Filton Hill School

Oracy

The Importance of Oracy

Oracy is the ability to communicate effectively. At Filton Hill we recognise that strong oracy skills enable a child to think more deeply and question the world around them. Being able to communicate eloquently, drawing from a wide range of appropriate vocabulary is essential for employment in our pupil’s future.

At Filton Hill we believe oracy should be taught explicitly but children should also have opportunities to apply their skills across all areas of the curriculum. Staff are encouraged to create a dialogic classroom where high quality conversation is taught and celebrated using a range of strategies such as:

  • ‘Number talk’
  • ‘Answer, Prove it, Explain’
  • Sentence stems to support pupils to build or challenge each other’s responses.
  • Vocabulary development using Word Aware © 2020 Thinking Talking  and Vocabulary Ninja Andrew Jennings
  • Habits of Discussion from Teach like a Champion by Doug Lemov

Our curious curriculum promotes the development of oracy further where pupils build knowledge, expertise and specific tier 3 vocabulary to enable them to answer a range of enquiry questions. Pupils across all year groups are expected to present their own ideas and hold exhibitions of their own learning. Within our cultivated curriculum, pupils also participate in regular performances which provide further opportunities to develop confidence in oracy: learning how to project their voice and use intonation appropriately. Olympus follows the oracy framework from Voice 21 copyright school21.