Oracy

Some solutions
Riz Saleem is a year 6 teacher at Eastwood
Primary School. She says that when she
began using talk-based activities in her
lessons she felt anxious about not having
anything to show for them:
“When I started using talk, I thought, ‘the children
aren’t writing anything down…. I’ve done a talk
activity all lesson, what do I place in their books
as evidence?’”
Riz Saleem, year 6 class teacher
She was also concerned that this would mean the pupils
would “think they’re not working when they’re talking.”
Riz says three things helped her move beyond this:
• A supportive school ethos that values and endorses talking in lessons
• Gathering different forms of evidence from video footage, photographs, and diary logs
• Setting ground rules for talk with her pupils, and explaining why talk-based activities are important
Interviewees all feel that, ultimately,
embedding oracy is about mindset. School
leaders should be vocal and consistent
in their support of oracy in order to give
classroom teachers the confidence to
move it up their agenda. Amy Gaunt, a
class teacher at School 21, suggests:
“I think a lot of it is about a mentality shift [so that]
it’s seen that it’s not an addition to the curriculum,
it’s how you deliver the curriculum”
Amy Gaunt, Head of Oracy Primary, School 21
Lack of confidence and expertise
Despite emphasising oracy’s importance in supporting pupils’ development in a range of areas and even
though they report frequently using strategies to support oracy, over half of all teachers (57%) say they
have not received any training in oracy in the last three years (n=906). Furthermore, more than half (53%)
would not know where to go if they needed information about oracy. This is a particular problem for
secondary teachers, who are significantly less likely to know where to go for further information about
oracy than their primary or FE counterparts.
Secondary and FE teachers are significantly more likely to say they have not received any training in the
last three years. Again, this may be linked to subject specialism given that 68% of maths teachers and
71% of science teachers said they have not received any training in oracy over the last three years.
“My school has not provided or arranged any training for me on oracy in the last 3 years”
45% 42% 61% 65%
Early Years 29 Primary 251 Secondary 409 FE 89
Worryingly, fewer than half of teachers consider themselves ‘very confident’ when it comes to:
• Explaining the technicalities of language to pupils • Creating an environment in their classrooms
in which oracy is valued
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