Why Oracy Matters: Our rationale

Being able to communicate is one of the most important life skills of all. Oracy is fundamental to children's success in school and beyond. Through high-quality talk, pupils develop their understanding, deepen their thinking, build relationships and learn to communicate effectively in a range of contexts. Spoken language underpins reading and writing, supports learning across the curriculum and enables children to participate fully in school life and in society.

At The Epiphany School, we recognise that spoken language is not simply the outcome of learning but a powerful tool for learning itself. By explicitly teaching pupils how to speak, listen, discuss and reason, we equip them with the confidence and skills needed to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. We also recognise that access to language and opportunities for purposeful talk are not always equal. A strong focus on oracy is therefore a matter of social justice, ensuring that every child, regardless of background or starting point, develops the communication skills needed to have their voice heard, to access future opportunities and to contribute positively to society.

Our whole school curriculum intent is designed to meet the following objectives:

• Preparation for next step in education
• Developing passion and finding excellence
• Making a positive contribution to your community

The school oracy strategy supports our pupils to meet these objectives through following a carefully planned progression and developing a school culture where oracy is valued.

What is Oracy?

Voice 21 defines oracy as: "The ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language."

It comprises three interrelated, overlapping and mutually reinforcing components:

• Learning to talk, listen and communicate: the development of children’s speaking, listening and communication skills.
• Learning through talk, listening and communication: the use of talk or dialogue to foster and deepen children’s learning.
• Learning about talk, listening and communication: building knowledge and understanding of speaking, listening and communication in its many contexts.

Our aim

Our aim is for every pupil to become a confident, articulate and respectful communicator who can express ideas clearly, listen attentively to others and use talk effectively to learn, think and engage with the world around them.

Implementation: How do we deliver our oracy curriculum?

At The Epiphany School, we use The Oracy Framework (Voice 21), to teach the four key strands which enable successful discussion, inspiring speech and effective communication.

• Physical (voice, body language and presentation)
• Linguistic (vocabulary and language structures)
• Cognitive (reasoning, thinking and content)
• Social and Emotional (listening, collaboration and confidence)

The skills within the Oracy Framework are mapped into a carefully sequenced progression from EYFS to Year 6. This progression ensures that pupils develop increasing confidence, competence and sophistication across the physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social and emotional strands of oracy. Each year group has an Oracy Overview which identifies the key knowledge, skills and opportunities for talk within the curriculum. These planned opportunities enable pupils to practise and apply oracy skills in meaningful contexts across a wide range of subjects, building on prior learning and preparing them for the next stage of their education.

While oracy is explicitly planned and taught through the curriculum, it is also developed through the wider life of the school. At The Epiphany School, pupils are provided with a wealth of authentic opportunities to speak, listen, present and lead. Through experiences such as reading buddies, team captain elections, class assemblies, worship, pupil leadership roles and the celebration of religious festivals, pupils learn to communicate with confidence and purpose for a range of audiences. These meaningful opportunities enable children to apply and refine their oracy skills beyond the classroom, helping to create a school culture in which every voice is valued and heard.

Impact: How do we know our oracy curriculum is effective?

Assessment: Assessment will take place in line with the school’s assessment policy. The oracy  progression provides expectations by which to assess pupils, supporting teachers to ascertain what pupils know and can do. Teachers should assess pupils throughout lessons and plan subsequent teaching and learning in response to this. Assessment will take many forms including teacher observation, rich questioning, talking with pupils and marking children’s work.

Monitoring: Monitoring activities may include pupil interviews, informal discussion with staff, looking at pupils’ work, examination of planning and learning walks in order to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum in meeting the intent.

Supporting documentation

• Oracy framework
• Oracy progression
• Talk Tactics progression and sentence stems/visuals
• Talk Moves
• Oracy by year group