Oracy at Widden

Oracy is the ability for children to articulate their ideas and develop understanding and engagement with others through spoken language. It permits children to become effective speakers and listeners, whilst deepening their subject knowledge. We ensure that carefully planned, designed, modelled and scaffolded talking opportunities are used across the curriculum. 

At Widden, we know that teaching oracy skills improves academic outcomes, being able to critically think, reason together and have the vocabulary to express one's knowledge and understanding. We also know that the power of oracy increasing confidence and the well-being of our pupils, empowering them to believe that their voice has value and develop the ability to articulate thoughts that others will listen and respond to. 

Oracy in Our Curriculum

Oracy is embedded across our curriculum and from EYFS to Year 6, children are given opportunities to develop oracy skills and build their confidence in talk for formal and informal situations, both inside and outside the classroom.

Lessons are talk-rich and opportunities for partner and group talk are carefully built into each lesson plan. Teachers use targeted questioning and assessment for learning tools, which ensure all children are able to fully participate and every voice is valued. Subject specific vocabulary is provided in lesson plans in order to support children in working on collaborative projects, group discussion and debate or oral presentations. Every classroom also promotes subject-specific vocabulary acquisition through displaying key vocabulary on working walls and actively encouraging children to use these key words in their verbal communication.