Oracy 2024-2025

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.

At St Stephen we believe spoken language to be fundamental to the achievement of our pupils. We understand that communication and language are the roots underpinning success in reading and writing and that good communication skills can enhance every type of learning.

Oracy underpins our work across the curriculum as pupils develop the skills to reason, discuss, debate and present their learning in a variety of contexts with increasing skill and confidence. Our pupils are encouraged to explore ideas through discussion, to format their own reasoned arguments, to challenge each other’s opinions, to develop critical thinking skills as well as talk in full sentences with a clear and confident voice. It is our intention to provide an environment that is rich in talk and ensure that, by the time they leave St Stephen, all our pupils are able to communicate effectively and confidently in a range of different situations, for a variety of different audiences.

When teaching oracy at St Stephen, teachers address the four key strands of the oracy skills framework:

• Physical aspects – how we use our voice and body to communicate.
• Linguistic aspects – how we structure what we say and choose appropriate vocabulary.
• Cognitive aspects – staying focused whilst speaking and when listening to others, asking appropriate questions and explaining opinions using reasons.
• Social & emotional aspects – working with others, listening and responding and increasing confidence.