Intent
At Gusford we recognise the primary importance of being able to talk well and how talking can support our learning. Oracy is a key part of the Curriculum at Gusford and we are looking todevelop pupils Oracy skills by teaching them to become great speakers. We aim to focus primarily on vocabulary development and confident communication between staff and pupils. ‘Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.’ (Voice21). At Gusford, we are going to teach our children to be confident, articulate speakers who can listen effectively; these two skills combined are the fundamental building blocks to Oracy and will help them to be great speakers.
Implementation
At Gusford we have a multi-layered approach to develop Oracy and we are using the 4 strands set out by Voice 21; physical, linguistic, cognitive and social and emotional. It is essential that all domains are developed effectively as children progress through our school, to ensure this a Progression of Oracy chart is used to indicate how children should be articulating ideas and developing their understanding of spoken language. We are currently focusing on the physical and linguistic domain in more depth before focusing on the cognitive and the social and emotional domains. Through our subject specific plans, we plan purposeful opportunities which enable children to take part in exploratory talk and listen carefully to one another. Teachers and adults in school model effective talk and listening skills.
Impact
At Gusford, we use summative assessment to determine children’s understanding and inform teachers’ planning. This summative assessment can be obtained by teachers by looking at the Gusford Oracy Progression chart. This is reviewed by the subject leader, who also carries out regular learning walks, book studies and lesson observations.
Cross Curricular links
In order to have good Oracy skills children will need to develop their knowledge and understanding of Oracy by making links and connections to these skills and applying them to other areas of the curriculum. Statutory requirements which underpin spoken language across the whole of primary education form part of the National Curriculum and are then contextualised within each subjects National Curriculum. The Gusford curriculum is designed around Year Group themes. Each theme has been structured and sequence to ensure pupil engagement is purposeful by building on prior knowledge and helping pupils to make connections to specific subject understanding and skills year-on-year with the use of Oracy.
Drama
