Oracy at Glasshoughton Infant Academy

Intent

• At Glasshoughton Infant Academy our aim is for all pupils to be informed, articulate and empowered. We are a ‘talk rich’ school: talk is central to our curriculum and to the way our pupils learn. Children learn through talk. We believe oracy (the ability to communicate effectively) is a central means of extending pupils’ linguistic, social, emotional and cognitive development; it is key to the progress and attainment of all pupils.
• We believe that strong oracy skills can enhance children’s’ lives by providing them with the cultural capital they need to succeed, both within and beyond the school gates. This has enormous potential for addressing social disadvantage. Children in our school are encouraged and praised for engaging thoughtfully and contributing their big ideas. They understand that they all have a voice and that they have a right for their voices to be heard. 
• Children in our school are taught to talk and are taught to learn through talk. Children are taught the skills needed in order to effectively communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings orally. They are taught to talk through the teaching of physical aspects when using their voice, such as fluency, tone and projection, alongside effective body language; posture, eye contact, gestures and posture.
• Children in our school learn how to talk effectively in a range of different contexts. For example, when working with a partner or addressing a larger audience. Group discussion skills are explicitly taught from nursery to year 2, where we intend all children to learn how to communicate effectively, be an active listener and engage in a successful conversation. Opportunities for this are carefully planned for and threaded throughout our curriculum.
• Our curriculum design intends for children to be able to confidently articulate their knowledge and understanding through purposeful interaction with their peers. Talk is at the forefront of children’s learning and is something which children are immersed in daily – be it through lessons and projects in class, picture news discussions or whole-school assemblies.
• When planning our curriculum, we often search for effective communicators who children can aspire to be like. We encourage children to feel empowered and support their belief that they too can be leaders and promoters of change.
• We know that in order to motivate children and give oracy a high-status, children need to be provided with opportunities to talk with a real purpose. The focus on having a growth mind-set is essential in the teaching of oracy empowering children with the confidence to have a go, to persevere and to keep improving.

Implementation

Standard English at GIA

At Glasshoughton Infant Academy we recognise that children speaking using correct standard English is vital to ensure the effective communication of their learning, both in school and beyond. All staff use the ‘Standard English at GIA’ document to familiarise themselves with misconceptions within their year group and plan carefully to address these. You can see this document for each year group below.

Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Collaborative Learning Structures

Collaborative learning structures are taught progressively from nursery to year 2. These structures encourage and support effective oracy skills between peers and allow teachers to teach specific speaking and listening skills. The structures taught and embedded can be seen below.

Click here to view an example of a ‘rally robin’ structure in year 1.

Click here to view an example of a ‘timed pair share’ structure in year 1.

Vocabulary Dictionaries

Vocabulary dictionaries developed for each subject area are progressive from nursery to year 2 and provide teachers with a clear structure of what vocabulary children need to know, understand and be using to communicate their learning. They also provide teachers with the knowledge of the vocabulary that children have already been taught and are confident to use. This vocabulary is included within learning sequences; speak like an expert and sticky knowledge, and is used consistently by all adults across school. An example of the front cover and inside of two vocabulary dictionaries can be seen below. The dictionaries for each subject can be found on the school website here under the ‘Curriculum’ tab.

Up-levelling Vocabulary

Children are constantly encouraged to improve their vocabulary, both orally and within their writing. Children are taught three different words or phrases that have the same or similar meaning. Children are then praised for using this new vocabulary correctly when communicating their learning. As you can see from the examples below, children are taught and exposed to 1 star words, 2 star words and 3 star words. Children are encouraged to improve their vocabulary using this scale.

Speak like an Expert

Children ‘speak like an expert’ to retrieve knowledge from the previous lesson, previous term or previous year group. Children understand that this knowledge will help them to acquire new learning. By constantly providing children with opportunities to retrieve their knowledge, it allows their learning to transfer from the short-term memory to the long-term memory. ‘Speak like an expert’ is carefully planned for in all learning sequences, is modelled effectively by all staff and is a consistent approach which is embedded across school from nursery to year 2.

