Stacey Primary School

Placing Oracy at the Heart of the New Curriculum for Wales 

In June 2024, Stacey Primary became the first Welsh Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence. Based in Adamsdown, Cardiff, 63% of their pupils are learning English as an additional language (with 43 languages spoken at the school) and 79% of pupils are from a minority ethnic group.

Before starting to work with Voice 21, teachers reported that children’s spoken language skills did not enable them to access and engage in learning and the curriculum. The Headteacher Emma, took part in a trip organised by Central South Consortium to visit a Voice 21 Oracy School in London. She  remembers being ‘blown away’ that a school serving a similar community to hers in Cardiff enabled students to become so confident and articulate. 

‘I immediately felt inspired and compelled to become a Voice 21 Oracy School so my students could also have the same opportunities to achieve excellent outcomes’. Emma, Headteacher, Stacey Primary 

In September 2022 they began their Inquiry-based learning approach based on the Kath Murdoch model. When the Curriculum for Wales roll-out began in 2022, their work with Voice 21 meant that they already had a consistent approach to teaching talk and learning through talk across the school. This has meant they have been able to place oracy at the heart of their new curriculum.

From Classroom Practice to Whole-School Integration 

The school’s journey was supported by ensuring Voice 21 strategies were implemented quickly and consistently across the school. Staff used the Oracy Benchmarks and Oracy Framework to evaluate their own practice. They held regular staff insets and CPD sessions to ensure staff had the confidence and skills to implement high-quality oracy teaching and experiences.  

Once classroom practice was secure, they designed, piloted and rolled out a school-wide oracy curriculum that sits at the heart of their Inquiry-Based Learning Approach. Staff undertake a sequence of oracy lessons that build towards a variety of oracy outcomes to authentic audiences. As a school, they have also made full use of the online CPD on offer through the Voice 21 Exchange, where staff have undertaken their own intersessional pedagogical inquiries. 

Another important step on their journey was changing the way they undertook assemblies: by moving to a more dialogic approach they were able to place oracy at the heart when learning about Rights, Health and Wellbeing and Religion, Values and Ethics. The school developed a culture of celebrating and praising oracy via Friday’s Praise Assembly through pupils’ individual learning goals, self and peer assessment, and oracy-specific praise (linked to the Oracy framework). All of which are used consistently across the school. 

Impact of Oracy at Stacey Primary 

As a result of their journey, pupils at Stacey are highly engaged and enjoy their learning. They have increased confidence when speaking and can speak to a wide range of people including adults they do not know and large audiences. Through the school’s Restorative Approach to building, maintaining and repairing relationships, pupils feel that they are respected and whatever the situation they know that their voice will be listened to and conflict can be resolved restoratively. 

The purpose of Curriculum for Wales is to support learners to become:

• ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives;

• enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work;

• ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world;

• healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

Emma believes that for this to be realised at Stacey Primary School, oracy has to be at the centre of their curriculum, empowering their learners to undertake real authentic experiences.