Intent

All pupils at The Downley School are immersed in a carefully crafted French curriculum that intends to develop an appreciation for learning languages and cultural understanding.

Our French curriculum enables pupils to learn, grow and succeed together and is underpinned by our six values:

 

Respect

• Children will show an appreciation for the French language and links to other European languages, as well as respect for French culture and celebrations.  This will also allow them to reflect on their own surroundings and culture.

 

Resilience

• Children are resilient learners and learn from their mistakes; they approach French with a growth mindset.
• Children have the opportunity to learn to speak, listen, read and write in French and will approach this learning with an open mind and determination.
• Having new experiences (novelty) is an important factor in forming new connections in the brain and strengthening nervous system links.

 

Teamwork

• Children have the opportunity to work in pairs, small groups and as part of a class team to learn, practise and communicate orally or as part of a small presentation.
• Children develop transferable skills such as teamwork and leadership.

 

Inclusion

• All children have the opportunity to participate in French lessons.
• Adaptations/support is provided to enable all to achieve.

 

Responsibility

• Children will learn to demonstrate an enthusiasm for French and learn to articulate the language with correct pronunciation.
• As students see the progress they can make throughout KS2, they become more motivated by their successes and begin to acquire a sense of ownership and responsibility for the role they play in these successes.

 

Integrity

• Children will have the opportunity to explore a range of topics, vocabulary and activities in French which will also help them understand the wider cultural and social implications in learning a language. 

Implementation

Our high quality French curriculum has clear progression and learning is carefully sequenced, built on and revisited. Lessons are planned to deepen pupils’ knowledge and skills, for future learning and in readiness for learning the language or other languages when they move on to secondary school.

Kapow’s French scheme takes a holistic approach in which the following strands are woven together within each year group's topics;

• Phonics
• Grammar
• Language Comprehension (listening & reading)
• Language Production (speaking & writing)
• Cultural Awareness

The Kapow Primary scheme follows the spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon. 

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and whole class work. Relevant cross-curricular links are made with other areas of learning where appropriate. 

Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of key vocabulary.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to be able to deliver a highly effective and robust French curriculum. Each unit of lessons includes multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD, aiding teachers in their own acquisition of French skills and knowledge. 

Teachers use assessment to help learners embed and use knowledge fluently, to check understanding, address misconceptions, and inform teaching.

Children have the opportunity of extracurricular opportunities by learning an additional language, Spanish (with an external provider). All children will participate in International Language Day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This supports their SMSC development.

Impact

Pupils leave The Downley School with a broad understanding of the academic content of the French curriculum and meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for French. They know more, remember more and can do more; they are prepared for their future aspirations, which may involve European or other languages and cultural understanding.

They understand that when we learn together, we grow together and succeed together.