Being Orators
Voice 21!
This year, we are happy to be continuing our work with Voice 21, the national oracy charity. We will be working together to improve students' speaking, listening and communication skills in lessons and across subjects.
We are delighted to be a part of this incredible charity, working closely with them to ensure that all of our children here at St Stephen's are able to articulate their ideas and opinions in a safe space.
'Oracy education' means learning to speak, listen and communicate, and also to learn through speaking listening and communicating. These skills are important for many reasons. They help improve school outcomes, including reading, writing and maths. Oracy can also boost confidence and help young people find and succeed in work.
Voice 21 works with over 1100 schools across the country. In Voice 21 Oracy skills, you will hear students solving problems collaboratively in maths and dissecting arguments in history, talking through conflicts in the playground and being part of oracy assemblies. We will be working with their expert team to develop a high-quality oracy education across our school life, including our culture, curriculum, and teaching and learning.
Oracy at SSJS!
At St Stephen's Junior School, we believe that every child deserves the chance to develop a confidence in articulating their ideas. As we are 'learning to change the world', it is important to us that our children are given a voice to share their thoughts and opinions about the world they live in and how they would like to see a better future. Therefore, developing their oracy skills is crucial in giving them the tools they need to do this effectively.
Oracy plays a crucial role in the development of vocabulary and building positive relations among children. The ability to effectively express themselves orally, allowing children to expand their vocabulary by actively engaging in conversations, listening to others, and learning new words and expressions. Through oral communication, children can practice using a wide range of words and phrases, thereby enriching their language skills.
In addition, Oracy contributes to the development of positive relationships. When children can confidently express themselves, they are able to resolve conflicts with others as well as being able to share and explain their feelings and what this means to them. By doing this, children are able to build relationships based around mutual respect for each other.
The Oracy Framework
Talk Tactics
Oracy Open Classrooms.
At the end of each term, parents/carers are invited in to our classrooms to look at our children's fantastic pieces of work. To showcase our brilliant oracy skills, the children prepare in advance to present one piece of work to their adults, talking about what they enjoyed about this piece of work, their favourite part and something they would improve if they were to do it again. Once the children have had a chance to present this to their adults, we encourage the adults to ask further questions.
