Our School Journey Developing an Oracy Curriculum.

Catherine Bradley, Principal Teacher of Pedagogy and Oracy lead, Holyhead School, Birmingham

Language and communication have been identified as whole school priorities here at Holyhead School, Birmingham. Inspired by the findings from the Oracy Commission, we have invested time and resources into developing an oracy curriculum. This report outlines our journey and the steps taken to enhance both staff and student development in oracy, with support from Talk The Talk.

To kickstart our oracy journey, we collaborated with Talk The Talk for staff development. Our Talk The Talk trainer, delivered three CPD sessions over a 4 month period. These sessions focused on the importance of oracy and specific activities and tasks to encourage the development of talk activities within lessons. The final session culminated in discussions surrounding disciplinary literacy, emphasising what it means to ‘Talk like a…’ in various subjects.

Talk The Talk also helped establish and facilitate an Oracy Implementation Group, where staff meet to discuss the opportunities and challenges of integrating oracy into the classroom.

Alongside teacher CPD, our Year 7 to Year 10 students were given the opportunity to participate in the Talk About Communication workshops. These workshops aimed to build students’ confidence in communication. Each session concluded with students presenting to their peers, showcasing the skills they had developed throughout the day. To ensure the continuous development of oracy skills, we have focused on the three Vs of oracy— visual, vocal and verbal —during Tutor Time. This approach has helped students to further develop their communication skills even after completing the workshops.

Our commitment to enhancing language and communication skills through the development of an oracy curriculum has shown promising results. The collaboration with Talk The Talk and the implementation of targeted CPD sessions and student workshops have significantly contributed to this progress. We look forward to continuing this journey and further embedding oracy into our school culture.

‘I was totally on board with this workshop, and I thought it was delivered brilliantly. I liked the fact that it was small chunks, getting involved, and how it was delivered. Nicely spoken, clear and to the point with some great thinking to be done by all. I would love to see how this is delivered to our students!’ Teacher, Holyhead School, Birmingham

‘Engaging trainer who provided input and not only made us think but also gave the opportunity to discuss as well.’ Jenny Campbell, Vice Principal, Holyhead School, Birmingham

You can find out more about our Student Workshops here and our Teacher CPD here or get in touch to arrange a meeting with Talk The Talk to discuss your CPD objectives here

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