Statement of Intent

At Beech Hill Primary School we believe that learning an additional language is a great way to discover other countries and cultures, building relationships with other people and a chance to gain a skill which will have far reaching benefits as foreign travel and worldwide job opportunities increase.  In school we teach Spanish to Key Stage 2 children and have a lunch time club open to Year 2 children. We learn Spanish through songs and games and have a specialist language teacher who delivers the curriculum. We are also very lucky to have  different languages spoken in our school. We celebrate this by focusing each half term on a  language spoken in school, with displays in class and assemblies to share the different language and cultures which thrive in our school.

Purpose of study

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.” 

-The National Curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 Framework Document. September 2013

Children in KS2 learn Spanish.  In KS2 children are taught by a specialist teacher directly for 45 minutes per week and school aims to follow up activities when appropriate outside of the language lesson. Children in Year 2 are also given the opportunity to take part in a Lunchtime Spanish club, once per week. 

Management and Training

The subject is managed by the Languages Co-ordinator. To ensure the language skills of staff are developed and sustained the school are members of the Primary Languages Network. This provides all the materials, resources and support sound files and activities to enable the school to ensure progression in language learning across the four core skills and also the DfE 12 Attainment Targets. The co-ordinator will advise, work with and guide staff and the visiting specialist teacher when required.

The Curriculum

Our school follows the Primary Languages Network scheme of work. It is a live scheme which is continually updated and revised in order to meet with current curriculum standards. Alongside the planning provided, the network also enriches this through accompanying power points, pod casts (spoken by native speakers) links to authentic literature, songs, games, culture points of reference, links to appropriate websites. 

Teaching and Learning

To promote an active learning of languages a range of teaching methods are implemented to ensure that the children are developing their linguistic skills through listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to be secondary ready. Activities can consist of actions, rhymes, stories, song, drama, grammar focus, video clips, air writing, sentence structure, dictionary work, book making and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills. 

Assessment

Currently assessment is informal across the four language skills and the progress made in these throughout KS2. We have recently undertaken a rigorous form of assessment across all classes, to monitor attainment and progression through written and oral Spanish. 

Monitoring

The lead teacher discusses language learning with the visiting teacher and monitors planning, and spoken and written evidence of progress in learning. The school is working toward effective progress across the four years of KS2. The lead teacher can access training in monitoring via the PLN VLE , consultation time, email discussion and at coordinator CPD.  

Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural (SMSC) Development in Modern Foreign Languages

Children may gain insights in to the way of life, cultural traditions, moral and social developments of other people through studies around Spanish festivals and traditions. Social skills are developed though group activities and communication activities, such as conversations in Spanish and asking and answering questions in the language. Listening skills are improved though oral work. Listening to native speakers allow children to understand and use new words with correct accent.