Intent

Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education fosters children’s curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world. It enables children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.

Language learning provides opportunities to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. It lays the foundation for learning further languages, equipping children to study and work in other countries.

The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.

• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, improving the accuracy of pronunciation and intonation.

• Write at varying length for different purposes and audiences, using a range of grammatical structures.

• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

Implementation

At Purley C of E Primary School, children begin learning French from the Reception Year (Year R) and continue throughout Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Weekly lessons use the resources and units of work from Language Angels, ensuring a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious curriculum that inspires and excites pupils through a wide variety of topics and themes.

All pupils are expected to achieve their full potential through high expectations and excellent standards in their foreign language learning, with the aim that they will feel confident and motivated to continue studying languages beyond Key Stage 2.

A strong emphasis is placed on developing speaking and listening skills, which are embedded and extended as pupils progress through Upper Key Stage 2, alongside reading and writing. Learning gradually advances towards more complex language concepts and greater learner independence.

Impact

When children leave Purley Primary, they will have developed a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages. They will understand that in a multi-lingual society, it is a valuable skill to communicate effectively with others in another language. Pupils will be engaged, motivated and well-prepared to continue their language learning at secondary school.