1. Debating

2. General knowledge

3. Critical thinking

4. Latin for beginners

5. Biz kids

6. Cooking through literacy

7. Research projects

8. Lego design challenges

9. Literary Society

10. Hour of code

During our coding enrichment, students create animated stories and interactive experiences while learning essential programming concepts with Scratch, such as developing their logic skills; improving their understanding of algorithms and learning how to debug their code. This drag-and-drop, creative environment developed by MIT uses sprites and code blocks to set a foundation of computational thinking. In addition as part of their gaming project, students managed to recreate popular games from the 1980s such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders. Although this is a challenging activity, many students thrive on this challenge and thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Read more: 7 ideas to enrich your curriculum for more able learners

Sign in to our members' area to access resources to support the review of your school's enrichment offer, enrichment activity planning and impact review.

Not yet a NACE member? Join our mailing list for free updates and access to our free sample resources.

Why make oracy part of every lesson?

1. Balloon debate

2. Draw a line

3. Where do you stand?

4. Talking bursts

5. Praise and feedback

Finally, make time for praise and feedback – both during oracy activities and as part of general class discussions. Invite comments on how speeches could be improved in future, and recognise and celebrate learners when they make good arguments or use appropriate vocabulary.

Natasha Goodfellow is Consultant Editor at the English-Speaking Union where she oversees the publication of the charity’s magazine, Dialogue, and content on its website. She has worked as an English teacher abroad and is now a writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Week Junior.

NACE is proud to partner with the English-Speaking Union (ESU), an educational charity working to ensure young people have the speaking and listening skills and cultural understanding they need to thrive. The ESU’s Discover Debating programme, a sustainable programme designed to improve listening and speaking skills and self-confidence in Years 5 and 6, is now open for applications, with large subsidies available for schools with high levels of FSM and EAL. To find out more and get involved, visit www.esu.org/discover-debating

Read more:

• 5 reasons to teach oracy skills in your classroom
• 7 strategies to develop oracy skills for all learners
  

Plus: for more oracy-based challenges to use in your classroom, watch our webinar on this topic (member login required).

Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.

“Character” may be the latest buzzword in education – but it’s long been at the core of the NACE Challenge Framework, as NACE Challenge Award Adviser Elaine Ricks-Neal explains…

Increasingly schools are focusing on the development of “character” and learning dispositions as performance outcomes. Ofsted is also making it clear that it will look more at how well schools are developing resilient, well-rounded, confident young learners who will flourish in society.

The best schools, irrespective of setting, have always known the importance of this. And this focus on character has long been at the heart of the NACE Challenge Framework – a tool for school self-review and improvement which focuses on provision for more able learners, as part of a wider programme of sustainable school improvement and challenge for all.

Here are 10 key ways in which the Framework supports the development of school-wide approaches, mindsets and skills for effective character education:

1. “Can-do” culture

The NACE Challenge Framework embeds a school-wide “You can do it” culture of high expectations for all learners, engendering confidence and self-belief – prerequisites for learning.

2. Raising aspirations

The Framework challenges schools to raise aspirations for what all learners could achieve in life, irrespective of background. This is especially significant in schools where learners may not be exposed to high levels of ambition among parents/carers.

3. Curriculum of opportunity

Alongside a rich curriculum offer, the Framework asks schools to consider their enrichment and extracurricular programmes – ensuring that all learners have opportunities to develop a wide range of abilities, talents and skills, to develop cultural capital, and to access the best that has been thought and said.

4. Challenge for all

At the heart of the Framework is the goal of teachers understanding the learning needs of all pupils, including the most able; planning demanding, motivating work; and ensuring that all learners have planned opportunities to take risks and experience the challenge of going beyond their capabilities.

5. Aspirational targets

To ensure all learners are stretched and challenged, the Framework promotes the setting of highly aspirational targets for the most able, based on their starting points.

6. Developing young leaders

As part of its focus on nurturing student voice and independent learning skills, the Framework seeks to ensure that more able learners have opportunities to take on leadership roles and to make a positive contribution to the school and community.

7. Ownership of learning

The Framework encourages able learners to articulate their views on their learning experience in a mature and responsible way, and to manage and take ownership of their learning development.

8. Removing barriers

The Framework has a significant focus on underachievement and on targeting vulnerable groups of learners, setting out criteria for the identification of those who may have the potential to shine but have barriers in the way which need to be recognised and addressed individually.

