Speaking and listening skills form the foundations for future reading and writing. It is our intent that all pupils should be able to express their views, articulate their feelings, listen to others and respond appropriately in a range of situations.
We believe that every child should be given the skills and confidence to speak clearly and confidently in a variety of situations for example 1:1, in small groups and in front of larger audiences such as during presentations, performances and assemblies.
Our children are encouraged to listen carefully, respond and to question while valuing the views and opinions of others.
Teaching and learning opportunities within school aim to offer pupils the opportunity to voice their ideas in small group and class discussions, recognising the importance of sharing and explaining concepts with peers and therefore enhancing learning. Children are also given the chance to orally rehearse ideas for writing regularly.
Staff model the use of rich and varied vocabulary within their daily speech and expanding children’s vocabulary is a key focus from our foundation stage right through to year 4. We choose high quality stimuli for our Literacy focus texts to expand children’s vocabulary and encourage conversations and discussion. In our Early Years Foundation Stage we recognise the importance of developing communication and language skills through regular conversation and communication opportunities such as check in circles, show and tell, learning logs, helicopter stories and a mixture of adult led and peer to peer conversations during learning and discovery time.
Subject specific vocabulary is embedded across the curriculum, through teacher modelling, displays and a wide variety of engaging resources. Contextual learning helps children to understand new words and supports them in including them in their work. Interactive and hands on activities help to embed these new language skills. We aim to make our topics as immersive as possible so children can really explore and discover new concepts, throw themselves deep into stories, settings and experiences, helping them to really embed and consolidate new vocabulary by giving it relevance and purpose.
Staff model correct grammar in speech and encourage children to reflect this in their use of spoken and written language.
Each year group leads a sharing assembly once a year for parents where they all get the opportunity to speak and perform. Other performances throughout the year also include:
We enjoy sharing these experiences with families and the local community here at Houghton Conquest.