life, so why shouldn't children get a head start with their oracy skills? They should learn not only to communicate well with others but also why it's important to be able to do so.

Good oracy skills can help children in every subject that they learn in school. It enables them to express their thoughts and opinions about what they're learning and interact with others thoughtfully and productively.

Communicating effectively also means that children will be able to express themselves when they don't understand something or perhaps need a little more support with a specific topic. With good oracy skills, they can reach out and explain what they're thinking and what they need help with.

But oracy skills aren't just crucial in subjects that directly relate to communication. They're also helpful in seemingly unrelated subjects such as maths or science, where children may need to explain to a classmate how they got their answer.

Having good oracy skills is vital for outside the classroom too. Building strong relationships depends on effective communication, so children will need to develop their oracy skills to form friendships with their peers and teachers.

Some Facts About Oracy

• On entry to school, disadvantaged children’s spoken language development is significantly lower than their more advantaged peers.
• These gaps grow as children move through school. Widening from just a few months aged six, to five years’ difference by the age of 14.
• On leaving school, children with poor verbal communication skills are less likely to find employment and more likely to suffer from mental health difficulties.

How we Teach Oracy

Click on our documents below:

• Our Oracy Policy
• Intent, Implementation, Impact Statement for Oracy
• Our Seven Year Learn It! Oracy Progression Document