St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School

MFL Curriculum Statement

French

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Intent

Teaching and learning in MFL is well embedded and has been for a sustained period of time. There has always been a commitment to high quality teaching of foreign languages at St. Patrick’s.

At St. Patrick’s , we are committed to ensuring our foreign languages teaching provides the foundation for learning further languages, as well as the means to access international opportunities for study and work later in life. The teaching of French in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 provides an appropriate balance of speaking, listening, reading and writing and lays the foundations for further foreign language teaching at KS3. 

In order to prepare our children to be successful in their learning of a second language, we believe this can only be done if we have a firm foundation of language learning – mastering the basics: phonics, vocabulary and grammar. This must be delivered in a structured, progressive and planned approach so  that children learn more and remember more over time.

Our core intent is to develop understanding and knowledge of phonics, vocabulary and grammar so that over time, children can engage fully in the process of language learning.

Phonics: The system of sounds and how they are represented in words

Vocabulary: Commonly used words and ‘topic’ words are introduced systematically so that pupils can re-use them and manipulate them to make their own sentences Commonly used words are revisited regularly and in different contexts across the key stage to ensure key knowledge is embedded.

Grammar: There is a clear, progressive sequence of grammar which is delivered throughout KS2 which is revisited regularly and in different contexts.

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. We teach the 2014 National Curriculum for Foreign Languages through  the use of the Scheme of Work – Language Angels – our core scheme

This aims to ensure that all children:

  • Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
  • Motivate our children to be curious about how language works 
  • Are able to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, find ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and that they are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
  • Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
  • To understand more through taught deliberate planning in terms of sequenced content
  • Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
  • Build teacher confidence and enjoyment in teaching  

We will plan for structured development in the following areas:

Phonics

Curriculum plans  will show clear progression in phonics including when to to teach difference between english sound- spelling correspondence and the target language. There is planned practice and review of phonemes and how these link to graphemes

Vocabulary 

We will plan so that vocabulary development will be a core part for sequenced learning We will ; prioritise high frequency words, use topic based vocabulary and ensure learners can use these words across a range of contexts

Grammar

Plans will have  grammatical progression from simpler to more complex structures and concepts. We will identify  grammatical features to be taught and revisit so pupils can see this being used in different contexts.

A high-quality language education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. At our school, we are committed to ensuring that teaching enables pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. We recognise that competence in another language enables children to interpret, create and exchange meaning within and across cultures. We also embrace the opportunity to celebrate how some children are already bilingual as they have English as a second language. 

Implementation

Children are introduced to French in the EYFS. Throughout KS1, children receive a weekly lesson. This is supplemented through the use of spoken French  in the classroom beyond the timetabled lesson, which includes the use of French  to give basic instructions and refer to familiar objects in the classroom. This enables the children to develop early language acquisition skills that facilitate their understanding of the patterns of language and how these differ from, or are similar to, English. In KS2, each class has a timetabled French  lesson of 45 minutes.

 

Clear and Consistent approach to pedagogy

Consistent approach to teaching – our model for learning

Retrieval and Recall

Recall tasks are used to check existing knowledge at the beginning of each French topic; allowing opportunities for key knowledge to be reviewed by the children and rigorously checked and consolidated by the teacher. Each unit of study draws upon our children’s prior learning and new content is introduced in a carefully planned and logical sequence, allowing them to build upon what they already know.

Checking for understanding – looking for Misconceptions

Effective Questioning:  questioning from the teacher enables them to check for understanding and address any misconceptions during lessons. This enables quality formative assessment. 

Summarising: asking children to summarise their understanding of a particular topic or concept can assess understanding, whilst allowing for any misconceptions to be immediately addressed.

Justifying:  asking children to explain their choice of words in a writing task for example, allows them to demonstrate their language learning knowledge and skills 

Live marking : enables teachers to check for understanding and provide immediate feedback for pupils.

Explain and Modelling

High quality teaching requires clear & concise  teacher explanations and explicit modelling of skills

In all lessons, teacher explanations should be  supported by strong subject knowledge so there is clarity of learning in the areas of phonics, vocabulary and grammar.

