French at St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School
The core language taught at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is French. Our planning is based on the Bishop Hogarth Education Trust scheme of work which covers all the components of the Programme of Study. It is the intention that all children in KS2 will access first quality teaching of French by their class teacher in order to adequately prepare them for KS3.
Curriculum Intent
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. Here at St. Joseph’s we have a families from a wide range of cultures and heritage with many children speaking English as a second language. Our intent is to develop an enthusiastic and positive attitude to other languages and language learning, whilst teaching skills to develop linguistic competence. We see this as a lifelong skill, which opens avenues of communication and exploration as well as promoting, encouraging, and instilling a broader cultural understanding.
We offer a high-quality, progressive programme of study which encourages enjoyment of the language studied and allows each pupil to experience success.
Implementation
At St. Joseph’s we us the In Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust’s programme of study for KS2 which has been developed by a team of primary school teachers and secondary language specialists. Careful consideration has been given to ensure that the acquisition of knowledge has been carefully sequenced with prior knowledge built upon, resulting in a systematic and cumulative approach to language acquisition. Regular reviews and mini assessments have been built into the programme to facilitate pupils ‘knowing more and remembering more’.
Our curriculum covers the National Curriculum and is underpinned by the four key language skills:
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading
- Writing
Progression in each of the four key language skills allow pupils to comprehend and produce language for effective personal communication. Knowledge of vocabulary, phonics, and grammar are embedded throughout each of the skills. In addition, there are further opportunities for pupils to broaden cultural understanding with standalone cultural awareness lessons each term.
Four key units of work are taught and built upon throughout KS2, allowing pupils the opportunity to revisit prior knowledge and ensure progression of skills and master each of the areas. The units of work chosen for Key Stage 2 are essential units for transition into KS3 and feature into KS4.