Our approach: At Wenhaston Primary School we aim to ensure every child leaves our school at the end of year 6 able to express their thoughts and ideas in a confident and articulate manner. 

Oracy Curriculum Statement:

At Wenhaston Primary School, we believe that oracy is fundamental to developing resilient, effective communicators who are prepared to be global citizens who aim high. Oracy is interwoven across our curriculum,, we equip pupils with the skills to articulate thoughts and ideas confidently.  We foster resilience by encouraging pupils to participate actively in learning, embracing challenges, and reflecting on their progress.  Our focus on effective communication empowers pupils to express themselves clearly, listen attentively, and engage in meaningful dialogue, preparing them to collaborate and thrive in a globalized world. By setting high expectations and providing rich opportunities for oral expression, we inspire pupils to aim high,  confidently sharing their unique perspectives and contributing positively. 

Principles and Expectations: 

● Through questioning, we actively encourage pupil participation in the learning process 

● We expect our pupils to contribute orally to lessons 

● We allocate time in our lessons for pupils to discuss their learning with their peers  

● Through self-assessment strategies, we encourage pupils to reflect on their learning and identify their next steps 

● We provide scaffolds such as sentence stems and vocabulary boards to enrich the language used in the classroom 

● We provide opportunities for pupils to present and perform orally 

Strategies used to achieve this. What you will see in every classroom: 

• Lolly sticks with pupil names on which are picked at random to promote pupil participation. 

• Use of talk partners 

• ‘Cold calling’ where pupils are selected at random 

• Pupils being told that they will be selected at random to speak shortly and to prepare a statement 

• ‘Brain dumps’ pupils being asked to list and then explain what they remember from the previous session on a particular sequence of learning

• Constant questioning of pupils to check for understanding 

• Pupils to be encouraged at the end of the lesson to reflect on their learning and consider their next steps 

• Use of a vocabulary board to explicitly teach new vocabulary. Pupils demonstrate their understanding of this vocabulary by applying it to their work both verbally and in writing 

• Teachers to provide sentence stems to assist pupils with how to shape their contributions to lessons 

• The children working in ‘Trios’ where two children speak and the listener summarizes the discussion 

• Pupils are provided with opportunities to present and share their work or experiences through ‘show and tell’ events in class or through presenting home achievements in Golden Book assembly.

Updated September 2024