Intent

At Herne, we deliver a high quality languages curriculum that inspires a life-long love of languages and builds cultural capital.  Our children study the French language from Years 3 to 6, through a sequenced and progressive curriculum.  Lessons make modern language learning accessible and attainable for all pupils. In addition to this, children also have the opportunity to experience other world languages, which are linked to our History and Geography curriculum. Our annual Languages Week provides experiences of different languages and cultures.  Further opportunities (Language Leader roles, peer-to-peer workshops and Culture Clubs) are available each year and contribute to the balanced and broad experience that the children receive.  The children’s learning journey provides them with the opportunity to flourish, through the study of a range of languages and cultures, and consequently enables them to thrive in the next stage in their learning.

Implementation

At Herne, we use the French iLanguages scheme as a basis for our curriculum.   It supports the teachers’ delivery of French through detailed and engaging content and is adapted to suit the needs of our children.  The curriculum keeps interest levels high by providing lessons which are fun, active and interactive.  This scheme is supplemented by studies of other languages in Year 6.  These lessons introduce the children to languages which children are likely to encounter at secondary school and enable them to start Year 7 with confidence.

Five strands are used to teach the children: reading, speaking, listening, writing and grammar.  Children complete weekly activities in their French lessons, which cover some or all of these strands.  Children’s work is evidenced in class French books in Year 3, 4 and 5 and in individual books in Year 6, which prepare them for their learning in secondary school.  Class books travel with the children as they progress through the school and enable them to refer back to their previous learning and evidence their progress.

A number of strategies are in place to support and scaffold the children’s learning.  These include the use of Language Mats, Working Walls and intervention sessions.  School signs, incidental use of French in lessons and the development of weekly BSL activities all contribute to the study of Languages being embedded within our curriculum.

Assessments are carried out during terms 2 and 5.  Each child completes activities in all five strands, which inform teachers’ judgements.  Assessments are used to track children’s progress, identify areas of strength and development and plan for supporting and stretching activities for the children.

Impact

At Herne, our children are provided with high quality Languages lessons, which give them building blocks to develop their French learning and the confidence to start to learn other languages.  They are able to make links between languages and have a curiosity and a love of languages. The study of Languages, combined with our embedded Christian school values, provide children with opportunities in their personal and working lives, which can develop them into successful global citizens.

At Herne, we measure the impact of our Language teaching in a variety of ways:

• pupil voice
• teacher voice
• book looks
• lesson visits
• teacher assessment of the five strands.

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