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A St Peter's Linguist

Modern Foreign Languages (Spanish) at St Peter’s C of E Primary School


Intent

‘A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.’ (National Curriculum 2014 – Appendix A)


At St Peter’s we seek to further develop our PETERS values (Pride, Effort, Teamwork, Respect, Spirituality) through our teaching of Spanish.  The skills, knowledge and understanding gained through learning a language contribute to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture and those of others, promoting our values of Respect and Empathy.  Through our Foreign Language curriculum, we strive to engage, improve and inspire children’s language learning in Spanish, building upon our value of Effort. Through the teaching of Spanish, we endeavour to teach children to listen to and read new vocabulary given to them, write using the grammar learnt and begin to speak developing on the language they have been taught. 


At St Peter’s, we are guided by the National Curriculum for Foreign Language (2014). The National Curriculum for Spanish aims to ensure that all pupils:

Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.

  • Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.

  • Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.

  • Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language.

  • Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary

  • Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly


At St Peter’s, we use the Language Angels scheme of work and resources to ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite our pupils using a wide variety of topics and themes.  Our ultimate aim is that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2.


The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing will be taught and all necessary grammar will be covered in an age-appropriate way across the primary phase. This will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning.


Implementation

All KS2 classes will have access to a very high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources. This will progressively develop pupil skills in foreign languages through weekly 30 minute lessons.  Children will progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge organised around age-appropriate topics and themes - building blocks of language into more complex, fluent and authentic language.  Children will build on previous knowledge gradually as their foreign language lessons continue to recycle, revise and consolidate previously learnt language whilst building on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.


Teachers are provided with a Progression Map and Grammar Grid to ensure all children are progressing their foreign language learning skills and are taught the appropriate grammar at the right time in their foreign language learning journey.


Impact

Through the high-quality teaching of Spanish throughout KS2, children who leave St.Peter’s in Year 6 will:

  • Be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills as they move into Key Stage 3.

  • Be aware that a language has a structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another.

  • Have increased their understanding of language and communication through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.

  • Have enriched their language learning by developing an understanding of Spanish culture.

 
The opportunity to assess pupil learning and progression in the key language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and against the 12 DfE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2 attainment targets is provided at the end of each 6-week teaching unit. This information will be recorded and will be monitored by the Foreign Language Subject Leader who can use this data to ensure teaching is targeted and appropriate for each pupil, class and year group as well as to feedback on progress to SLT and stakeholders.   Pupils will also be offered self-assessment grids to ensure they are also aware of their own progress which they can keep as a record of their progress.
 
The leadership team check that this impact is being secured through monitoring the subject on a regular basis. The method of monitoring supports the ongoing development of the curriculum.
This includes:
• Staff subject knowledge, which is audited each year to ensure knowledge is secure, and additional support provided if necessary
• Staff meetings linked to SIP to discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of topics with the subject leaders. From this, medium term planning is amended and adapted to ensure the curriculum remains relevant for the children
• A ‘pupil voice’, which is conducted at different points of each year to allow pupils to contribute to their curriculum content.
• Monitoring of work against the medium-term plans, so that inconsistencies can be addressed
• Tracking of content against the long-term plan of the school, to ensure the full breadth of the curriculum is met. The impact of this is to ensure that children at St Peter’s are equipped with skills and knowledge of MFL, which will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as an adult in an increasingly international, multi-linguistic the wider world.