Oracy

Intent

Through Oracy, we aim for all of our children to see themselves as orators. We endeavour to inspire a sense of curiosity in our children and develop their enthusiasm for Oracy, learning the skills and knowledge to become effective communicators. 

To be able to be an Orator, children will need to build up the skills, knowledge and understanding of Oracy. They will need to understand and use the language of Oracy and apply these speaking and listening skills and knowledge across the curriculum, making connections both within Oracy and across other curriculum areas. Intrinsic school values of aspiration, determination & confidence, and form essential components when learning to be effective orators. 

 To be an Orator, children need to hear and use a variety of language in order to develop their vocabulary, grammar and understanding. This will support their development in reading and writing. Children will have opportunities to develop their confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills. Children will be able to explain their understanding of books and other reading, and will have the opportunities to prepare their ideas before they write. They will be able to make their thinking clear to themselves and others, and they will be able to discuss and debate to address and remedy their misconceptions. Children will participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with drama. Children will be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They will have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences. They will be able to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama performances. 
 

Implementation

Statutory requirements which underpin all aspects of spoken language across the six years of primary education form part of the National Curriculum which are reflected and contextualised across each subject in the National Curriculum.  

The aims of the National Curriculum (2014) for Oracy (spoken language) are to:

• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers 
• ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge 
• use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary 
• articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
• give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
• maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments 
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas 
• speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English 
• participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates 
• gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)
• consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others 
• select and use appropriate registers for effective communication.

How we plan for progression in oracy at Langley Mill Academy 

The Langley Mill Curriculum teaches discrete subjects with meaningful threads of Sustainability, Diversity, Creativity and Community. These threads inform our 'Themed Reading' curriculum and our class names.

In KS2, children have a daily Themed Reading lesson with a focus on vocabulary development and Oracy skills.  Teachers ensure this is modelled to the children through 'My Turn / Your Turn'. Teachers and pupils work together to dual code new vocabulary with images,  embodied gesturing and British Sign Language. Vocabulary is displayed in all classrooms for a range of subjects. Children are taught new vocabulary regularly and are given opportunities to use their new vocabulary in written work and conversations. Children revisit and build upon vocabulary learned in previous years through 'Flashbacks' to previous learnt knowledge. 

 To ensure progression, the teaching team worked together to plan out curriculum coverage and then the subject leader identified the progression of skills and vocabulary required at each stage of learning to prepare children for the next stage in their learning.

Oracy Key Knowledge Progression Document 

Debate

This academic year we are introducing a programme of debates from Year 3 to Year 6 using Noisy Classroom – Debating and Critical Oracy for Schools. 

Debating skills will be developed so that all pupils develop and practise their speaking, listening and oratory skills. Debates will be held in one week every term and cover a variety of topics: these will support pupil's personal development and help them think considerately about moral, social and cultural issues.