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Oracy
Intent
At Thurgoland CE Primary School, we believe that every child should develop the confidence, language and communication skills to express themselves, understand others and participate fully in learning and life.
Our Christian vision, “To be, and become, your Best Self,” underpins our approach to oracy. We want every child to develop the confidence to find and use their voice, express themselves, listen to and value others and grow in confidence as a communicator.
We believe that every voice should be heard and valued. Oracy provides children with opportunities to develop their communication skills through speaking and listening, helping them to express their thoughts and feelings, build relationships, deepen their learning and participate confidently in school and the wider community.
Oracy is a golden thread running through our curriculum and pedagogy. We see talk not simply as an outcome to be taught, but as a powerful tool through which children think, learn, make connections, develop vocabulary, rehearse ideas and learn with and from others.
Our approach begins with Strong Foundations in Communication and Language, developing the attention, listening, interaction and vocabulary skills that underpin future learning. These foundations develop progressively into opportunities to reason, explain, question, discuss, present, perform and communicate for different purposes and audiences.
Through Talk in the Early Years, Talk for Learning and Talk for Life, we develop children who can communicate confidently, think deeply, build positive relationships and contribute positively to their school, community and wider world.
Aims:
- To develop strong early language skills in the Early Years, providing the foundation for effective communication and learning across the curriculum
- To develop students’ ability to express themselves clearly and confidently across all areas of the curriculum
- To promote emotional literacy and self-regulation by equipping students with the oracy skills to express their emotions, manage conflicts and navigate social interactions confidently
- To nurture the ability to use language for social interaction, supporting students in developing the conversational skills required to build relationships and engage collaboratively with others
- To integrate oracy across all subjects, ensuring consistent and purposeful opportunities for speaking and listening
- To equip students with a range of speaking skills for different purposes and audiences
Oracy Intent and Year Group Expectations
Our oracy intent is carefully structured to ensure a clear and progressive development of speaking and listening skills across all year groups. The framework is broken down into key oracy strands. Each year group has specific oracy outcomes that align with these areas, ensuring students progressively build the skills and confidence needed to communicate effectively:
Cognitive | Attention, Listening and Understanding: Developing the ability to focus, listen attentively and understand spoken information |
Linguistic | Vocabulary*: Expanding students’ vocabulary to enable precise and purposeful application |
Speech Sounds, Grammar and Sentence Building: Improving clarity, accuracy and complexity of spoken language through correct use of speech sounds, grammar and sentence structures | |
Social and Emotional | Performance, Discussions and Presentations: Building confidence and skill in public speaking, group discussions, and formal presentations |
Conversations and Social Interaction: Enhancing social communication skills, including turn-taking, listening, responding appropriately, managing conflict and adapting language for different audiences. | |
Physical Aspects of Communication: Focusing on non-verbal communication skills, including body language, eye contact and voice modulation |
Key sentence stems that are clearly displayed in classrooms to support structured talk. These sentence stems serve as visible and accessible scaffolds, helping students articulate their thoughts clearly and with increasing complexity as they progress through the school.
Talk in the Early Years
Early language development is a key predictor of later academic achievement. Studies show that the quality of spoken language experiences in the early years directly impacts the development of communication, thinking and literacy skills (Hart, B., & Risley, T.R. 2003). High-quality verbal interactions, storytelling and exposure to a rich vocabulary provide the foundation for future learning.
For this reason, Talk in the Early Years is a crucial pillar in our framework. Ensuring that young children are immersed in a language-rich environment, with repeated reads, purposeful adult interactions, and opportunities for structured and free-flowing talk, lays the groundwork for their future educational success. Research also suggests that children from disadvantaged backgrounds particularly benefit from high-quality communication-focused individual and group work, making this approach vital for closing gaps in achievement (Hart, B., & Risley, T.R. 2003).
Talk For Life
Developing strong communication skills is not only essential for academic success but also for personal and social development. Talk for Life equips students with the verbal tools they need to navigate everyday interactions, manage their emotions and express their thoughts clearly and respectfully. Research highlights that emotional literacy and self-regulation are closely linked to oracy, with students who can articulate their feelings more likely to manage conflicts and stress effectively (Dix, P. 2017).
By focusing on emotional language, conflict resolution and social interactions, schools help students develop self-awareness, empathy and resilience. These skills are critical for future success in personal relationships, the workplace and wider society.
Talk For Learning
Oracy is central to learning. Research shows that talk is not just a medium for sharing knowledge but a tool for deepening understanding. Effective classroom talk, such as structured discussions and peer-to-peer interaction, enhances students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. According to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF 2018), high-quality classroom talk can significantly improve learning outcomes, especially when focused on reasoning and explanation.
By embedding Talk for Learning into daily lessons, teachers can improve student engagement, encourage collaboration and help students articulate their thinking, supporting learning across the curriculum (Mercer, N. & Dawes, L. 2014). High expectations for verbal responses and the use of structured, open-ended questions encourage students to think deeply and build confidence in expressing their ideas clearly.
Values that are at the heart of Thurgoland
"Be, and become, your BEST SELF!"
Getting here
Halifax Road
Thurgoland
Sheffield
S35 7AL
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