St Michael's CofE Primary School

Oracy

Our School Vision

Oracy helps us to communicate successfully and listen carefully to ensure that everyone's voice is valued.

At St Michael's, we aim to provide every child with the ability to communicate effectively. As well as enhancing their learning experiences, being able to effectively express themselves can help children to articulate their ideas more fully, express their thoughts and feelings more clearly and deepen their understanding and empathy. These skills support children to fulfil their potential both in school and in later life irrespective of their backgrounds by giving them the tools needed to be even more effective learners.

Why Teach Oracy?

Oracy is the ability to express ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.

Incredibly beneficial to all children
When you help a child to find their voice, you’re giving them self-belief, social validation, increased life chances and confidence (Hughes, 2019)
Develops pupils’ character so that they are ready for next phase of education, training or employment

Oracy helps to develop a range of skills such as relationship building, coping with stressors, respond to set backs, motivation, resilience, confidence, social skills, self-esteem and listening.
94% of employers thought these skills to be as important as academic skills (‘Life Lessons’- The Sutton Trust Oct 2017)
Extroversion, self-esteem and positive outlook are the most important personality traits for success (‘A Winning Personality’, The Sutton Trust Jan 2016)

On entry to school, disadvantaged children’s spoken language development is lower than their more advantaged peers
These gaps grow as children move through school. Widening from just a few months at age 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
(Voice 21, 2020)

Oracy Framework

We have used the Oracy Framework created by Voice 21 to help develop our use of Oracy at St Michael's. The Oracy framework uses four vital strands; physical, linguistic, cognitive and social and emotional. Through the use of guidelines based on these strands, we support the children to develop and enhance their ability to learn through talk and learn to talk. This ensures that the children receive a high quality Oracy education which deepens children's understanding and subject knowledge.

Activities for Home

Look out for more Oracy activities you can use at home on Class Dojo.

Oracy Question of the Week

Is a toy that no one has ever played with still a toy?