Embedding oracy skills across the curriculum

Oracy scaffolds to develop classroom talk

• Voice 21 classroom listening ladders: high-ability students can take on leadership roles in group discussions, facilitating peer learning and mentoring others, which not only reinforces their understanding but enhances their social and emotional skills.  
• Student age-related oracy frameworks from Voice 21: to encourage high-ability students to articulate their learning processes, reflect on their contributions, and assess their growth.   
• Sentence stems and talking roles: high-ability students thrive in environments that challenge their thinking. Oracy practices with sentence stems support argumentation, encourage deep analysis and critical reasoning. 
• Voice 21 good discussion guidelines: exposure to diverse perspectives can challenge high-ability students’ thinking and expand intellectual horizons. 
• Proof of listening guidelines from Voice 21: listening helps high-ability students build better relationships with their peers and teachers. When students feel heard, they are more likely to engage and participate in the learning process, creating a positive and inclusive classroom atmosphere. 
• Student talk tactics and sentence stems from Voice 21 for every discussion and debate: high-ability students thrive in environments that challenge their thinking, and these tactics stimulate intellectual curiosity and critical analysis. These improved whole-class discussions and have greatly impacted group work as the children are more focused, listen carefully to others, build on their ideas, embed learning and address misconceptions. Overall, it has helped students to become confident, eloquent individuals and created a more effective learning environment.

Public speaking practice

Dialogic learning communities 

A stronger voice within and beyond the classroom

• Voice 21
• Oracy Cambridge
• We need to talk, 2024 – Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England
• Oracy: the why and the how – Chartered College
• Oracy Skills Framework – Oracy Cambridge and Voice 21 
• Oracy Benchmarks – Voice 21

P4C has been a pedagogical approach which has been embedded at Alfreton Nursery School for over 5 years. The approach has gradually morphed from being a daily intervention for targeted children, into a whole school, cross curricular approach to teaching and learning.

1. 4Cs

The 4Cs which underpin the P4C philosophy: Caring, Collaborative, Critical and Creative, represent types of thinking to be encouraged within a culture of enquiry. At Alfreton these four approaches to thinking have been adopted as keys to learning and teaching across the curriculum.  Children are reminded, for example, of the need to think in a collaborative way when building with blocks, to show caring thinking when in the home corner, apply critical thinking when solving a maths problem and apply their creative thinking when discussing a story. Teachers explicitly model these four Cs and highlight whenever they witness a child using them and they will mirror the use of these thinking approaches, clearly identifying strategies they too are using.

Within story groups the 4Cs are applied with a differentiated approach. In our first story group the focus remains clearly on Caring thinking.  As children’s understanding grows, they are then supported to explore the concept of collaborative thinking. More able learners are taught to independently apply all four thinking approaches within these sessions.

2. Enquiry based curriculum

The implementation of P4C across the curriculum has meant that children are taught about open mindsets. Children are taught to wonder, question, debate and share in a climate of respect and acceptance. Opinions rather than facts underpin the way children interact with their learning and rather than being passive receptors of knowledge, children are taught to actively engage with their learning. P4C training encourages teacher reflection and the conscious implementation of role within a lesson. At Alfreton Nursery School teaching staff consider within their planning whether they intend to guide learners from a position of open ended potential or instead to teach with a clearly intended outcome. We believe there is space for both within daily interactions but in order to ensure the balance between adult and child voice, teacher role needs to be clear.

Children are taught the importance of empathy for others perspectives and various stimulus are used to provoke challenge.  For more able learners, question quadrants help children understand different types of questions and raise awareness that some questions are void of a clear answer.  Opinion corners are used to enable more able children to illustrate their thinking and to appreciate others ’thinking.  Children are then supported to either maintain their view or on consideration of others thoughts, yield.

3. Circle time enquiries

The more formal enquiry model is used with more able learners, but has been carefully adapted to support young children’s thinking.  An enquiry will take a week of 10 minute sessions daily and will begin with a stimulus. Children are supported to formulate a question and this can require a great deal of teacher support in the initial stages. We find in nursery that young children can find it challenging to formulate a question rather than a headline. This process may take two sessions. One question is then selected to pursue and the question quadrant supports how we will seek an answer.

The rest of the week will be taken with debating and exploring possible answers, and if the question is philosophical in its nature, our final reflection will support children’s acceptance of difference. The social behaviour within an enquiry is an essential element to the process. Respect for others when they are speaking and offering contributions to the group enquiry through gesture, form the parameters of collaboration.

