Author: Voice 21

Sharon Snowden | Park High School Project rationale  Data collected from our feeder schools indicated that 66 students would be starting at Park High in September 2018 not having met the nationally expected standard in reading, or had no data. This is

Sarah Green | Newall Green High School Project rationale  Newall Green High School is a small 11-16 secondary academy which is part of The Prospere Learning Trust. It is located in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, which is one of the most socially deprived

Ruth Loxley | Hastings High School Project rationale  My original exploratory research question actually focused on the oracy to writing process and was: ‘to what extent do oracy strategies improve the writing skills of low ability Year 10 boys?’ However, when I

Rosie Cook | St Stephen’s C of E Junior School Project rationale  The National Curriculum states that “children should be taught: to speak with confidence in a range of contexts, adapting their speech to a range of purposes and audiences” (Department for

Richard Sternberg | Byron Court Primary School Project rationale  I am interested in how teachers can positively influence character, well-being and personality. As Mental Health is a topic receiving intense scrutiny in education currently, I set out to explore how developing oracy

Rebecca Hall | Windhill 21 Project rationale  The purpose of this research was to explore and evaluate the impact of a ‘Word a Day’ programme on vocabulary development. Vocabulary has been a rising theme on the national education agenda and many schools

Rebecca Carter, Silsden Primary School  Project rationale  Over a number of years in teaching, I have observed a lack of articulacy amongst low attainers. Unable to express themselves because of a lack of vocabulary and poor grammar, these children are often the

Philippa Adkins , Surrey Square Primary School Project rationale  I am hugely passionate about students being able to express themselves when sharing their thoughts and experiences with peers, both inside and outside of the classroom. I have always put a high value

Michelle Khambhaita, Keighley St Andrew’s CE Primary Project rationale  I wanted to explore the effects of improved oracy skills on pupils’ social and emotional wellbeing, in particular their self-confidence. Having started working at a new school in September 2018, I was struck

Maggie Moe, The Angmering School Project rationale  Having worked in a comprehensive school judged as requiring improvement, school leaders have identified middle ability boys as consistently underachieving and frequently becoming disengaged in their learning. Underachievement in boys’ literacy has been studied by

Louise Northey, International Academy of Greenwich Project rationale  At the school where the research was undertaken, a specific cohort that had been identified as underperforming in English were middle ability Year 8 boys. Therefore, these students were chosen as the focus group for

Liberty Kitchen, Catherine Junior School Project rationale  For my project, I decided to research to what extent the use of presentational talk (implemented for 4 months) improved writing in Year 5. As the saying goes, “If you can say it, you can

Katy O’Neill | South Malling CE Primary and Nursery  Project rationale  I chose to focus on developing the quality and quantity of talk in a guided reading group of five Year 3 students. I selected this focus in response to observations I

Katie Middlehurst, St Ann’s CE Primary School  Project rationale  Whilst watching ‘Oracy in Action’ at School 21, I was inspired by the talk-rich assembly that I observed. I noted that compared to the current practice in my school, there were far more

Julie Walters, Shoreditch Park Primary School  Project rationale  However, I noticed that, for some students, oracy based tasks were a challenge and that collaborative thinking and discussion weren’t areas of learning where they felt at ease. I observed some reluctant speakers in

Hester Dickinson , Dinnington High School Research question: To what extent does the use of oracy strategies improve the quality of written work, over a three-month period, among a focus group of Year 9 students?  Project rationale: I chose to focus on this

Heather Roche, Little Stoke Primary School  Project rationale  Good communication skills are crucial in the early years. Being able to talk and listen well are critical in helping children learn, make friends and feel confident. Poor language puts children at risk of

Gillian Russell, Coppice Primary School  Project rationale  As a teacher of year 6, at the start of the year I identified a group of six underachieving boys with high prior attainment (i.e. they were capable of achieving Greater Depth in the KS2

Frances Spivey, Academy at St James  Project rationale  Reading was highlighted as a particular focus due to our ASP (Analyse School Performance) report which indicates that as a school Reading is a line of enquiry due to falling standards. Therefore, as a

by Emily Bass, Fulbridge Academy Project rationale  The purpose of this project was to investigate verbal reasoning as a means of embedding mathematical concepts in year 1 children and to see whether this led to an increase in scoring both in summative

by Ellie Garment, Colonel Frank Seely Academy Project rationale  In March 2018, as part of an annual review, four external senior leaders visited our school to look at the quality of teaching and learning. A common observation made by each of the

by Edward Booth, Braunstone Frith Primary School Project rationale  I have chosen to carry out an action research project on the impact of exploratory talk to support mathematical reasoning on a group of students in my year 5 class who entered the

by Dave Dodd, Crab Lane Primary Project rationale A significant proportion of the students who come to our school enter without the necessary language and communication skills to fully access the curriculum. We have already begun to raise the profile of high

by Dave Spence, Wilmslow High School  Project rationale  An analysis of KS4 data revealed that students were underperforming in extended written responses on English literature texts in relation to the national average. In particular, boys were struggling to produce substantive written responses in

by Charlotte Gleeson, Manchester Enterprise Academy  Research question To what extent do paired discussion activities, implemented for half a term, improve confidence in oral responses among high ability working class girls?  Project Rationale The school that I work at serves a community

by Bev Knuckey, Llanedeyrn Primary School  Project rationale  Teachers have developed processes in our school to ensure moderated assessment is consistent at each outcome and level. With oracy our priority, attention has been given to its assessment and management – the storing

by Beth Cooper, St Wilfrid’s RC College  Project rationale  To promote more ambitious teaching and learning experiences for a high prior-attaining Y7 class  To maximise outcomes for Y7 students with high KS3 scores  To ensure participation and engagement of every student in

by Amy Weerasekera, School 21 Research question To what extent are high expectations for listening, used alongside scaffolds for response, an effective strategy for improving learning through talk? Project rationale I chose to focus on listening as an area of development following

by Alun ReevesRSA Academies Abbey Wood First School & Church Hill Middle School Project rationale Teaching across a pair of schools in Redditch (one a first school and the other a middle school), I work with many students who do not come