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The 4 best places to learn about oracy

/ Oracy / By
Child Speaking for Oracy
Picture of Sophy Moore

Sophy Moore

Introduction to oracy

 

When we talk about oracy concerning children and their learning, in the most simplistic terms, we are talking about a student’s ability to speak and to listen. We are talking about a child’s ability to articulate their thoughts and ideas and the ability to understand what is being said to them. What is considered ‘good’ oracy skills for a 4-year-old are not the same as what is expected from a 10-year-old or a 15-year-old. 

Focusing on oracy and developing a child’s oracy skills is now very much popular again. In her opening speech to the DFE earlier this month, the new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, further iterated Labour’s point that ‘expanding speech and language support is part of the new government’s mission. (TES Reporter, 2024). 

 

Do all children have oracy needs?

 

Children’s speech and language abilities when starting school vary massively. Some children come into school with basics, the ability to hear and understand simple requests and the ability to answer with one word. Some can follow more complicated requests or instructions and answer in full sentences. Children develop at different rates, but www.speechandlanguage.org.uk sets out how children aged 4-5 typically develop their talk and understanding. This is a helpful reference for parents or educators who may have concerns about the speech and language of a child and whether a referral to a service such as speech therapy may be warranted. 

 

Can we just use an oracy intervention?

 

There are already several interventions out there to support children with their oracy. One oracy intervention – called NELI – is reported to have a positive impact of up to 4 months of progress in speech and language in those children who take part (EEF, 2023). However, as is often the case with interventions, this takes up a large amount of adult time. Schools often need their teaching assistants to run the intervention, and this is not always sustainable. Not all schools can dedicate the hours needed for the intervention to be effective. Furthermore, the impact of the intervention, (based on personal experience as a SENCo), will also be dependent on the level of experience and knowledge of the adult running the intervention. But developing oracy is not just about an intervention.

 

Why is oracy important?

 

The new Labour government has said they want to raise the importance of speaking skills, recognising that lacking this skill is ‘one of the biggest barriers to opportunity (Labour, 2023). Teachers have always known that a pupil’s ability to speak and listen impacts their lives in school. A study by the DFE (2015), notes that one in four children who struggled with language at age five did not reach the expected standard in English at the end of primary school compared with one in 25 children who had good language skills at age five.  I have seen first-hand how it impacts not just academic learning and gaining knowledge and skills, but also their play, their relationships with peers and their mental health. According to Voice 21, ‘On leaving school, children with poor verbal communication skills are less likely to find employment and more likely to suffer from mental health difficulties.’  

So, if the government are explicitly placing more importance on this aspect at a national level, that is surely great? Let’s hope it doesn’t come with a whole host of new assessments that teachers are required to implement to ‘prove’ the progress their students are making.

It will also be interesting to see how much support and training is given, especially to teachers newer to their careers, in developing their knowledge and skills to develop oracy. Teachers are not (usually) speech and language therapists. While good teaching and learning always includes speaking and listening in some form, unless the expectations from the government are clear, this could be interpreted in multiple ways. Teachers are already working with students from a range of diverse backgrounds, often with very different life experiences and language exposure. Additionally, many students come with pre-existing communication and language difficulties, diagnosed or not. The expectations already placed on teachers are so high, so where can they find out more? 

 

Where can I learn about oracy?

 

So where can teachers learn more about oracy?

The first place to learn more about Oracy would be to follow this Vibbl blog where we will post lots of articles on the topic. However, there are also lots of other sites which are incredibly helpful. Below I summarise four sites that I find to be particularly useful for teachers wanting to read more about oracy, find free resources to promote oracy in the classroom and look at some assessment tools for oracy.

 

1. Voice 21   www.voice21.org  

 

Voice 21, an oracy education charity, is dedicated to promoting oracy in education. Their website provides a wealth of resources for teachers, including research, tools, and strategies to implement oracy in the classroom. Their mission statement reads: ‘We work with schools to transform the life chances of young people through talk. We campaign for oracy to have a higher status in the education system. (Voice 21, 2024). Voice 21 offers The Oracy Framework | Voice 21, which outlines key skills in four areas: physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social & emotional. This framework can be an invaluable tool for teachers to plan and assess oracy activities in their classrooms.

 

2. Speechandlanguage.org          www.speechandlanguage.org.uk

 

This website, aimed at parents and educators, has free resources to help with understanding speech, language and communication milestones. It includes how to get support and even some simple ways you can help your child at home. This site also has information on their intervention, Early Talk Boost for 3-4-year-olds, currently being funded by the EEF. Whilst this project’s report by the EEF is not yet published (it is due this year), it has other interventions, such as Talk Boost KS1 which you can read more about here Talk Boost Interim Report (I CAN & The University of York, 2012). 

 

3. Oracy Cambridge                      oracycambridge.org

 

Oracy Cambridge aims to raise awareness of effective spoken communication and how it can be taught. They provide evidence-based professional development for educators, host events on oracy in various settings, and share research to influence educational policy. Their site offers child-friendly support materials for developing and assessing oracy, such as Pupil Talk Prompts, Traffic Light Pebbles and Discussion Guidelines. They also offer ‘talk audits’ for schools. Look at Oracy Cambridge to find out more about categorising oracy skills into four main categories: Physical, Linguistic, Cognitive and Social and Emotional. They have an easy-to-read framework here The Oracy Skills Framework and Glossary. 




4. The National Literacy Trust        literacytrust.org.uk

 

The National Literacy Trust is ‘an independent charity that empowers children, young people, and adults with the literacy skills they need to succeed’. Here you can find resources and tools for early language development and parental engagement. This site also has CPD and training courses for educators. 

 

There are many more resources and places to learn more about oracy, teaching pupils speaking and listening skills out there. These are those that I feel are the most relevant for teachers and those wanting to learn more about oracy and how to develop oracy in pupils.

 

References 

 

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