Intent

At More Park Catholic Primary School we recognise the importance of diversity within our community. Language of the term and Young Language Ambassadors enable us to celebrate this and utilise the skills of pupils with more than one language. We recognise the importance of early immersion in language and teach French in all years from Reception to Year Six.  We use the Language Nut scheme of work which has been carefully structured to ensure coverage and progression. By the time children leave our school we want children to read and converse with confidence in a range of subject areas, respond to spoken and written languages with increasing fluency and accuracy. It is also our intention that children will begin to write for a range of purposes using the grammatical structures they have leant. We utilise a range of resources to ensure learning is both interactive and fun.

Implementation

Our MFL curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s skills in languages through weekly taught lessons. Children progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics. We follow the ‘Language Nut’ scheme of work, which is introduced from Year 2. However languages are introduced from the Foundation stage through singing, dance and action rhymes. This structure encourages the children to foster an enthusiasm for learning languages and ensures coverage and progression throughout the school. Within the Foundation Stage and Key Stage One pupils are introduced to songs and simple greetings it is the intention they learn in a fun and informal way. The focus topic introduced in Year 2 is ‘About me’. It is anticipated the children develop a thorough understanding of this unit in French but Language Nut also has the flexibility to offer a range of languages so any additional learning can relate to any specific topics or areas of interest. The unit has been broken down for individual year groups although repetition and overlearning is strongly encouraged to ensure learning is embedded in preparation for Key Stage 2. Further opportunities to develop confidence in languages is through the 5 A Day TV website where the children can engage in songs and dances to promote a healthy lifestyle.  Some of these songs are also in a range of languages

Once children enter Year 3 the learning is more formal and they follow a range of topics as outlined in the scheme of work. Pupils will receive one lesson per week. Pupils have a personal login identity for Language Nut and are encouraged to practice their learning at home. This allows the class teacher to oversee the pupils learning. In addition to our weekly French lessons, our language ambassadors (a small group of pupils form Years 3-6) introduce a language of the term, which encourages us all to learn basic greetings and phrases in a range of languages particularly languages represented by pupils at the school.

Impact

Children demonstrate an enjoyment of languages. They have a developing vocabulary and are beginning to record what they are able to recall. In Key Stage Two pupils are able to respond to simple commands and questions with developing accuracy and fluency. By the end of Year 6 pupils are able to engage confidently in simple conversations and are beginning to record their learning with greater accuracy and detail. MFL is monitored through lesson observations, analysis of in class assessment and work samples as appropriate.