Speaking and Listening 

At Gurnard, our aim is for all children to be articulate and persuasive in their spoken language. As such, oracy is a central, essential part to our curriculum and  we are committed to using purposeful talk throughout our school to drive forward learning. We do this through talk in the classroom, which has been planned, modelled, scaffolded and structured to enable all learners to develop the skills needed to talk effectively and with confidence in school and in life. Our deliberate and explicit teaching of oracy throughout our curriculum supports our children to make progress in the four strands of oracy (physical, linguistic, cognitive and social & emotional). We know that oracy develops children’s confidence, their ability to make links, their articulacy and their ability to learn. We understand that providing a high-quality oracy education empowers our pupils, regardless of their background, to find their voice which will not only support success in school but also throughout their lives. We aim to encourage fluent speakers, who are confident to communicate, debate and present in a wide range of situations.

What does Oracy look like at Gurnard? 

Our pupils participate in a wide range of oracy activities which help them to develop confidence in

spoken language. Some examples are:

● Partner talk

● Group discussion

● Collaborative work and problem solving

● Debate 

● Role play

● Drama

● Presentations

● Learning songs and rhymes off by heart

There are further opportunities for pupils to develop their oracy skills outside of the curriculum. This is achieved through pupil voice groups, visiting speakers and participation in local events.  Our participation in the Formula one challenge provides opportunities for our pupils to talk and present in front of adults from other industries. Teachers model oracy through our daily story time and we ensure that our children see professional performances at the theatre as regularly as possible as well as opportunities to meet authors who we invite into school.

In Early Years, we incorporate the Development Matters statements and the Early Learning Goals into our planning and teaching, which ensures that our pupils: 

• Use language to imagine and recreate roles and experiences

• Develop active listening and response 

• Interact with others in both indoor and outdoor play 

• Use language to ‘get things done’

• use of dedicated rhyme time regularly singing and learning nursery rhymes. 

• use of dedicated talk time using objects to stimulate discussion and develop vocabulary.

In Key Stage 1 we build on pupils’ prior learning in speaking and listening by: 

• Encouraging pupils to speak according to the context, with consideration for their audience

• Providing the time for pupils to orally rehearse their ideas prior to writing

• Providing opportunities for children to read aloud different text types and their own work to an audience 

• Developing pupils’ ability to use language imaginatively 

• Providing opportunities for children to express their ideas and feelings through drama activities, discussions about books and debates

• Teaching pupils to work effectively and collaboratively in groups and with their talk partners 

• Expecting pupils to join in with discussions and make relevant contributions

• Teaching pupils to listen carefully and actively

• Encouraging children to experiment with new and interesting vocabulary they discover.

In Key Stage 2, we build on pupils’ attainment and speaking and listening experiences in Key Stage 1 by: 

• Developing pupils’ ability to speak in a range of contexts with increasing sense of audience and purpose

• Teaching children to understand and apply the conventions for discussion and debate 

• Providing opportunities for children to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role 

• Providing opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances   

• Providing opportunities for children to prepare their own written work to perform in front of an audience

• Continuing to encourage children to experiment and apply new vocabulary that they discover. 

Support for children’s speech and language:

Children who need support with their speech are identified on joining the school and bespoke support packages are put in place alongside Hampshire’s speech service.