Oracy

Some solutions
Every other Wednesday at Highbury
Grove School teaching finishes at
2pm, and staff receive two hours of
training. Staff can join a ‘rhetoric and
oracy’ stream that explores the theory
and rationale for oracy-based teaching
methods as well as practical ways in
which teachers of different subjects could
improve their practice. Andrew Fitch
explains:
Vicki Barsby took part in the CPD stream,
and says:
“The idea is that those teachers then go back to their
departments, and during their department training
they will feed in some of that, and over several years
… as teachers don’t do the same stream, we’ll create
enough of a body of teachers who feel at least more
confident to … start trying to lay that foundation”
Andrew Fitch, Head of English and Director for Spoken Literacy, Highbury
Grove School
“What was useful was talking to other staff about
what they do […and hearing about] actual things that
I can physically do in the classroom, …and coming
back together, and talking through how it went”
Vicki Barsby, English teacher, Highbury Grove School
According to Vicki, the training helped teachers learn about talk’s relevance and importance and gave
them a chance to discuss how it could be applied in their classes.
Riz Saleem says training can send a
signal to staff that a school is serious
about supporting a particular approach
to teaching and learning. Opportunities to
share and evaluate ideas with colleagues
are also critical:
“The reason I feel confident is because we have
enough training in school, and we have staff
meetings and all teachers come and share ideas, we
have joint planning sessions…. If we do ever feel that
an activity isn’t working for our own group we always
re-evaluate and ask somebody else for an idea”
Riz Saleem, year 6 class teacher, Eastwood Primary School
Jan Carrier explains that even where teachers do not receive ‘formal’ training, the school expects its
more experienced teachers to plan with less experienced staff as part of their development.
School 21 believes that staff should not have to sit through training unless it is of a quality comparable
to what it would offer its pupils. In addition to receiving two hours of training each week, the school uses
experiential CPD to encourage the spread of ideas and skills. Amy Gaunt and Peter Hyman both explain
assemblies are a good opportunity for staff and pupils alike to model great oracy. Assemblies help
reinforce a school culture that values and encourages active talking and listening, but also provide
an opportunity for staff to see how other teachers develop oracy.
Subject relevance
A number of interviewees argue that achieving consistency of approach across subjects can be a
challenge to effective practice, particularly at secondary and FE level.
“[Staff] know that it ought to be a priority…. They’ve heard me talking
endlessly about all this, and therefore I think they would know that it’s
important, but the reality is that I don’t see [it] as much as I ought to”
Geoff Barton, Headteacher, King Edward VI School
This is partly because of the differences between subjects. Interviewees feel that some teachers do not
believe oracy is relevant or important in their subject, and some do not believe it is an effective way to
teach. As one English teacher put it, “I know individual teachers who just make it difficult, who say, ‘you
can’t do that in science’.”
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