Welcome to the Speaking and Listening section of our school website.  We hope you will  find   information here that will help you understand the great importance that Speaking and 

  Listening plays in every child's educational journey and some ideas to help your child   

    develop their spoken language, listening skills and expand their vocabulary.     

   Before each child starts school in our Reception Class we will have met with their parents or carers and each child's Nursery Teachers and discussed any concerns they may have about each child's speech and language development. At our meeting for parents/carers of new children we provide a pack of speaking and listening activities and nursery rhymes for children to look through during the summer holidays before they start school in September.    

Should your child require additional speech and language support than that provided by our curriculum in class we have a dedicated speech and language support assistant who can take children for 1 to 1 or group sessions to meet their needs. We liaise closely with the Local NHS Children's Therapy services to implement Speech and Language Involvement Plans in school and can refer children to the service after discussion with parents in order to provide them with the support they need.  

Speaking and listening skills are fundamental to children's progress in all areas of the curriculum, and the need for effective oral communication is vital to develop and enhance life skills.

St Mary and St Joseph's values and seeks to develop children's speaking and listening skills as an integral part of the school curriculum and prepare children to establish positive relationships inside and outside the school with the ability to communicate thoughts, feelings and ideas confidently and successfully. Our aims are to ...

• To develop children's speaking and listening skills through a wide range of opportunities.

• To value children's contributions during discussions.

• To encourage all children to listen carefully and actively, valuing and responding to others viewpoints and opinions.

• To enable children to speak audibly, clearly and confidently in 1 to 1, group and whole class situations in a variety of contexts.

• To help children understand how to adapt their use of language, varying use in relation to purpose and audience.

• To encourage children to develop proficiency in Standards English as well as promote a respect for other language and dialects.

• To raise children's attainment in writing through their ability to initially express themselves effectively orally in order to produce writing of a higher quality.

As a school we strive to maximise creative aspects of the curriculum and provide all pupils with speaking and listening opportunities through drama, role play, school trips, visits  and visitors, class assemblies, school productions, vocabulary lessons and stimulating, innovative classroom teaching. Children leave St Mary and St Joseph's having had access to a wide and varied range of high quality speaking and listening experiences which will help them communicate effectively as they move to the next stage of their learning journey.