At Wilnecote Junior Academy, we believe that every child should be equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to communicate effectively. Through purposeful opportunities to speak, listen, discuss and present, we develop articulate learners who can express their ideas clearly, think critically and engage positively with others.

Our approach to oracy reflects our PRIDE values. We encourage pupils to speak with confidence, listen with respect, persevere when developing their ideas and demonstrate enthusiasm and determination in their learning.

Intent

Our intention is to develop confident communicators who can use spoken language effectively to support learning and prepare them for life beyond the classroom.

We recognise that high-quality oracy:

• Underpins success across the curriculum.
• Supports vocabulary acquisition and language development.
• Develops confidence, resilience and self-esteem.
• Strengthens reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Enables pupils to articulate their ideas, justify opinions and engage respectfully with different viewpoints.

We want every pupil to leave Wilnecote Junior Academy able to communicate with clarity, confidence and purpose.

Research from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) identifies oral language approaches as having a significant positive impact on attainment, with an average of six months' additional progress, particularly when talk is carefully planned and embedded within teaching and learning.

Implementation

Oracy is embedded throughout our curriculum and daily classroom practice.

Teachers explicitly model high-quality speaking and listening skills and provide regular opportunities for pupils to:

• Take part in structured discussions and collaborative learning.
• Ask and answer thoughtful questions.
• Explain and justify their thinking.
• Use ambitious and subject-specific vocabulary.
• Present information to a range of audiences.
• Engage in debate and respectful dialogue.
• Build upon and challenge ideas appropriately.

We recognise that effective communication involves a range of interconnected skills. Through carefully planned opportunities to talk and listen, pupils develop:

• Physical Oracy: speaking with confidence through appropriate voice projection, pace, expression, gesture and body language.
• Linguistic Oracy: using ambitious vocabulary and subject-specific language to articulate ideas clearly and effectively.
• Social and Emotional Oracy: listening respectfully, collaborating with others and adapting communication to suit purpose and audience.
• Cognitive Oracy: thinking critically, asking questions, reasoning, evaluating evidence and justifying opinions.

This ensures that pupils not only learn to speak confidently but also develop the knowledge, understanding and interpersonal skills needed to communicate successfully in a wide range of contexts.

Across the curriculum, pupils are provided with a range of structured opportunities, approaches and scaffolds that support the development and application of effective oracy skills. In addition, adults carefully scaffold talk to deepen understanding, develop language and support pupils to become increasingly confident communicators.

Our approach reflects EEF recommendations, including the explicit teaching of vocabulary, purposeful classroom discussion, structured questioning and opportunities for pupils to articulate and refine their thinking through talk.

 

Impact

As a result of our oracy-rich curriculum, pupils can:

• Communicate confidently and effectively in a range of contexts.
• Demonstrate active listening and respectful discussion skills.
• Use ambitious vocabulary accurately and appropriately.
• Explain their reasoning with increasing clarity and precision.
• Engage actively in learning and collaborate successfully with others.
• Develop the confidence to present, discuss and debate their ideas.

The impact of our approach is evident in the quality of classroom dialogue, pupil voice, presentation skills and the increasing confidence with which our pupils communicate their ideas and opinions.

By the time pupils leave Wilnecote Junior Academy, they are equipped with the communication skills needed to flourish academically, socially and as active citizens in the wider world.