Page 7 - The East Sussex Way

on their learning and future life chances’ (OUP, 2020), the report
emphasises the widening attainment gap in the context of Covid-19.

Strengthening links between local primary and secondary schools

should help to close the gap in vocabulary and raise curriculum
expectations during transition, a time when pupils need to build
friendships and articulate to adults when they are feeling vulnerable

or uncertain. When young people struggle to express themselves
effectively and eloquently, this can have a negative impact on their
‘mental health, their conÞ dence, their social skills, their ability to form
relationships and engage in even very basic conversation’ (OUP,
2021).

For all these reasons, oracy is a vital tool which teachers must use
to bridge the gap between primary and secondary language skills.

Schools should therefore place oracy at the heart of their efforts to
ensure a smooth transition, in order to support pupils emotionally
during this key moment in their lives.

‘Reading and writing ß oat on a sea of talk.’ (Alexander, 2020)

Effective oracy education involves pupils learning through talk,
allowing them to deepen their understanding through dialogue

with their teachers and peers (Alexander, 2020). Oracy is the ability
to speak eloquently, to articulate ideas and thoughts, to inß uence
through talking, to collaborate with peers and to express views
conÞ dently and appropriately, as well as using talk to show sensitivity
and respect to the views and ideas of others. It allows pupils to

develop fundamental, life-long skills, including the ability to articulate
ideas and thoughts, to inß uence, to collaborate and to express views
conÞ dently and appropriately (APPG, 2021).

There are two strands to oracy education:
1. Learning to talk.
2. Learning through talk.

Learning to talk is the ‘development and application of a set of skills
associated with effective communication’ (Menzies, 2016). Mercer
adds that ‘oracy represents the set of talk skills that pupils should

develop… and sums up that teachable set of competencies to
do with spoken language’ (Mercer, 2016). It is clear that explicitly
teaching the skills of speaking and listening should be included in the
curriculum at every key stage. 2