 

Scaffolding 

 

Teachers plan scaffolds for learning to support the children who need it. Scaffolding is the temporary support that is removed when it is no longer required’, providing ​‘enough support so that pupils can successfully complete tasks that they could not yet do independently’. A teacher may show the thought processes they go through and model expected outcomes. The teacher would also anticipate likely mistakes. All staff Teachers and Teaching Assistants have had training in how best to support children with effective scaffolding.

 

Applying Learning

Teaching needs to move pupils so they have the knowledge to work independently. Teaching is often modelled around the I do, We Do, You do model.

Pupils require the opportunity to apply the knowledge or practise the historical skills they have been taught.

Pupils should be encouraged and given the opportunity to work independently and apply what they have learned and develop their skills whenever possible.

 

Planned Progress in Phonics, Vocabulary and Grammar

Our curriculum plans focus on the development and security in these essential areas so there is a planned, sequential approach to help pills learn more over time.

All of our planning is built around the acquisition and development of this knowledge so it is an integral part of our teaching and learning.

Avoiding Cognitive Overload

Planning priorities key learning within lessons so pupils are not overloaded and recall tasks enable pupils to use previous learning so they can connect concepts and secure their understanding.

Inclusion and Ambition 

All pupils are entitled to a broad modern foreign language curriculum. Any adaptations made to support pupils’ learning in French usually should not be to the overall curriculum content, but rather to how the content is taught. In summary we try, where possible, to adapt the tasks and the activities so all children learn the same content.

Breadth and Depth

All key areas of learning: phonics, vocabulary and grammar have equal priority so learning in lessons gives the pupils the depth they need to succeed.

Building from the foundations made in EYFS

The teaching of languages is nor compulsory in KS1 or EYFS, but we believe that learning should take place in these areas as it gives our children the early knowledge they need to make learning stronger in KS2. We can then build on prior learning otherwise there would be no learning to build up from.  Our approach also encourages an early curiosity and motivation which gives us a strong platform for KS2 to work from

 

SEND

Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) have the greatest need for excellent modern foreign language teaching and are entitled to provision that supports achievement at, and enjoyment of, school. At times we modify our  teaching approaches to support pupils with Special educational needs and/or disabilities There is a need for all pupils to share the same curriculum, with the same level of  knowledge that pupils should know wherever possible. We ensure all pupils have access to high quality teaching by: flexible grouping; cognitive and metacognitive strategies;  explicit instruction; using technology; and scaffolding.

Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants make a major contribution to modern foreign languages. They do this through their support for children as individuals, as groups and as classes.  Following the EFF research on scaffolding, research has shown that improving the nature and quality of TAs’ talk to pupils can support the development of independent learning skills, which are associated with improved learning outcomes. TAs are trained to avoid prioritising task completion and instead concentrate on helping pupils develop ownership of tasks.TAs aim to give pupils the least amount of help first. They should allow sufficient wait time,so pupils can respond to a question or attempt the stage of a task independently. TAs should intervene appropriately when pupils demonstrate they are unable to proceed.

Assessment 

Staff use formative and summative assessment to support learning. In lesson checks are a strong feature so teachers can support pupils and summative assessment helps identify common weaknesses over time so these can be addressed. Ongoing marking of books, with each objective assessed: the teacher will tick three for greater depth, twice for a secure understanding, once for developing and a dot used for emerging.

  • Grades are inputted into termly trackers, which produce an analysis for subject leaders, broken down by gender, PP and SEND
  • Curriculum leader, supported by SLT, moderate grades against the evidence, alongside discussions with class teachers and a selection of pupils

Our curriculum has ambition for all so that all can learn.  We have a specific  curriculum design, where new knowledge is broken down and introduced sequentially,  so it can support all pupils to learn scientific concepts. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

CPD

Teachers have been well supported through professional development  and are therefore confident and ambitious for pupils giving Language teaching such a high profile within school. The historic commitment to teaching languages is reaping its rewards for both staff and pupils.

