The policy is written with consideration to our school commitment to the Rights of the Child and our achievement of being a Rights Respecting School. It complies with Article 28 of the UNCRC ‘Every child has the right to an education’ as well as Article 29 ‘Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.’ Although direct reference to this is not continuously made, the policy has been written with full awareness of our responsibility and commitment to children’s rights.
At Lady Margaret Primary School, each unit of work is linked to the four key themes across the school: Legacy, morality, power and sustainability. By linking each unit of art and design to the four key themes, the children are posed questions about how they can make a change individually, as a class or as a school. In effect, children are able to use the themes to reflect back on and recall previously taught units in earlier years. If a theme applies to the lesson, a slide should be dedicated to this in the introduction.
Lady Margaret Primary School believes that the acquisition and development of an additional language is of fundamental importance to the children. A broad and balanced languages curriculum is intended to develop the children’s cognitive skills, enhance their learning across the curriculum and improve their understanding of a culture other than their own. Progressive learning questions combined with a varied and systematic teaching approach endeavours to provide a stimulating, interesting and engaging learning experience for all children across the age range. Through the selection of suitably differentiated activities and clear, concise planning, it is intended that pupils, irrespective of proficiency in other languages, will enjoy success and be motivated to develop their individual potential.
Throughout sessions, a blend of independent and collaborative learning activities aim to cater for children who prefer different learning styles and who have a wide range of strengths. These tasks are also desirous of developing a pupil’s ability to work independently and to respond appropriately to others, irrespective of their age gender,
cultural or ethnic background.
The activities offered and the teaching approaches adopted seek to provide pupils with opportunities to develop their language skills and the grammar, which underpins the acquisition of an additional language. Pupils are encouraged to investigate information about other cultures through their sessions, compare, and contrast the lives of people in France and other countries to their own. Learning in this area links directly to the British Values of tolerance and respect.
Whilst retaining its unique contribution to a pupil’s development of language, learning an additional language also has considerable potential to contribute to much wider areas of learning, including: developing confidence in communicating, understanding the world in which they live and developing socially.
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
Pupils should be taught to:
The teaching of French is based upon the National Curriculum criteria for Key Stage 2. To implement these plans, the specialist French teacher creates progressive planning and interesting resources to engage the children in their studies. As the children move through the school, the expectation of grammar and responses increases in accordance with their proficiency. The LMPS themes, legacy, morality, progress and sustainability is threaded throughout the planning and referred to throughout a French lesson.
Children in any year group, represent a range of capabilities and learning styles. These differences can be particularly pronounced. Some will have a natural ear for language while others will struggle. Some are already bilingual in other languages. They will all face different personal learning obstacles, from grammar to pronunciation. Young children have an advantage in terms of language acquisition. As children get older, they begin to switch from that early ability to absorb language naturally to a more explicit way of learning, strategies become important.
No matter what language, differentiation can serve as an important technique to engage the wide range of learners in the classroom. At LMPS, we engage children in various ways such as, role-plays, reading exercise, practise with friends and games to ensure children can access the French curriculum. Being able to speak another language must be fun and our purpose at Lady Margaret is to build up the children’s confidence in the language.
Extra-curricular activities are offered in French throughout Key Stage Two. In these activities, the children are able to play games, which originate from France, thus developing both their understanding of life in France and enhancing their confidence at speaking French with their peers.
Modern foreign languages is reviewed on a half termly basis through a combination of learning walks, lesson observations, book monitoring, pupil voice and the quality of
learning environments.
The MFL leader, leads the maintenance and development of the subject. They are responsible for assuring quality and standards in the subject by:
Date:
July 2022