Schools recognised for outstanding oracy

In an increasingly noisy world, it can sometimes be hard to raise our voices above a whisper.

It is hard for all of us but with some children, the challenge is huge.

For many young people, there are language barriers and for others, the skills needed to be strongly articulate are not always present in their lives for a variety of reasons.

Social media can make it feel like there are too many 'voices' and fear of speaking out and saying the wrong thing can also be a real inhibitor.

In our Trust family we value oracy. We know that is is vital.

It is with this background that I am so pleased to announce that this week, two of our schools - St Saviour's and St John and St Francis - have been named as Centres of Excellence by the oracy organisation Voice21.

The two schools are part of a growing network of Oracy Centres of Excellence which achieve national recognition for their oracy practice.

Voice21 are 'on a mission to?transform the learning and life chances?of young people?through talk?so that all children can use their voice for success in school and in life.'?

They say: "Centres of Excellence are leading the way in providing a high-quality oracy education for their students, acting as beacons of good practice for oracy across the school system. They build on their strong foundations of outcomes, expertise and drive to work collaboratively, to reciprocally share expertise and good practice with more colleagues and schools across the country and beyond, in order to benefit a greater number of students and communities."

Voice21 say that oracy matters because:

• On entry to school, disadvantaged children’s spoken language development is significantly lower than their more advantaged peers;
• These gaps grow as children move through school. Students receiving free school meals are twice as likely to be below the expected language standard at age 11, up from 1.6 times at age 5.
• On leaving school, children with poor verbal communication skills are less likely to find employment and more likely to suffer from mental health difficulties.

Tamar from St John and St Francis said: "Being accredited as a 'Centre of Excellence' reflects the hard work of the whole team, our pupils and whole school community. It was perfect timing as today we held our open classes where parents and carers could come in to see oracy in action across the curriculum and then attended a parent and carer workshop focusing on oracy both in the school, the community and in the home.

"It also reflected the work we do to support the diverse community in which we serve with the report stating that: 'The school vision identifies the diverse nature of the school community and understands the importance of explicitly planning meaningful experiences to utilise oracy.'"

Hannah from Voice21 said: "St Saviour's and St John and St Francis are joining a growing network of Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellence, who are leading the way in providing a high-quality oracy education for their students, acting as beacons of good practice for oracy across the school system.

"They now have the opportunity, with the support of Voice 21, to build on their strong foundations. They can also work collaboratively with other Oracy Centres of Excellence to further develop their expertise, sustain best practice and be at the forefront of innovation in oracy education."