 

 

 

 

 

Impact

Lessons across the Key Stages support the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar:

  • Children are taught to listen attentively to spoken language and respond, joining in with songs, rhymes and games.
  • Children develop an appreciation of a variety of stories, songs, poems and rhymes in French  which are delivered through the curriculum content, as well as by French speakers within the school community.
  • The main areas of teaching (phonics, grammar and vocabulary) are planned so there is progressive learning and the steps of learning are sequenced so the children can improve their knowledge and skills over time.
  • Vocabulary is prioritised so there is a gradual approach as to when new words are introduced with target vocabulary ( key vocabulary) emphasised.
  • The teaching approach clearly aims to develop memory – so the children learn by developing their long term memory . This is supported by the pedagogical approach of the school in embedding recall into all lessons to help children build on prior learning. This is planned and teachers are supported so here isn’t cognitive overload – asking our pupils to remember too much
  • All of our curriculum plans ensure that we build knowledge of grammar, vocabulary over time so pupils eventually can understand more complex aspects of a new language.
  • Teachers assess in lessons through formative assessment – good questioning and through working alongside children as they learn. Summative assessment occurs at the end of topics so areas of weakness can be identified. Assessment is linked to the priorities identified in planning
  • Children currently have an international link with children in a school in Kenya.  This supports the school’s commitment to providing opportunities for children to communicate and appreciate other cultures and the wider global community.
  • Cross curricular links with music. During the autumn term, each class learns a song in an international language during their music lessons and performs it to an audience on the celebration of International Languages and Music Day. 
  • The Celebration of International Languages and Music Day takes place in the autumn term: parents and relatives of Reception and Year 6 children are invited into school to St. Patrick’s Continental Cafe. Year 6 children greet their  ‘customers’ in French, take their orders and serve them with Continental delicacies such as ‘des croissants, du thé, du café ou du chocolat chaud’.
  • Links with creative writing and computing. During the summer term, Year 6 children design and create French books which they read to their chosen audience in EYFS or KS1 class. This provides opportunities for children to perform, practise their pronunciation and intonation, whilst encouraging the appreciation and beauty of languages to younger children within St. Patrick’s.
  • Knowledge and skills in French  are progressive from one year to the next and are mapped across the school, in line with the Languages Angels  scheme of work. Cross curricular links have been identified and the school’s own context is considered as part of curriculum planning, including, for example, how resources can be used to enhance and enrich French  learning.

 Our MFL curriculum ensures that children develop their knowledge of where different languages, including the range of home languages spoken by the families of the school, as well as French, are spoken in the world. 

St. Patrick’s also ensures that languages are celebrated throughout the school community whilst providing a context for language learning whilst developing the children’s understanding of different cultures.

Teaching and learning in MFL is well embedded and has been for a sustained period of time. There has always been a commitment to high quality teaching of foreign languages at St. Patrick’s.

This has meant that learning by the end of KS2 is now exceptional. Pupils knowledge of the three key areas has built over time. Pupis are now curious about languages and their curiosity and knowledge of grammar influences their approaches to learning grammar within English.

We are proud of outcomes for pupils with SEND.  They experience the full curriculum and teachers adapt activities if required. 

The school has a long and proud history in working in collaboration with schools, in other parts of Europe, to enrich the curriculum. Giving the children an exciting look at the world beyond their own community

St Patrick’s is a fully accredited International School – awarded from The British Council, in recognition of our work to give a global dimension to the teaching and learning at St Patrick’s.

We have developed a love, appreciation and curiosity around learning another language, which has only been achieved through careful planning, support to teachers, a clear pedagogical approach, and embedding a culture of looking beyond our own and clear strategies to monitor outcomes.

Working across a range of activities and projects to enrich our curriculum, the school has formed strong connections with schools across Europe in Italy (Milan) and Portugal (Lisbon). Working in collaboration we have exchanged shared artwork, learnt and shared songs in our MFL work (Italian and Portuguese) and even created pen pals with our friends aboard. We shared examples of our work on the European Union online platform eTwinning. One of our collaborative projects received recognition when awarded the eTwinning Award of excellence.  This was a joint project with our friends in Milan based themed around Holocaust Memorial Day.