At Houghton Conquest Lower School we believe that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including the key skills of speaking and listening, and extends their knowledge of how language works. Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others. We provide learning opportunities for all children in Key Stage 2.
We aim to provide children with opportunities to speak in their family language, to share their knowledge of the customs, heritage and culture of their family language, in EYFS and throughout the school. We believe that it is vital for all children to develop their understanding and knowledge of the wider world and to become more aware of the diversity of cultures that makes up our modern society.
We use Kapow Primary’s French scheme of work. Our French scheme of work is designed with six strands that run throughout. These are:
National curriculum mapping shows which of our units cover each of the National curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the strands.
Our Progression of Skills and Knowledge shows the skills and knowledge that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of Key Stage 2.
Our children are given opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines. There are balanced opportunities for communication in both spoken and written French, although in Year 3 the focus is on developing oral skills, before incorporating written French in Year 4 and beyond.
Weekly French Lessons in Key stage 2 incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including role-play, language games and language detective work. Our scheme of work focuses on developing what we term ‘language detective skills’ and developing an understanding of French grammar, rather than on committing to memory vast amounts of French vocabulary.
We believe that strong subject knowledge is vital for our Key Stage 2 staff so that they are able to deliver a highly effective languages curriculum. Kapow’s teacher videos and pronunciation presentations support by developing subject knowledge providing ongoing CPD. We use Kapow’s presentations and sound files to deliver the lessons and to support the children’s learning.
We monitor progress through both formative and summative assessment. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives. An assessment spreadsheet is used to record children’s progress in each lesson to enable us to build a picture of their learning through each unit.
After the implementation of Kapow Primary French, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of language-learning skills to enable them to study French, or any other language, with confidence at middle school and beyond.
The expected impact of our French curriculum is that children will:
Curriculum Mapping French
Progression of Knowledge and Skills