Intent

At St James, we recognise the importance of being able to communicate orally and to understand what others are saying. Speaking and listening are necessary basic skills in everyday communication. We speak and listen more than we read and write. At St James, we believe that all pupils should be confident communicators. The curriculum is designed to give pupils the skills to be able to speak clearly to their intended audience; listen with concentration and interest; understand and recall key information after listening to others. Discussion is at the heart of all lessons, and children are systematically taught the skills to ensure that they can articulate their own ideas as well as building upon and challenging the ideas of others. It is essential that all children speak in standard English and therefore, modelling is an integral part of the way we teach. The Talk for Writing approach is used to ensure that children are given strong linguistic structures and a rich vocabulary to draw from when they speak.

Implementation

We teach pupils to use language precisely and coherently. This involves giving pupils opportunities to experience a rich language environment to develop their skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Pupils are given opportunities to participate orally in groups and the whole class:

• Using talk to develop and clarify ideas.

• Identifying the main points to arise from a discussion.

• Pupils are also given opportunities to speak in front of a wider audience, such as during assemblies, class to class, parents and visitors.

• Speak in a variety of forms for different audiences, purposes and situations (both formal and informal).

• Use discussion to learn and develop spoken language and become competent in speaking and listening, both in small group and large group situations.

• Reflect upon their speech and make appropriate choices.

• Develop children’s skills as a priority to support the development of learning English as an additional language.

• Speaking and listening are embedded in all aspects of school life, across the curriculum and are part of everything we do. Children are given the opportunity to talk in-group situations, valuing the contributions of others and responding appropriately.

• Symbols and signing are used to support children’s communication when needed.

Speaking and listening provides the foundation for further language development. A pupil’s spoken language reflects the local culture and heritage of the individual and is therefore crucial to his or her identity and should be valued and built upon. However, pupils are also entitled to gain knowledge, competence and confidence in the use of Standard English, thus empowering them to use whichever is most appropriate to

purpose, audience and situation.