Spoken Language
At Lane End Primary School, we understand that vocabulary is the single biggest indicator of a child’s reading ability. Therefore, Communication & Language forms an important part of our curriculum and vocabulary is also explicitly taught every lesson across the school, reinforcing and recalling new words that relate to the children’s learning. The school places so much importance on the acquisition of vocabulary, that we are part of the Voice 21 initiative for schools.
We are a Voice 21 school and oracy is developed through:
- Sentence stems
- Standard English 'writing voice'
- Vocabulary building
- Helicopter Stories (EYFS)
- Homework Project Presentations
What is Oracy?
Oracy is the capacity to use speech to express your thoughts and communicate with others. It is 'for every child to find their voice, metaphorically and literally.” Peter Hyman, Executive Head, School 21
What is a Voice 21 School?
As a Voice 21 Oracy School we are committed to transforming our school’s teaching, learning and ethos to ensure that all of our children benefit from a high-quality oracy education.
We are part of a network of schools and educators across the UK, open to sharing their best practice and innovation in oracy education. We are working with the Voice 21 charity and their oracy teaching and learning experts to identify and address specific needs and ambitions for oracy both in our classrooms and across the whole school. Here at Lane End Primary School, our Oracy vision is for children to use their voice to reason, to negotiate, present and explore ideas to support their learning across the curriculum.
Now, more than ever, opportunities for children to express themselves, articulate their thoughts and feelings, and feel heard are key to children's successful transition back to school. We know that the ability to communicate through spoken language is one of the strongest predictors of future life chances when children are at school. We know that many children struggle with communication skills, left unaddressed, this will widen the gaps in children's learning. We believe that teaching oracy can change this, not only benefiting children’s spoken language skills, but also their confidence, capacity to learn and success beyond school.
