Oracy
Our Oracy lead is Mrs McNeice, who works closely with the Early Years lead (Mrs Bamford) and English lead (Charlotte Walters).
Aims
The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.
The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
• Read easily, fluently and with good understanding.
• Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.
• Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.
• Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage.
• Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
• Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas.
• Are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
Foundation Stage Pupils should be taught:
• To listen to stories, appropriately anticipate key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions.
• To demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.
• To answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories/events/experiences.
• To express themselves effectively, whilst showing awareness of listeners’ needs.
Years 1 to 6 Pupils should be taught to:
• Listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers.
• Ask relevant questions to extend their knowledge and understanding.
• Use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary.
• Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions.
• Give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings.
• Maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments.
• Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas.
• Speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English.
• Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play/improvisations and debates.
• Gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s).
• Consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others.
• Select and use appropriate registers for effective communication.
Oracy Skills Framework
The Oracy Skills Framework breaks down what we need to have a successful discussions, meaningful discourses, inspiring speech and effective communication into 4 key areas.
Physical -This skill requires the speaker to think about their body language and the speed, the tone, the volume and pronunciation of their words.
Linguistic - This skill requires the speaker to think about who their audience is and how best to engage with them. They must also think about the vocabulary and grammar they use.
Cognitive - This skill requires the speaker to think carefully about what they will say, how they could say it and questions they will ask to gain information needed.
Social and Emotional - This skill requires the speaker to understand that there are other people to be aware of. Therefore, the need to listen attentively and respond accordingly is important in this skill.
Year | Physical | Linguistic | Cognitive | Social and Emotional |
Nursery | • To speak audibly so they can be heard. • To clap (up to four) syllables in a word.
| • To learn new vocabulary from stories.
| • To begin to develop their ideas. • To begin to ask questions.
| • To begin to take turns to speak when working in a group. • To engage in extended conversations with familiar adults and peers. |
Reception | • To speak audibly so they can be heard and understood • To use gestures to support meaning in play • To begin to make eye-contact with the person/s they are communicating with • Begin to use gestures to support delivery meaning e.g., pointing at something they are discussing | • To use talk in play to practice new vocabulary • To join phrases with words such as ‘if’, ‘because’ ‘so’ ‘could’ ‘but’
| • To use ‘because’ to develop their ideas • To make relevant contributions and asks questions • To describe events that have happened to them in detail
| • To take turns to speak when working in a group |
Year 1 | • Think about the volume of their voice. • To make eye-contact for a longer period of time with the person/s they are communicating with • Continue to use gestures to support delivery e.g., pointing at something they are discussing
| • To use subject specific vocabulary. • To take opportunities to try out new language, even if not always used correctly. • To use sentence stems to link to other’s ideas in group discussion. E.g. ‘I agree with… because …’ ‘Linking to …’ • To use conjunctions to organise and sequence ideas e.g. firstly, secondly, finally. | • To explain their thoughts. • To recognise when they haven’t understood something and asks a question to help with this. • To explain ideas and events clearly in chronological order
| • Listens to others and is willing to change their mind based on what they have heard • To take turns when talking with others |
Year 2 | • To sustain eye-contact with the person/s they are communicating with • Use body language to show active listening and support meaning when listening, e.g., nodding along, facial expressions • To adapt speed and volume of voice when talking.
| • To use sentence stems to signal when they are building on or challenging others’ ideas. • Use new and appropriate vocabulary.
| • To provide reasons for their opinions. • To ask questions to find out more about a subject. • To build on others’ ideas in discussions.
| • To start to develop an awareness of audience e.g. what might interest a certain group. • To be aware of others who have not spoken and to invite them into discussion. • Confident delivery of short pre-prepared material to increase confidence when speaking. |
Year 3 | • Deliberately varies tone of voice in order to convey meaning. E.g. speaking authoritatively during an expert talk or speaking with pathos when telling a sad part of a story. • Considers position and posture when addressing an audience. • To begin to make eye-contact with a larger audience • To deliberately use gesture to support the delivery of ideas e.g. gesturing towards someone if referencing their idea | • To be able to use specialist language and vocabulary to describe their own and others’ talk. • To make precise language choices e.g. instead of describing a cake as ‘nice’ using ‘delectable’. • To use language suitable for the audience.
| • To offer opinions. • To be able to summarise a discussion. • To reach shared agreement in discussions. • To seek information and clarification through questioning.
| • To adapt the content of their speech for a specific audience. • To speak with confidence in front of an audience. |
Year 4 | • To use pauses for effect in presentational talk e.g. when telling an anecdote or telling a joke. • To make eye-contact for a longer period of time with a larger audience • To deliberately use movement and gesture when addressing an audience | • To carefully consider the words and phrasing they use to express their ideas and how this supports the purpose of talk.
| • To be able to give supporting evidence e.g. citing a text, a previous example or a historical event. • To ask probing questions. • To summarise the main points in a few words.
| • To use more natural and subtle prompts for turn taking. • To be able to engage with an audience. • To consider the impact of their words on others when giving feedback. |
Year 5 | • To project their voice to a large audience. • To make gestures become increasingly natural. • To sustain eye-contact with a larger audience • To speak clearly with confidence and expression.
| • To use an increasingly sophisticated range of sentence stems with fluency and accuracy.
| • To be able to draw upon knowledge of the world to support their own point of view and explore different perspectives. • To ask questions to clarify, probe and challenge. • To explain points clearly and build on the thoughts of others. | • To listen for extended periods of time. • To speak with flair and passion. |
Year 6 | • To speak fluently in front of an audience. • To have a stage presence. • Consciously adapt tone, pace and volume of voice within a single situation.
| • To vary sentence structures and length for effect when speaking. • To be comfortable using idiom and expressions.
| • To construct a detailed argument or complex narrative. • To spontaneously respond to increasingly complex questions, citing evidence where appropriate.
| • To use humour effectively. • To be able to read a room or a group and take action accordingly e.g. if everyone looks disengaged, moving on or changing topic • Actively listen and respond appropriately with respect |