Oracy

Oracy curriculum statement

“Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest failures by not talking”- Stephan Hawking

At the Woolenwick schools, we want to enable and empower children to express their opinions and foster high aspirations whilst also improving their self-esteem. We believe in developing confidence and strongly promote our belief that every voice has power. Through the integration of Oracy into our school culture, we will develop resilient, articulate individuals ready for the wider world.

Our school culture values talk, listening, and respectful dialogue and we ensure that every child understands that their voice has power and that their contributions matter. We explicitly teach and embed oracy across the curriculum, providing meaningful opportunities for discussion, debate, collaboration, and presentation. Children are exposed to different types of talk and different ways in which to communicate and express their views.

As we continue our oracy journey with Voice21, we are passionate about ensuring that oracy becomes the heart of our curriculum and a natural part of everyday teaching and learning. We are committed to creating a learning environment where purposeful talk is valued across all subjects and where children are encouraged to think deeply, communicate clearly, and engage respectfully with others.

To support this vision, we have introduced subject-specific sentence stems to help children articulate their thinking with precision and confidence. These are confidently used by both staff and children, and as such, helps deepen children’s understanding and enhance their communication skills. Discussion guidelines are also used which promotes respectful and purposeful dialogue. We are passionate about ensuring that oracy skills are taught explicitly to children.

Children also take part in oracy assemblies which celebrates and develop speaking and listening skills. Each week, there is a range of foci such as art, prominent people in history and real-life events happening in the world.

Our approaches provide a consistent framework for high-quality talk across our schools, enabling children to build on the ideas of others, challenge thinking appropriately, and communicate effectively in a range of contexts.

By nurturing confident communicators and active listeners, we develop resilient, articulate, and reflective individuals who are prepared to engage positively with their communities and succeed in the wider world.

Our aim is for every child to leave Woolenwick equipped with the confidence, language, and communication skills needed to thrive academically, socially, and beyond.

Every voice matters.

Every voice has power.

Every child deserves the opportunity to be heard.