French

Please click HERE to see an overview of what French is taught in each of the year groups.

Subject Intent 

At Whitehill Primary School, our intent is to provide children with enjoyable and stimulating lessons to develop a thirst for learning a new language and broaden children’s understanding of the world. MFL teaching at Whitehill aims to broaden children’s horizons, promote diversity and foster children’s curiosity and appreciation of other cultures. We endeavour to embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing necessary to enable children to use and apply their French and lay the foundations for future language learning.

Aims & Expectations 

Our MFL curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s skills in languages, through regular taught lessons. Children acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics. We follow the ‘Language Angels’ Scheme of work which provides clear coverage and progression across the school. All our children in KS2 will have regular language lessons. The scheme of work ensures each pupil is challenged and stretched and all the requirements of DfE Languages Programme of Study for KS2 are met.

We use a variety of the following techniques to encourage children to have an active engagement with French:

• Interactive lesson materials
• Songs, karaoke videos and games to improve memory and recall
• Native speaker recordings to expose children to the correct pronunciation
• Differentiated desk-based activities
• Reading and writing materials
• Displays are used to remind children of key vocabulary
• In the classroom where possible instructions are given in French to expose children to the language as much as possible

From quality first teaching and assessment for learning, we will see the following impact:

• Positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures
• Understanding and appreciation for languages and their structure
• Language and communication developed through the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
• Children will be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills when transferring to KS3

Inclusion & Equal Opportunities 

At Whitehill Primary School, we teach a modern foreign language to all children, whatever their ability. A modern foreign language forms part of the school’s commitment to providing a broad and balanced education to all children. Through our modern foreign language teaching, we provide learning opportunities that enable all children to make progress. We do this by setting suitable learning challenges and responding to each child's different needs.

We strive to ensure that pupils’ attainment is in line with or exceeds their potential when we consider the varied starting points of all our children. The learning challenges and progression grids used to plan and teach MFL ensure that children are accessing work at age related expectations, with regular opportunities to be challenged through higher-level objectives.

Parental Involvement & Wider Community Links 

At Whitehill, we encourage parents to inform the school about the languages their children speak. Parents are always welcome to come and read stories in French and other languages. If they have a particular expertise in languages, we will involve a parent in delivery of lessons/clubs or events.

Resourcing, Health & Safety Considerations 

Whitehill has a yearly subscription to a French Scheme of work in order to provide a range of resources from years 3-6. This will be reviewed on a yearly basis. Classroom resources will be purchased for KS2 classrooms to promote French learning and understanding.

Monitoring 

The children are assessed on an ongoing basis by the teacher and also carry out self-assessments  so they can understand and monitor the progress that they are making in learning the language. This is done informally during the lessons to inform future planning. Pupil voice evidences whether pupils are acquiring a developed understanding of the vocabulary and grammar of our modern foreign language, French. We assess listening, speaking, talking to somebody, reading, writing and intercultural understanding. 

Teachers will assess children against the Programmes of Study in order to inform future planning. Book and work sampling shows that pupils have had opportunities for practice and refine skills within the MFL curriculum from Year 3 to Year 6. On an annual basis, we report progress to parents as part of our end of year report. At the end of KS2 a record of assessment is also passed onto secondary schools in order to ensure children’s language skills continue to be developed.