4. Continuous provision

Within the continuous provision of our nursery classroom, Alfreton Nursery School provides specific stimulus for all children, linked to children’s literature. For example, during a focus on stories with a woodland theme, the keyword stimulus may be ‘Nature’. Artefacts and images supporting and challenging the meaning of nature will be available to support developing thinking. Over the course of the week, big, open-ended questions will be collected and displayed to support children’s engagement.

• ‘What is nature?’
• ‘Is nature at my house?’
• ‘Am I nature?’
• ‘Is nature in space?’
  

Talking, writing, drawing, singing, dancing, role play...are all encouraged as a means of responding to a stimulus. 

Conclusion

P4C can be seen as a formal process, and with this assumption comes a belief that nursery children cannot engage fully in the pedagogy.  Alfreton Nursery School refutes such a belief and can demonstrate that an enquiry based curriculum can provide nursery aged children with the freedom to form opinions and explore social influence. Young children need opportunities to reflect on their lived experience and feel exposure to wider concepts. P4C in nursery has powerful impact on children’s development as learners and grows individuals capable of critical and creative thinking within a culture of care and collaboration. All children benefit from a P4C approach, progressing rapidly across the whole curriculum, due to their increased capacity to question, respond to alternative perspectives and work together to solve problems.  

Planning assessment using oral questions

Questioning, dialogic discourse and oracy are recognised as important aspects of teaching and learning  but we must not forget that they are also important features of assessment. Questioning is routinely used as a formative assessment strategy. The teacher asks questions to establish whether pupils understand the content being shared. Misconceptions can be identified, and progress can be measured. The teacher can then make an appropriate learning decision and guide pupils to achieve the objectives.

Within a cognitively challenging learning environment the planning for teaching and assessment will include questions designed to not only to achieve these purposes but also to deepen, challenge and inspire learning. To develop assessment practices which support cognitively challenging learning the teacher must consider the nature of the questions being asked and their position within the lesson.

Teachers often use closed questions which require a specific response enables the teacher to assess whether specific facts are remembered. Closed questioning may include:

• quick fire questions (hands up response)
• peppered questions (quick retrieval around the class no hands up)
• call and response (ritual and repetition, response in unison)
• whole class response (possibly using white boards)

It is important for all pupils and particularly more able pupils to have a wide repertoire of knowledge and skills. By using these ongoing low stakes assessments pupils develop their knowledge recall and memory. The disadvantage of closed questions when working with more able pupils is that they often distract from the learning and take place when deeper learning is possible. The teacher must therefore plan carefully for these and have a good understanding of the needs of the class so that the questions are perceived positively within the learning and lead to benefits for the pupils.

By contrast open questions provide opportunities for healthy discussions and debate. Open-ended questions add interest to the lesson; challenging the pupils and enhancing thinking. The teacher can use these to check understanding, gain a fresh perspective on pupils’ learning and promote cognition.

If pupils need to bring together ideas to solve problems then convergent questioning may be used. At the start of a lesson or topic the convergent question might be used to assess existing knowledge and understanding. To encourage convergent thinking the teacher may ask pupils to analyse different types of solution and justify their choice of the most appropriate solution. By contrast a teacher wishing to assess higher order cognitive learning such as evaluation, analysis or synthesis may use divergent questions.

One type of divergent question which is often used to both teach and assess learning is the “BIG QUESTION”. Using this, the teacher opens the learning up to include greater breadth and depth. A Big Question has the potential to promote independent learning through research and shared knowledge. A teacher may use this type of question to enable pupils to move beyond the planned content and introduce their own experience and interests. Alternatively, the question may be devised to provide cognitive challenge and to help pupils to organise the knowledge they already possess. Although this style of questioning is often viewed as a teaching tool it cannot be successful without ongoing assessment, review and refinement.

The use of questioning as an assessment technique not only requires an appropriate choice of question type but a careful consideration of how and when a question might be used. In the context of spoken questions, the teacher must decide at what point in the learning process the questions can provide most information about the learning and have the greatest impact on  learning.

The teacher might pose questions from the front of the  class, set questions which promote whole class or group dialogic discourse or pose individual questions. When a teacher poses questions to the whole class there is a risk that more able pupils answer a disproportionate number of questions or remain passive when there is little cognitive challenge. This can be addressed by promoting shared discussion through think-pair-share techniques. When the teacher decides to question the whole class, challenge can be achieved by asking questions which require pupils to continuously improve responses by asking pupils to say it again but better.

