Teach Primary Issue 19.6

56 | www.teachwire.net [X child] said... but I disagree because... ”. The lesson allows for pupils to air their thoughts freely, while also being supported by a framework of suggested wording. This setup also allows for discussions to be more balanced, says Madeleine: “When children are sharing their ideas, they will often use language like ‘I agree with so and so’, and ‘I would like to add’, so it’s influenced classrooms beyond the talk rules, to really giving the children more confidence to explore subjects.” But what about children with additional needs, particularly those who may have speech delays, or are speaking English as a second (or third, or fourth) language? Everyone is catered for, explains Bola. “We have a diverse cohort, not only in where the children’s families are from, but in terms of language, and additional needs,” she says. Hand gestures are an important part of the oracy approach, and children include signs, such as putting one fist on top of the other to indicate they want to build on someone else’s point. This, in combination with sign language lessons, gives children another outlet for communication beyond verbal speech. Lots of the class teachers also make use of tokens, which gives pupils who may have trouble saying they want to contribute, a physical object to put on the table when they want to speak in their talk trios. Tokens also help balance the discussions, as once a child has ‘spent’ their token, they’ve had their turn, which prevents groups from relying on one speaker, and allows everyone a chance to say something. Teachers find this benefits all the children, not only those with additional needs. Listen up There is, then, a community feel to the way oracy is used and taught at Rokesly. And that doesn’t stop at the school gates. Madeleine, in particular, has been working towards building connections with the children’s families. “One thing I’ve been focusing on this year is building that link between school and home,” Madeleine explains. “I introduced oracy homework, so every two weeks, the children are given a discussion statement. For example, ‘Playing a game is only fun if you win’ . Children are then asked to discuss this statement with their families, and report on what opinions were shared.” The same discussion statement is used across the school, so that families with more than one sibling at Rokesly can have just the one discussion, says Madeleine. Children are also encouraged to share their report in whatever format they choose – it could be a written explanation, a picture, or even a recording – and they can do so in their mother tongue, whether that’s English or another language. This has really helped to bring the school community together, says Madeleine, and is the perfect opportunity to put into practice the idea that all points of view, and all voices (including different accents and languages) should be respected. This whole movement – the communication skills, confidence building, and community links – represents the kind of education that Bola and her team want to keep evolving. “The world has changed so much; what we teach children today is completely different from what was needed 30 or 50 years ago,” Bola says. It’s comforting to hear that, although so many of today’s young people are burdened by worries about the future of the planet, and even supposed basics such as food security, Rokesly aims to make sure that all its children can speak up for themselves, respect others, and maintain a curiosity about the world. Bola’s own words sum it up beautifully: “Our job is hope”. And what a job they’re doing. TP “Oracy helps with all subjects. It helps with writing, obviously, but also with things like vocabulary and reasoning skills in maths. The children are now able to explain how they came to a particular answer more thoroughly and accurately, and it stretches pupils of all abilities.” “The oracy approach has really helped the children be more confident. I’ve noticed that they can then transfer their verbal skills into writing, too, and use the sentence stems to become more sure of themselves when expressing what they think. It’s wonderful to see, and it really opens up discussions in the classroom.” “We really encourage the children to share any worries they may have, and to use different strategies to deal with them, depending on what works for each individual. We don’t want to shy away from difficult conversations, but instead make sure that there’s space to talk it out.” Meet the staff CHAWAHIR YUSUF, Y6 TEACHER JOANNA NEILSON, INCLUSION MANAGER MADELEINE CLINTON, Y3 TEACHER AND ORACY LEAD