French

At Old Priory, we believe that the learning of an additional language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our children. It is our intent to provide all of our children with a high-quality education in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), fostering their curiosity, and deepening their understanding of the world and their place in it. Our school has a predominantly white British intake and we believe that it is vital to provide our pupils with an opportunity to acquire a new language and skills, equipping them to see language study as an opportunity to broaden their horizons, by living and working in other countries. 

At Old Priory, we teach French due to our close proximity to the country. We are committed to ensuring that by the end of our children’s primary education our children: have acquired an understanding of both spoken and written French; are confident to speak in French with others;  and know how important other languages can be for their future in a globally connected workplace. The teaching of French in KS2 lays the foundations for further foreign language teaching at KS3 and beyond, opening up further opportunities later in life.

We intend to provide an interesting and varied curriculum, meeting the needs of pupils from a range of backgrounds, cultures and abilities. This includes making links between MFL and other subjects where possible. 

A regular programme of monitoring, evaluation and review is in place to ensure that the teaching of MFL continues to improve and evolve.  

At Old Priory we use the ‘Salut!’ scheme of work for French for children from Year 3 to Year 6. The scheme meets the needs of our learners but also supports our non-specialist teachers and HLTAs in the planning and teaching of this curriculum area, within the framework of the National Curriculum. The scheme provides teachers with a guide to grammar and French pronunciation and each unit overview provides key vocabulary and points for adults to note. The scheme provides opportunities for children to listen and respond to language being spoken by native French speakers. 

The scheme of work has a focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, as well as making children aware of grammatical features of the French language.  Children learn to engage with stories and songs written and spoken in French.  They learn to read a range of texts in French and to present their ideas in French in both verbal and written contexts. Our scheme of work fully supports the National Curriculum content for MFL in Key Stage 2. 

The scheme of learning has a clear progression document for MFL, mapping out the knowledge taught in each year group. This ensures the teaching of high quality lessons, building on pupils’ prior knowledge, skills and understanding. 

Children’s written work is recorded in a designated French book, which stays with the child as they move through the key stage. Knowledge of all key areas (speaking, reading, writing and listening) is assessed through the use of teacher assessment and the class tracking tool provided by the scheme of work, periodic vocabulary quizzes and a pupil progress checklist. This ensures that children are supported and challenged as appropriate. 

In addition, we seek to increase the visibility of languages within our school through additional experiences such as taking part in European Languages Day and learning more about the culture and traditions of France through specific study projects. This may include experiences to bring learning to life, such as trying French foods, labelling classrooms using French vocabulary, using maps to study the geography of France, learning about famous French people. 

Our MFL curriculum will ensure all pupils develop key language learning skills set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures.

Our pupils will enjoy the experience of learning a foreign language and acquire new skills which they can further develop throughout their school careers. 

The clear progression through the key stage will enable children to articulate what they have learned, and make links to prior learning. Revisiting key vocabulary and grammatical features will enable pupils to apply their learning using increasingly sophisticated sentences, both spoken and written. Ongoing assessment informs teachers and supports their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. The progression documents support this.

Varied learning experiences will ensure that languages are celebrated throughout the school community. This provides a context for language learning and develops the children’s understanding of different cultures, giving them purpose and meaning. Monitoring will show that cross curricular links are being made, supporting children to develop their mother-tongue literacy skills as well as cross-curricular features such as numeracy, thinking, geographical skills, and cultural understanding.

Pupil voice demonstrates that pupils feel fulfilled and enthused about their French learning.