Intent

The skills, knowledge and understanding gained through learning a language contribute to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture and those of others. At Saint Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, we feel that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language in question is acquired. We feel passionately that the children should hear as many languages as possible and that the different languages and cultures in our school are celebrated.  We will prepare children for the KS3 language curriculum to enable them to transfer confidently and successfully.

Implementation

 We plan a MFL curriculum which will meet the needs of all learners; making adjustments where necessary to ensure that children with Special Educational Needs and those who are categorised as Disadvantaged Learners are able to achieve their full potential. 

During the year, the whole school will look at all of the different languages spoken in each class, and families are invited in to share and celebrate their culture. This is an opportunity for children to share their own experiences of language. Teachers will study the countries, look at the culture and compare this to our own. 

In Key Stage 2, three different languages are studied. In Autumn, Latin is the focus, through the engaging Minimus Mouse books. In Spring, our children learn Spanish and in Summer term, they learn French.

Our Reception and Key Stage 1 classes also look at stories, songs, greetings and numbers, in Spring and Summer, to increase their exposure and enthusiasm for languages.

Impact

Through the teaching of a range of languages we will see the impact of the subject in the following ways:

· Children will become aware that a language has a structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another.

· Children will develop their language and communication through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.

· Children will enrich their language learning by developing an understanding of a range of cultures.

· Children will transfer to KS3 effectively and successfully and will be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills.