As a part of high-quality oracy education, students should learn both to talk and through talk, deepening their subject knowledge and understanding through classroom talk which has been planned, structured, and scaffolded to enable students to learn skills needed to talk effectively.

At St Thomas, we value Oracy as a crucial learning tool, that is woven in through all curriculum areas using structured talk. 

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language. St Thomas utilises materials and strategies from Voice 21, as we believe spoken language to be essential in the development and achievement of our children across the curriculum.

In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching children to become more effective speakers and listeners, we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.

Oracy is taught progressively through the entire school, focusing on basic giving attention and proof of listening in Nursery and Reception, to a range of talk tactics used across KS1 and KS2. 

In order to teach effective oracy skills across the curriculum, St Thomas uses the oracy framework to understand the physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social and emotional skills that enable successful discussion, inspiring speech and effective communication. Key oracy skills are taught throughout the whole curriculum. Objectives are progressive and sequential; teaching the children the skills to confidently and effectively use the spoken language for educational progress, and for life in general.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning approaches to teach oracy skills across the curriculum, including:

• Providing opportunities for drama and role-play using Pie Corbett's Talk for Writing.
• Providing opportunities for children to develop their listening skills through conversation.
• Promoting small group and class discussions on specific topics/areas of the curriculum.
• Providing opportunities to speak in front of a larger audience, for example during an assembly or presentation.
• Playing a range of games with the children to encourage effective use of oracy skills.
• Providing opportunities for children to become storytellers for an authentic audience.
• Providing opportunities for the children to present to an audience, chair a discussion and hold class meetings.
• Encouraging the children to talk for a specific purpose, e.g. to persuade or to entertain.
• Encouraging children to work in groups to collaboratively solve a problem.
• Encouraging class and group debates and providing opportunities for children to make speeches in front of an audience.

In order to assess the children’s oracy skills, staff will informally assess the children’s progress against the oracy progression framework - ensuring all pupils have the opportunity to develop the appropriate skills and vocabulary expected of them; whilst providing feedback, which will enable each child to develop their skills further.

Monitoring of Oracy is conducted through instructional coaching drop in's which enhance the teacher's use of strategies for talk in the classroom and then built upon through each coaching session.