In Berkeley Primary School, we see oracy development as a priority.  We want our children to become confident and competent communicators and to be able to use these skills in all areas of the curriculum.  Children will become 'future ready' by learning to express and articulate their own views, as well as listen sensitively and respectfully to the views of others.  We want our children to be able to make a positive contribution to both the local and global community.  'Every child at Berkeley Primary will find their voice. 

We began working with Voice 21 in September 2022 to build a whole school culture which values and celebrates our childrens' voices.  We have leadership for oracy within the school, developing and implementing best practice and supporting our children to learn 'to talk and through talk'. 

We have mapped oracy progression across all year groups and planned specific opportunities within science, history and geography.  We have embedded sentence stems in our planning across the curriculum to help scaffold class discussions whilst ensuring that children of all abilities can access their learning.  This is also impacting on children's writing, because children are applying the sentence stems within their writing and using their extended vocabulary. 

This year we have introduced 'Oracy Assemblies' and 'Oracy Lunchtimes'.  We discuss, question, collaborate and engage each other on various topics.  We have a whole school oracy culture.  We are well on our way to becoming a 'Voice 21 Centre of Oracy Excellence'.

Details of our plans can be found below.