'The most powerful tool we have is our voice.' Barack Obama

Oracy

At St Patrick's we believe that spoken language is the foundation of learning. Oracy is the ability to speak clearly, listen carefully, and communicate ideas confidently. Developing strong Oracy skills helps children to express their thoughts, build understanding, and engage positively with others.

We place great importance on creating opportunities for pupils to talk, discuss, and present their ideas across the curriculum. Through activities such as partner talk, group discussions, storytelling, debates, and presentations, children learn how to explain their thinking, ask questions, and listen respectfully to different viewpoints.  Developing oracy also supports the growth of pupils’ vocabulary. At St Patrick's, teachers  model ambitious language and explicitly teach subject-specific vocabulary so that pupils can confidently explain their ideas and deepen their understanding of the curriculum.

Oracy supports all areas of learning. When pupils talk about their ideas, they deepen their understanding, strengthen their vocabulary, and develop confidence. These skills also help children become effective readers and writers.

Our aim is for every child to become a confident communicator who can share their ideas clearly, listen thoughtfully, and participate actively in learning both inside and outside the classroom.

Oracy Rules 

Our  staff and children have worked together to create a set of Oracy rules, these rules are inclusive to all of our children and are displayed around school and referred to frequently. 

Oracy Framework 

Here at St Patrick's, our school promotes our Oracy skills, drawing on approaches such as those developed by Voice 21. The Oracy Framework ( developed by Voice21) is a simple way to understand what good speaking and listening looks like. It breaks Oracy into 4 key strands; Physical, Linguistic, Cognitive and Social and Emotional. 

Oracy Progression 

Parents' Guide to Oracy 

Makaton 

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation of language and expression. Here, at St Patrick's we have staff trained in using, and teaching Makaton, to support our children with communication.