Oracy - Voice 21 Centre of Excellence
We are a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence 2024
We are proud to have been recognised as a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence for our work in developing students' oracy (speaking and listening) skills.
Being accredited as a Voice 21 Centre of Excellence certifies and celebrates that we are leading the way in providing a high-quality oracy education for students and acting as a beacon of good practice for over 1000 schools nationwide.
In Voice 21 Oracy Schools, students learn the oracy skills they need to succeed in school and in life.
Why oracy matters?
By teaching students to become effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.
- Speaking and listening skills are critical foundations for reading and writing.
- Students with better oral language skills are more likely to achieve the highest grades in GCSE Maths and English.
- Young people with good communication skills are less likely to have mental health difficulties.
As a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence, we put oracy at the heart of our teaching and learning across all subject areas, enabling students to develop and deepen their knowledge and understanding through talk in the classroom.
We support our students to become articulate communicators who are able to present themselves confidently across a range of settings and contexts, from group discussions to formal presentations.
In Voice 21 Oracy Schools:
- 89% of students agree/strongly agree that speaking and listening has helped them make progress with their school work.
- 77% of teachers said that oracy had boosted attainment.
- 96% of teachers said that oracy is an essential part of teaching and learning.
Find out more about oracy and Voice 21 here
Our Choral Speaking Assembly
Oracy in the Classroom
The example below is showcased by Voice 21 in their Centre of Excellence application guidance.
What our pupils say about Oracy
As a Voice 21 Oracy School, we aim to promote all forms of communication in our school's community to encourage children to interact and learn through talk. Oracy is embedded across the curriculum and used to unlock new learning and challenge thinking.
Oracy is described as learning through talk whilst learning to talk, and we understand how this can support the learning of all pupils and provide them with the opportunity to articulate their ideas and learn from each other as they explore new topics. We aim to provide pupils with the skills required to become confident speakers, using strongly embedded strategies aimed to support them beyond their school life.
The National Curriculum for English reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development. Oracy is embedded throughout our broad and balanced curriculum and new strategies are explicitly taught to support learning. Questions are carefully planned to ensure that all children can fully participate and there is a shared understanding that everyone’s opinion should be valued.
Some of the activities we use to help develop spoken language are:
- Partner Talk
- Group Discussion
- Debate
- Role Play
- Drama
- Presentation
- Collaborative work and problem-solving
