Page 6 - The East Sussex Way

Section One: Oracy at the Point of Transition

Language and the ability to communicate reasoned, articulate
ideas is an invaluable, life-long skill. In schools, speech and
communication sit at the heart of classroom practice with oracy
being fundamental to learning, at any age and across the
curriculum.

Putting oracy Þ rst in The East Sussex Way emphasises the importance
of talk as a means of learning in all subjects, and its role in bridging

the gap in oracy skills between primary and secondary transition. We
aim to:
• Convince teachers of all phases and all subjects of the moral
imperative to teach oracy.
• Empower teachers to take risks, in order to develop good
classroom practice in oracy.
• Persuade school leaders to commit the time and resources
needed for robust oracy education, especially at the point of
transition.
• Suggest tried-and-tested teaching strategies which
encourage peer-to-peer exploratory talk and will support

effective transition from primary to secondary.

The most recent comprehensive report on oracy, Speak for Change
(APPG, 2021) alongside other signiÞ cant research, for example by the
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Oxford University Press
(OUP) shows there is a signiÞ cant need to raise the status of oracy
and spoken communication skills in schools.

‘Pupils are being pushed far out of their comfort zone academically.’

(OUP, 2020)

The Oxford Language Report 2020 highlights the immense language
and vocabulary challenge pupils face when they transition from
primary to secondary school:

‘In an average day at secondary school, pupils are exposed to three
or four times as much language as at primary school, purely in terms
of quantity.’ (OUP, 2020)

The report also explores the ‘changing demands on pupils’ use

and understanding’ of vocabulary and language as they make
this transition. Pupils who struggle with language at primary face
an ‘even bigger challenge when they meet a more academic
curriculum and a more academic discourse at secondary’ (OUP,
1 2021). Highlighting the ‘negative impact of a widening word gap