At St Mary’s we place a high importance on developing spoken language skills as the foundation to learning in English and in all areas.
In EYFS there is a focus on early speech and language development which includes high quality teaching, interventions and additional SALT support for specific cohorts as required.
Key vocabulary is embedded into each curriculum area across the school, to ensure understanding of learning, comprehension of what is heard and read and to develop a rich and wide vocabulary. This is planned for and is progressive across the school. Alongside opportunities for discussion, debating, presenting and socialising we endeavour to ensure all pupils leave St Mary’s with effective communication skills. This also includes the ability to actively listen, which is also encouraged through opportunities to talk in pairs, groups, in the class and to adults and visitors in different situations.