At Longvernal, as a Voice 21 school, we view oracy as a powerful tool for learning, underpinning our whole curriculum; by teaching children to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them. It is also a route to social mobility, empowering all children to find their voice to succeed in school and life. Speaking and listening underpin all activities across the day. Class discussions, story time sessions, circle time, PSHE lessons and 'talk partners' are all opportunities for pupils to build talking and listening skills. Whole class guided reading sessions take place, giving many opportunities for pupils to listen, build vocabulary and talk about texts. Where teachers have concerns regarding a child's speech and language skills, intervention groups or 1:1 sessions are timetabled and a referral to an external agency made, if necessary. Teachers use 'talk partners' to encourage listening behaviours and routines for talking and sharing ideas. Our teachers ensure that there is a secure progression across the school by consulting the Oracy Progression Map.
Click here to see our Oracy progression document
Throughout the year, we celebrate our incredible learning through several Oracy Showcases, where parents, carers and the community are invited to see and hear what we have achieved.
STEM Week
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. During STEM Week, adults from our community visited the school to speak with our children about their exciting careers rooted in STEM subjects. Children then designed and presented science experiments for the whole school and wider community to enjoy. They learned how to articulate scientific ideas clearly and how to instigate meaningful discussions around their projects.
Book Week
Book Week was a celebration of stories, imagination and spoken language. Throughout the week, children explored books in creative and collaborative ways. They crafted character puppets, built imaginative dioramas inside shoeboxes and wrote thoughtful book reviews. Using presentational talk, children shared their opinions and insights with clarity and confidence, while exploratory talk allowed them to build on each other’s ideas in group discussions.
Our Oracy Showcases during Book Week welcomed families, carers and governors into the school. Guests listened as pupils delivered book talks, explained their creative projects and discussed their reading choices with fluency and purpose. It was a joyful demonstration of reading, speaking and listening in action.
Our weekly Oracy Assemblies are an important part of school life, supporting our commitment to developing confident, articulate learners. These assemblies are delivered in phase groups and are carefully structured around the Oracy Framework to build students’ speaking and listening skills while promoting critical thinking.
Each assembly models high-quality oracy by establishing clear expectations for talk, including respectful communication, active listening and purposeful discussion. Protocols such as grouping strategies and a focus on specific Talk Tactics help pupils understand how to engage effectively. Our shared Discussion Guidelines, introduced at the start of the programme, are regularly revisited to ensure consistency and clarity.
Pupils take an active role in these sessions, with Talk Detectives providing peer feedback and celebrating effective use of oracy skills. This reflective element helps children recognise their strengths and identify areas for improvement in their communication.
Oracy Assemblies have also contributed to staff development by offering opportunities to observe and learn from effective oracy practice. They have become a valuable platform for sharing ideas and showcasing high-quality questioning and facilitation across the school.
By placing oracy at the heart of our assemblies, we are strengthening our school culture and empowering all pupils to find and use their voice with confidence.