Every Voice Heard. Every Mind Growing.

At Springwood Federation we are working hard to provide a high-quality oracy education. With oracy encouraging our use of talk, we are committed to building and embedding a culture of oracy. Purposeful talk is used to drive forward learning, through talk in the classroom, which has been planned, designed, modelled, scaffolded and structured to enable all learners to develop the skills needed to talk effectively and with confidence.

Oracy is the ability to communicate effectively. At Springwood we want every child to find their voice. Our aim is to remove communication barriers and enable students to be confident and effective communicators at the end of primary school. Our aim as a school is to elevate speaking to the same status as reading and writing.

At the heart of good oracy is the dialogic classroom. A classroom rich in talk, where questions are planned, conversations are modelled and scaffolded, and the teacher uses talk skilfully to develop thinking. There are a variety of opportunities for young people to develop confidence in talk and learn how to analyse talk.

Teaching children oracy skills will not only enable them to increase confidence in talk within school but equip them for their future.

At Springwood Federation, our aim for oracy is to enable children to:

• Speak with confidence, clarity and eloquence.

• Recognise the importance of listening and learn to be an active listener.

• Be confident in the value of their own opinions and have the ability to express them.

• Have a bank of vocabulary they are able to use for different purposes.

• Sustain a logical argument, question, reason and respond to others appropriately.

• Be open-minded, to respect the contribution of others and to take account of their views.

• Share their learning in an engaging, informative way through presentations, showcases, drama, poetry and debate.

How we teach Oracy

We teach children both how to talk and how to learn through talk.  Using the Oracy Framework, we develop the physical, linguistic, cognitive and social-emotional skills that underpin successful discussion, inspiring speech and effective communication.

The Oracy Framework

Throughout their seven-year journey at Springwood Federation, pupils engage in a variety of talk groupings and develop year-group-specific talk tactics, ensuring a structured progression in their speaking and listening skills.

Culture of Oracy

Oracy is the lifeblood of our school, fostering high pupil engagement and a strong pupil voice. Whether in assemblies, collective worship, the playground, or the classroom, spoken communication is central to learning and community life.

Assembly and Collective Worship

Oracy is embedded in our assemblies and collective worship, ensuring all children actively participate in discussion. Through talk partners, pupils explore ideas before confidently sharing their thoughts with the wider school community, shaping meaningful whole-school conversations. Children are taught a range of tactics such as how to challenge each other respectfully, how to build on each other's thoughts and what it means to have 'nesting' time. The children will then have a follow-up class assembly where they can practice these skills within their environment.

Lunchtimes 

Lunchtimes provide another valuable opportunity for oracy. Discussion points in the dining hall encourage lively conversations, while talk prompts and sentence stems displayed in the playground help children navigate social interactions and resolve conflicts constructively. 

Oracy South Hub

Springwood Federation attends Oracy South, an oracy hub which provides valuable oracy resources and continual professional development.