‘If you can speak, you can influence. If you can influence, you can change lives’ 

Rob Brown

 

Over the past year, the development of oracy skills has been incorporated within the teaching and learning at St Anne’s Church Academy. Both children and teachers here at St Anne’s have positively embraced the opportunities to talk and to listen within our school. We will continue to build on our positive start and embed and develop oracy within our curriculum.

What is oracy?

Oracy skills sit between learning to talk and learning through talk.
At St Anne’s we value being able to express ourselves confidently, articulately and with passion. We believe it is an essential life skill weaving itself through every area of our curriculum and every stage of a child’s development. The children at St Anne’s are encouraged to explore ideas through talk; listen to each other; build on and challenge each other’s opinions and develop their own reasoned arguments, as well as talking in full sentences with a clear and confident voice to a variety of audiences.

Aims

Our aim is to enable the children develop their skills in oracy so that all pupils 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 communication skills can enhance every type of learning and are a vital life skill.

The four key strands of the oracy framework are:

• Physical aspects – how we use our voice and body to communicate;
• Linguistic aspects – how we structure what we say and choose appropriate vocabulary;
• Cognitive aspects – staying focused whilst speaking and when listening to others, asking appropriate questions and explaining opinions using reasons;
• Social & emotional aspects – working with others, listening and responding, increasing confidence.

 

Impact: Oracy within our curriculum is having a very positive impact so far; children and staff are much more aware of their spoken literacy and children are growing in confidence with speaking in front of big groups – especially in our weekly Parliament and Celebration Worships, where children speak in front of the whole school.

How can you help at home

• Encourage your child to speak in full sentences;
• Encourage your child to give reasons for their choices;
• Encourage your child to explain something to you as accurately as possible (the rules for a game, how to make a sandwich, how to solve a calculation);
• Encourage your child to read out loud using a confident voice, thinking about tone of voice, and appropriate volume

Please take a look at this YouTube video about The Importance of Oracy by the English Speaking Union.

If you would like more information on any aspect of oracy within our school or would be interested to get involved (as a guest speaker for example) please do not hesitate to contact our Communications Team.