Once questioning techniques have become well established they not only provide a means of formative assessment but also enable assessment to become part of the learning process. The questions asked at the start of a programme of study or at the beginning of the lesson provide a baseline for instruction. Teachers know what the pupils can remember and how well they use their knowledge. The lesson can be adapted to reflect the starting point and the additional support needed. Teachers may be able to use a cutaway model for teaching so that those who need additional input can receive this. Other pupils who have been assessed as ready for more independent learning can undertake alternative, meaningful and challenging tasks working alone, in pairs or in small groups.

Questions strategically placed as a part of the delivery of the lesson can allow the teacher to moderate the pace of the lesson and the depth of learning. In classrooms where the teacher models good questioning, speaking and listening, pupils will learn to ask questions which help them to assess their own understanding and learn well.

Questions at the end of a period of learning act as an assessment of learning so that the teacher and pupils can establish what has been learnt and understood. Following written assessment teachers provide their pupils with feedback. This is often most effective when there is some degree of whole class feedback in which both the teacher and the pupils can ask deeper questions which allow the work to be improved and learning to be deepened.

The importance of discourse as an assessment tool

When a teacher poses questions to individual pupils, groups of pupils or to the class there is a clear link to the process of instruction and the demands od end of programme assessments and examinations. The teacher wishes to be sure that pupils have the knowledge and understanding of curriculum content and the ability to apply these in a variety of contexts.

For teachers of high ability pupils or pupils who have knowledge and skills in specific areas of learning this can provide limitations as there are a bounded number of questions and responses planned within the learning. Many teachers feel nervous when discussion goes beyond the predetermined lesson or curriculum plan. They may have concerns that course content will not be completed or that the pupils may deviate into areas where the teacher’s knowledge base is less secure.

Vygotsky (1878) demonstrated the importance of language on learning. If the teacher has successfully assessed what the pupil already knows then the plan for learning takes place in the Zone of Proximal Development Pupils’ learning can be extended through interaction with others. He believed that giving a pupil appropriate assistance would be enough to achieve the task. This may be applied generally to pupils of all abilities but can be used specifically with high attainers or those underachieving but capable of high attainment.

Using this model teachers focus on three components to aid learning:

• The pupils are in the presence of someone more knowledgeable on the subject;
• The teacher uses social interaction skilfully, to allow pupils to observe and practice skills;
• Scaffolding or supportive activities with the teacher or peers support the pupil through the zone of proximal development.

Through assessment the teacher will establish what the pupil already knows.  Pupils can then work alongside others who may have greater knowledge relating to aspects of a subject. Through classroom discussion they will be able to assess what they know themselves and gain new knowledge and understanding from those around them. When considering this as part of assessment strategies pupils will benefit from good quality feedback. Pupils need to know what a good response might look like. They need opportunities within classroom discourse to examine their own responses, share their views with other and make potential improvements to learning. Scaffolding and feeding forward enables pupils to use the feedback information effectively. During the subsequent classroom discourse they can ask questions or learn about aspects of the subject which are yet to be met formally as part of the learning process. By feeding forward more able pupils can make links in learning and think more deeply about what they are learning.

Through classroom discussion pupils can achieve more than they think themselves capable of learning. Pupils can develop multiple solution pathways to complex problems. By talking and working with the teacher and others they can attempt to solve interesting and challenging problems entering an initial zone of confusion with resilience. For this to be successful assessment strategies must be well developed. The teacher must know when to prompt, when to scaffold, when to ask a specific question or provide an idea. The teacher will also plan the preparatory work or materials needed to support discourse and have a means of measuring and evaluating the nature and quality of the discourse so that it leads to deep and rewarding learning.

What has been happening in our schools?

NACE schools can provide many good examples of questioning, dialogic discourse and improved oracy used effectively both as a teaching and as an assessment tool.

One example of practice which was being trialled in some schools was the use of the Harkness method. This method which originates in the Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire and named after philanthropist Edward Harkness. It was developed to kindle curiosity, encourage learning and develop respect. Pupils sit in an oval and are encouraged to initiate and lead discussions about a designated text or area of learning. Pupils can develop ideas around a topic, ask questions and share their knowledge. The teacher is then able to assess the nature and quality of input from each of the pupils and the impact prior learning may have on their contributions. Examples of the use of this ranged from younger pupils bringing LAMDA skills into normal classroom learning and the teacher recording their behaviours on post it notes to sixth form students preparing and discussing materials in preparation for A level. The discussion diagram included the location of each pupil and a line joining pupils to those they spoke to. As can be seen, the teachers’ assessment tool can be diagrammatic allowing them to measure the frequency of contribution by each pupil and the nature of the contribution. The teacher facilitates the discussion but does not lead it. Where pupils’ lack knowledge or skills the teacher may separately support these. This is a good example of learning in the Zone of Proximal Development with ongoing assessment in place.