Each subject leader has created a retrieval document highlighting the skills and knowledge that children need to be retrieving in each year group in each term. Teachers then use this to inform the planning of speak like an expert on their learning sequences. Below is an example taken from Year 1 Geography. On the left-hand side is the retrieval document and a section of the learning sequence is underneath.

Sticky Knowledge

‘Sticky knowledge’ is carefully planned for each and every lesson. Subject leaders have carefully planned the sticky knowledge that children need to be taught in each subject, in each year group, in each term. The sticky knowledge contains key vocabulary that children need to be taught, following the progression on the subject vocabulary dictionaries. ‘Sticky knowledge’ is carefully planned for on all learning sequences, is modelled effectively by all staff and is a consistent approach which is embedded across school from nursery to year 2.

Below is an example. On the left-hand side, you can see the Geography critical learning pathway, planned for by the subject leader, containing the sticky knowledge, skills and knowledge which needs to be taught in each year group and in each term. Class teachers then use these documents to plan their learning sequences which are split into individual lessons. On the right-hand side, you can see the sticky knowledge taken from a Geography year 1 learning sequence for the spring term.

Voice 21 and Launchpad for Literacy

Voice 21 is a framework which supports the teaching of oracy from Reception to Year 2. It breaks the key skills down into physical, linguistic, cognitive and social and emotional and provides a clear progression map for the teaching of these skills for children from 4 years old. The framework is useful when teachers are setting specific oracy targets for children and providing them with formative feedback on their use of speaking and listening.

Launchpad for Literacy is a systematic skills-based approach which aims to improve outcomes in the Early Years and beyond. The package includes tools to support teachers and leaders in school to identify and close specific skills gaps with individual children or vulnerable groups, whilst identifying speech, language and other developmental needs as soon as possible. Specific skill-based intervention can then be embedded into practice and Quality First Teaching.

Both Voice 21 and Launchpad for Literacy are used to support the planning and teaching of oracy, including specific speaking and listening skills, across all subject areas.

Picture News

Weekly ‘picture news’ promotes class discussions in school. Children are taught to give their opinions and share their views and ideas. Children are encouraged to listen carefully to the views of their peers and engage in simple debate, disagreeing or agreeing and providing reasons and justifying their responses.

Inclusion

All pupils’ including those who have SEND or are disadvantaged are supported through the use sentence stems, explicit vocabulary teaching and high-quality adult models.

Staff Training

Teachers are trained and highly-skilled in the implementation of oracy; whole-school CPD has prioritised oracy for a number of years. Support staff also receive fortnightly training from subject leaders, with a focus on the teaching of vocabulary and oracy across the curriculum.

Drama

Drama is an integral part of our curriculum and provides opportunities for children to speak for different purposes and in a range of contexts. Drama is central to our English curriculum. Our English curriculum identifies purposeful opportunities for presentational talk so that skills build on what has been taught before and pupils can work towards clearly defined high quality outcomes as they progress through the school.

Assemblies

Assemblies incorporate opportunities for the discussion of ideas; these are further developed in specific oracy assemblies in which pairs and groups of children work together to explore the power of talk.

Performance

Regular opportunities to perform to different audiences are planned for, including: class assemblies, school shows and performance to other classes.

Follow the links below to see examples of children speaking individually to a large audience of parents and children.

Link to Performance 1            Link to Performance 2            Link to Performance 3            Link to Performance 4

Follow the link below to an example of a group of children speaking and performing a story to a large audience of parents and children.

Story Performance

Impact

• Children at Glasshoughton Infant Academy are confident speakers and active listeners; they understand how to use their skills to deepen their learning and communicate their understanding.
• The teachers and support staff at our school have high expectations for oracy and are confident to plan and deliver effective lessons which demonstrate good understanding and opportunities for rich, purposeful talk.
• Children demonstrate a deep understand of words and are able to say, read and write key vocabulary to support their communication of subject knowledge.
• Standards in oracy are high as demonstrated by children’s ability to communicate effectively.