Oracy Curriculum Statement

“WITHOUT LANGUAGE, ONE CANNOT TALK TO PEOPLE AND UNDERSTAND THEM; ONE CANNOT SHARE THEIR HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS, GRASP THEIR HISTORY, APPRECIATE THEIR POETRY, OR SAVOUR THEIR SONGS” Nelson Mandela

At the heart of our curriculum lies our commitment to send into the world pupils who are informed, articulate and empowered. Pupils with the skills and capabilities to effect real change. St. Peter's is a ‘talk rich’ school, we equip children with the skills to listen actively, speak confidently and challenge ideas respectfully. Our school community understand that they have the right for their voices to be heard and that we will always listen.

We believe that Oracy (the ability to communicate effectively) is a central means of extending pupils’ linguistic, social, emotional and cognitive development; it is key to the progress and attainment of all children irrespective of background. Talk is central to our curriculum and to the way our children learn. We want children to learn through talk and we want children to learn to talk. Talk is elevated in all aspects of our school life – be it the daily mental maths session, lunchtime talk partners, EYFS reflection or collective worship. Children are taught discrete Oracy as a stand-alone lesson every fortnight.

Children’s talk in all areas of the school is enhanced through the use of displayed talk scaffolds, explicit vocabulary, daily reflection and high-quality adult models. Additionally, Drama is a key tool in the teaching of Oracy through English.

At St. Peter's, we carefully engineer opportunities for rich, purposeful talk across all subject areas. Our curriculum enables children to engage in both exploratory talk (the talk we use to explore and develop our thinking) and presentational talk (the talk we use with an audience to explain, inform or persuade).

We use a four-strand framework (linguistic, physical, cognitive and social & emotional) to underpin our teaching and help children understand what good talk and listening ‘look like’ as they progress through the school. 

Disciplined discussion:

Inspired by the work of Dough Lemov, and his discussion on cold calling and no opting out of class discussion, at St. Peter's we encourage quality ‘disciplined discussion‘ through our use of ABC feedback and gestures. This simple strategy has proved impactful in all classrooms from Yr. 1 to Yr. 6. By asking students to Agree with; Build upon; or Challenge the answers of other students, it allows pupils to develop their ideas in a more disciplined fashion, whilst giving a helpful scaffold to their ideas.

We believe that, done expertly, oracy can permeate pupils’ lives, both within and beyond the school gates. This has enormous potential for addressing social disadvantage and society needs citizens who can engage thoughtfully and actively in the democratic process. Perhaps most importantly, we want children to feel valued and have a voice.