9. Mentoring and support

Founded on the belief that more able and exceptionally able learners are as much in need of targeted support as any other group, the Framework demands that schools recognise and respond to their social and emotional and learning needs in a planned programme of mentoring and support.

10. Developing intrinsic motivation

Beyond recognising individual talents, the Framework promotes the celebration of success and hard work, ensuring that learners feel valued and supported to develop intrinsic motivation and the desire to be “the best they can.”

Find out more… To find out more about the NACE Challenge Development Programme and how it could support your school, click here or get in touch.

Gail Roberts is the More Able and Talented Coordinator at Challenge Award-accredited Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, and a Golden Ambassador for Parliament. In this blog post, she shares seven simple steps to transform your classroom into a heated debating hall…
 
In 2017 I had the privilege of spending four days in Parliament as part of an education programme for teachers. This really opened my eyes to how important it is for our young people to fully understand our democratic system, issues in the UK and wider world – and to develop the confidence and skills to articulate their opinions and critically analyse what is being said to them.

These are skills we shouldn't take for granted. As Alan Howe points out in this recent contribution to the Oracy Cambridge website, somewhere between 25% and 60% of adults (depending on which survey you consult) say they have a fear of public speaking – putting this above visits to the dentist and even death in our list of terrifying prospects. This anxiety, Howe argues, is avoidable – and is likely to be "directly related to the way that experience of  ‘public speech’ is limited earlier in our lives by what happens in classrooms."
 
Of course, there's more to public speaking or debating than simply having the confidence to speak in front of others. Developing debating skills brings a broad range of benefits for all young people, including more able learners – including increased confidence and self-esteem; expanded vocabulary choices; strengthened skills in standard English and message delivery; the confidence to form and voice opinions (and to change their mind!); active listening skills; ability to build on others’ ideas and to articulate arguments effectively; and an awareness of social etiquette and behaviour for respectful and thoughtful exchange.
 
These skills can be extended to enrich and develop learning across all areas of learning, as well as providing key life skills – the confidence and ability to speak in front of a range of audiences; to form decisions independently rather than “following the crowd”; to recognise and analyse bias; to “read around” a subject and research thoroughly on both sides; and to engage in discussions when faced with those holding opposing views.
 
Keen to get your learners debating? Here are seven steps to get started…

1. Log on to Parliament TV 

To get started, choose a live or recorded debate to watch online via the House of Commons or National Assembly for Wales websites. Discuss the language used, the conduct of the speaker, standard forms of address and body language.  

2. Choose a controversial topic 

Challenge learners to choose a topic of debate that will fuel discussion. Spilt the class into “for” and “against”. Give them time to discuss the reasons for their views within each group.

3. Clarify key points 

Padlet is a free online platform which I’ve found useful at this stage in the process. Challenge learners to present their views in a few convincing sentences using a range of oracy techniques for impact – for example, rhetorical questions and direct appeals to listeners. Post these statements onto your Padlet wall for the whole class (and any other invited audiences) to view.  

4. Evaluate  

Invite learners to critically evaluate the posted views, and to think of responses to the views put forward by the opposition.

5. Record, listen, improve

Using the audio setting in Padlet, learners can record their statements, listen back and make improvements. This gives them time to ensure intonation, expression, silence and tone are used effectively, before they enter the debating zone.

6. Commence the debate 

Set up your classroom so the two groups are facing one another. Position yourself centrally to chair the debate – once learners are familiar with the process, they can take it in turns to be Chair. Establish the ground rules. Anyone who has something to say, stands. The Chair then invites him/her to speak. The rest of the class sit and listen. Once the speaker has sat down again, repeat. It is best when the pace is kept fast. Encourage learners to address the opposition rather than face the Chair, and to speak and respond without using or making notes – the preparation stages should mean they have a good foundation of ideas and persuasive techniques to draw on.

7. Reflect and relate

At the end of the debate ask if anyone has changed their opinion. Allow learners to swap sides. Discuss who or what persuaded them to change their mind, and how/why. Discuss how these examples and strategies relate to real-life situations such as politics or advertising.
 
Gail Roberts is the MAT Coordinator, Maths Coordinator and Year 5 teacher at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School in Monmouthshire. She has worked in education since 1980, starting out as an NNEB with children with severe difficulties in basic life skills, and gaining her NPQH in 2007. Llanfoist Fawr gained the NACE Challenge Award in 2017, in recognition of school-wide commitment to high-quality provision for MAT learners within a context of challenge for all.

Gail Roberts, More Able and Talented (MAT) Coordinator at Challenge Award-accredited Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, was selected as the winner of our “challenge pledge” competition at the NACE Cymru Conference 2018 for her commitment to developing learners’ oracy skills. In this blog post, she outlines seven strategies to put her pledge into practice…
 
For me, oracy skills are among the most important skills for any learner, including the more able – enabling them to communicate effectively in any subject or situation. As schools in Wales undergo significant changes, there is widespread agreement that transferable communication skills are essential to support all areas of learning, as well as improving employability and wellbeing.

With this in mind, oracy skills will be an ongoing focus for my Year 5 class throughout the coming year. In the autumn term, we’ll focus on discussion, building on learners’ existing oracy skills and making use of self- and peer-evaluation. In the spring, we’ll use debating to encourage learners to listen, think on their feet, react and build upon ideas. And in the summer term learners will take on the challenge of giving formal presentations to large audiences; based around the topic of parliament, they’ll visit secondary schools, governors and other primary schools to deliver a formal presentation on “The people's voice”.

Here are seven strategies to develop oracy skills with your own class this year:

1. Learn from the experts

Use a range of media to exhibit higher-order oracy skills. While learners are viewing a roleplay of older pupils or a video showing oracy skills in a real-life setting, discuss the skills being used and why they are effective.

2. Start from a familiar topic 

Allow learners to choose a topic of conversation and give them time to think about key points. Once thoughts have been formulated, take their notes away. Give them time to discuss and practise sharing their ideas with peers. Starting from a topic with which learners are familiar will give them the confidence to develop skills which can then be transferred to a wide range of areas.

3. Practise a range of techniques 

Challenge learners to present ideas convincingly using a range of techniques for impact. For example: rhetorical questions, appeals to listeners, gestures responding to how listeners are reacting, adapting what they say and how they say it. Ask those listening to identify information and ideas which align with or contradict their own opinions.
 
Learners should be able to express their opinions confidently, reasoning and supporting their own and others’ ideas with relevant evidence. When working in a group, they should be able to recognise a range of options and reach agreement to achieve the overall aims of the group.

4. Use peer evaluation  

Peer evaluation is a fantastic tool if used effectively and modelled well. It can be used to increase learner engagement and understanding of learning criteria, and to develop evaluative and communication skills.
 
Set up one group of learners to complete a task such as a presentation, debate or focus group, and assign others as peer evaluators. After the activity is finished, the first group ask for feedback on their performance. I then encourage them to choose a few points from the peer feedback that they will include next time.

5. Celebrate successes

Once the skills have been taught, it is obviously imperative they are practised. Less obvious is the need for continual acknowledgement and congratulation. For example, throughout the day, ask learners to discuss ideas either formally or quickly informally. When good practice is spotted, it takes just seconds to point it out, but this will be remembered and used for life.

6. Extend…  

Extend learners’ understanding of the use of standard and non-standard English, enabling them to confidently use language appropriately and fluently in formal and informal situations. Teach language using a wide range of syntax structures and precise and effective vocabulary, including specialised terminology. Through practice, learners should be able to make significant, well-thought-out contributions, engage listener interest and sustain a convincing point of view, anticipating and responding to other perspectives.

7. …and empower

Providing opportunities for learners to use their oracy skills in “real” settings can have a huge impact. When setting up such experiences, think widely and aim high. As well as presenting to audiences of governors, parents and peers, challenge learners to join debating groups, present to politicians, universities, business boardrooms… Let them see how powerful their voices can be.
 
One class I was working with were following the programme for the Prince William Award. I asked about opportunities for the children to talk about the project and what it meant to them. They ended up presenting to a headteachers’ conference, secondary schools, governors and to celebrities in the Tower of London at a formal dinner in a room next to the crown jewels.
 
Set the bar high, but ensure the experience is a positive one. Balance risk-taking with consolidating and acknowledging the skills they have gained. After an event, evaluate and set targets for improvement. Encourage learners to take charge of their own learning and performance. Their reward will come from their own confirmatory perception of the outcome.
 
Gail Roberts is the MAT Coordinator, Maths Coordinator and Year 5 teacher at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School in Monmouthshire. She has worked in education since 1980, starting out as an NNEB with children with severe difficulties in basic life skills, and gaining her NPQH in 2007. Describing herself as a “quiet” child who left school “a long way off my potential”, she is passionate about supporting all learners to achieve at the highest levels of which they are capable. Llanfoist Fawr gained the NACE Challenge Award in 2017, in recognition of school-wide commitment to high-quality provision for MAT learners within a context of challenge for all.