Another example of discourse leading to improved learning was the use of more able peer mentoring with younger pupils. Here the older pupils were metacognitively well developed and were able to assess the learning needs required to succeed in each subject. They were then able to enter discussion with younger pupils to advise and support them to develop learning attributes. The younger pupils learning from the more knowledgeable older pupils.

School leaders have also been thinking about the language we use when providing feedback and the time given to pupils to respond to that feedback. Often a feedback question leads to activity but does not necessarily deepen or enhance the quality of the learning and understanding. If the teacher demonstrates expectations and provides models which pupils can aspire to then the feedback question acquires greater meaning. Pupils might be asked to think more deeply about a response, include additional information, make comparisons, draw conclusions, make choices or express opinions. They may be asked to demonstrate a process or show alternative methods. Greater complexity or depth of response may be sought. When pupils receive this type of feedback they can then ask the teacher questions or engage in discussions together so that they bring greater knowledge and insight to their work developing their metacognition and metacognitive skills which they can use in the future. Leaders making changes to marking policy found that they needed to create space for learning in this way within the curriculum plan.

Kate Peacock, Acting Headteacher at Trellech Primary School, explains how “SMILE books” have been introduced to develop pupil voice and independent learning, while also improving staff planning.

Our vision, here at Trellech Primary, is to ensure the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales are at the heart of our children’s learning – particularly ensuring that they are “ambitious capable learners” who: 

• Set themselves high standards and seek and enjoy challenge;
• Are building up a body of knowledge and have the skills to connect and apply that knowledge in different contexts;
• Are questioning and enjoy solving problems.

What is a “SMILE Curriculum”?

We have always been very proud of the children at Trellech Primary, where we see year on year pupils making good progress in all areas of the curriculum. Following the publication of Successful Futures and curriculum reform in Wales, the school wanted to embrace the changes and be forward-thinking in recognising and nurturing children as learners who are responsible for planning and developing their own learning. As a Pioneer School, we made a commitment to: 

1. Give high priority to pupil voice in developing their own learning journey.
2. Develop pupil voice throughout each year group, key stage and the whole school.
3. Embrace the curriculum reform and develop children’s understanding.
4. Allow all learners to excel and reach their full potential.
5. Ensure each child is given the opportunity to make good progress. 

These goals have been developed alongside the introduction of SMILE books, based on our SMILE five-a-day culture:

• Standards 
• Modelled behaviour 
• Inspiration 
• Listening
• Ethical

What is a “SMILE book”?

Based on these key values of the SMILE curriculum, the SMILE books are A3-sized, blank-paged workbooks which learners can use to present their work however they choose. They are used to present the children’s personal learning journey. In contrast to the use of books for subject areas, SMILE books show the development of skills from across the Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLEs) in their own preferred style. 

This format enables pupil voice to be at the fore of their journey, while clearly promoting each pupil’s independent learning and supporting individual learning styles. Within a class, each SMILE book will look different, despite the same themes being part of the teaching and learning. Some may be presented purely through illustration with relevant vocabulary, while others develop and present their learning through greater use of text. 

Launching the SMILE books

As a Pioneer School we collaborated with colleagues who were at the same point of their curriculum journey as us. Following this collaboration, we agreed to trial the introduction of our SMILE books in Y2 and Y6 with staff who were members of SLT and involved in curriculum reform. 

In these early stages, expectations were shared and pupils were given a variety of resources to enable them to present their work in their preferred format within the books – enabling all individuals to lead, manage and present their knowledge, skills and learning independently. 

Pupil and parent feedback at Parent Sharing Sessions highlighted positive feedback and demonstrated pupils’ pride in the books. Consequently, SMILE books were introduced throughout the school at the start of the following academic year. For reception pupils scaffolding is provided, but as pupils move through the progression steps less scaffolding is needed; pupil independence increases and is clearly evident in the way work across the AoLEs is presented. 

Staff SMILE planning 

Following the success of the implementation of pupil SMILE books and to ensure clarity in understanding of the Curriculum for Wales, I decided to trial the SMILE book format myself, to record my planning. This helped me to develop greater depth of knowledge and understanding of the Four Purposes, Cross-Curricular Links, Pedagogical Principles and the What Matters Statements for each of the AoLEs. 

During this early trial I wrote each of the planning pages by hand, which enabled me to internalise the curriculum with an increased understanding. Also included were the ideas page for each theme and pupil contributions through the pupil voice page. 

This format was shared with the whole staff and has evolved over time. Some staff continue to write and present planning in a creative form, while others use QR codes to link planners to electronic planning sheets and class tracking documentation. The inclusion of the I Can Statements has enabled staff to delve deeper and focus on less but better.  

Each SMILE medium-term planning book moves with the cohort of learners, exemplifying their learning journey through the school. The investment of time in medium-term planning enables staff to focus on skills development in short-term planning time. This is evident in the classroom, where lessons focus on skills development and teachers are seen as facilitators of learning.

Impact on teaching and learning

Following our NACE Challenge Award reaccreditation in July 2021, it was recognised that the use of SMILE books had a positive impact on pupil voice and the promotion of independent learning for all. Our assessor reported:

SMILE books, which the school considers to be at the heart of all learning, are used by all year groups. Children complete activities independently in their books showing their own way of learning and presenting their work in a range of styles and formats. As a result, even from the youngest of ages, pupils have become more independent learners who are engaged in their learning because they have been involved in the decision-making process for the topics being taught.

The SMILE approach to learning has strengthened pupil voice and given children the confidence to take risks in their own learning by choosing how they like to learn. 

The SMILE approach to learning has created a climate of trust where learners are confident to take risks without the fear of failure and are valued for their efforts. Pupils appreciate that valuable learning often results from making mistakes. 

SMILE promotes problem solving and enquiry-based activities to help nurture independent learning. 

Using SMILE books, independent learning is promoted and encouraged from the youngest of ages. The SMILE approach encourages MAT learners to lead their own learning by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to know how they best learn. As a result, more able pupils are critical thinkers and have high expectations and aspirations for themselves.

Our SMILE approach continues to develop here at Trellech, ensuring the continual development of our learners and independent learners with a valued voice.  

Explore NACE’s key resources for schools in Wales

Gianluca Raso, Senior Middle Leader for MFL at NACE Challenge Award-accredited Maiden Erlegh School, explores the real meaning of “adaptive teaching” and what this means in practice.

When I first came across the term “adaptive teaching”, I thought: “Is that not what we already do? Surely, the label might be new, but it is still differentiation.” Monitoring progress, supporting underperforming students and providing the right challenge for more able learners: these are staples in our everyday practice to allow students to actively engage with and enjoy our subjects. 

I was wrong. Adaptive teaching is not merely differentiation by another name. In adaptive teaching, differentiation does not occur by providing different handouts or the now outdated “all, most, some” objectives, which intrinsically create a glass ceiling in students’ achievement. Instead, it happens because of the high-quality teaching we put in for all our students. 

Adaptive teaching is a focus of the Early Career Framework (DfE, 2019), the Teachers’ Standards, and Ofsted inspections. It involves setting the same ambitious goals for all students but providing different levels of support. This should be targeted depending on the students’ starting points, and if and when students are struggling.

But of course it is not as simple as saying, “this is what adaptive teaching means: now use it”.

So how, in practice, do we move from differentiation to adaptive teaching?

A sensible way to look at it is to consider adaptive teaching as an evolution of differentiation. It is high-quality teaching based on:

1. Maintaining high standards, so that all learners have the opportunity to meet expectations.
   Supporting all students to work towards the same goal but breaking the learning down – forget about differentiated or graded learning objectives.
2. Balancing the input of new content so that learners master important concepts.
   Giving the right amount of time to our students – mastery over coverage.
3. Knowing your learners and providing targeted support.
   Making use of well-designed resources and planning to connect new content with pupils' prior knowledge or providing additional pre-teaching if learners lack critical knowledge.
4. Using Assessment for Learning in the classroom – in essence check, reflect and respond.
   Creating assessment fit for purpose – moving away from solely end of unit assessments.
5. Making effective use of teaching assistants.
   Delivering high quality one-to-one and small group support using structured interventions. 

In conclusion, adaptive teaching happens before the lesson, during the lesson and after the lesson. 

Aim for the top, using scaffolding for those who need it. Consider: what is your endgame and how do you get there? Does everyone understand? How do you know that? Can everyone explain their understanding? What mechanisms have you put in place to check student understanding ? Encourage classroom discussions (pose, pause, pounce, bounce), use a progress checklist, question the students (hinge questions, retrieval practice), adapt your resources (remove words, simplify the text, include errors, add retrieval elements).

Adaptive teaching is a valuable approach, but we must seek to embed it within existing best practice. Consider what strikes you as the most captivating aspect of your curriculum in which you can enthusiastically and wisely lead the way . 

Ask yourself:

• Could all children access this?
• Will all children be challenged by this?
  … then go from there…