Case Study: Oracy Award

Alexandra Park Junior School is the first school to achieve the SILVER level of the One Education Oracy Award, recognising its outstanding commitment to developing confident, articulate and effective communicators.

Read our case study below to learn all about their journey.

Setting the Scene

Oracy plays a profound role in child development, laying the foundations for emotional wellbeing, positive relationships, and a wide range of academic skills such as information processing, critical thinking, and problem solving. 

Recognising this, Alexandra Park Junior School sought to strengthen oracy practice across the whole school, ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to develop the confidence, vocabulary and communication skills to express themselves effectively. 

The One Education Oracy Award offered a clear framework for the school to develop this approach in a meaningful and sustainable way, drawing on One Education’s expertise in pedagogical research and curriculum design. 

“We chose to work with One Education because of their experience and understanding of schools and because their support felt practical and tailored to our individual needs as a school.”

Our Approach

The Oracy Award provides schools with a research-based framework for developing oracy across three strands of oral communication: learning to talk; talking to learn; and learning about talk. Developed by Oracy specialists and Speech and Language Therapists, it combines expert guidance with practical resources to help schools embed high-quality talk across all areas of school life. 

“We really valued the opportunity to reflect on our existing practice and consider how we can further develop oracy across the school. The process has helped us to recognise the importance of giving pupils regular, purposeful opportunities to speak and listen.”

At Alexandra Park Junior School, the Award helped staff to develop a greater understanding of the importance of oracy and how it can be embedded naturally across the curriculum. In particular, staff benefited from an INSET session on dialogic talk delivered by Education Consultant, Alice Pepper, where they gained practical strategies for developing richer classroom discussions and encouraging pupils to explain, justify and build on their ideas. 

By following the Oracy Award framework, the school has successfully embedded oracy at the heart of its approach to teaching and learning. The development of high-quality talk is viewed not as an additional aspect of the curriculum, but as a fundamental driver of learning, participation and achievement.

The Results

• Staff Confidence: Staff have become more conscious of the quality of talk taking place in their classrooms and the importance of giving pupils genuine opportunities to articulate themselves. They are equipped with practical strategies they can apply across different subjects, giving them greater confidence in facilitating purposeful, high-quality talk.

• Conversations Throughout the Curriculum: Opportunities for purposeful talk are carefully embedded across the curriculum, enabling pupils to develop their vocabulary, confidence, reasoning and ability to communicate effectively in a range of contexts.

• A Culture of Oracy: The school’s commitment to oracy extends beyond the classroom and is woven throughout school life. From group messages to parents that ensure clear and effective communication, to the much-celebrated ‘Vocabulary Parade’, the school continually creates opportunities for pupils to encounter, explore and use ambitious language. 

Taking a whole-school approach has provided a clear and structured pathway for oracy development, ensuring that pupils have regular opportunities to build on their knowledge and skills as they move through the school. 

This progressive structure helps pupils to develop increasing proficiency in oracy, with the confidence and ability to apply their communication skills across different subjects, settings and situations. These transferable skills will support them in the next stage of their education and throughout later life.

Looking Forwards

The Oracy Award marks an important milestone in the school’s ongoing commitment to oracy development. The school continues to build on this progress, developing every pupil’s ability to listen, speak, articulate ideas and engage meaningfully with others. 

“Working with the One Education team has been a really positive experience. Alice has been extremely supportive, approachable and knowledgeable throughout the process. Alice has provided clear guidance while also giving us the flexibility to develop our own approach and ensure that the work was meaningful for our staff and pupils.

We would recommend One Education to other schools and settings looking to develop their approach to oracy.” 

Alexandra Park Junior School has also shared its experience across its multi-academy trust, inspiring other schools to strengthen their own oracy provision and work towards accreditation.

A Few Words From Us

Pupils at Alexandra Park Junior School are confident, capable and increasingly sophisticated communicators. They engage enthusiastically in discussion, articulate their thinking clearly and thrive when given opportunities to learn through talk. 

The school’s consistent, whole-school approach demonstrates the transformative impact that purposeful and sustained investment in oracy can have on pupils’ learning, confidence and wider development.

Alexandra Park Junior School’s achievement of the One Education Oracy Award is a testament to the strength of its vision, the consistency of its practice and its unwavering commitment to ensuring that every pupil has the voice, vocabulary and confidence to succeed.

Alice Pepper, Education Consultant

To learn more about the Oracy Award, please click here.