Modern Foreign Languages Subject Leader Planning Statement

Article 29 (goals of education) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child States:

Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

Y3-Y6 follow new French plans from Twinkl.  These plans are new and reflect current national curriculum requirements for teaching MFL at primary level.  All teachers supplement their teaching with enrichment lessons from other sources, such as TES, LCP and own subject knowledge.  MFL in Y3 and Y4 is taught by subject leader.

What makes our MFL curriculum exceptional?

1. It is underpinned by aims, values & purpose

e.g. Article 29 UN Convention of Rights of the Child: Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

2. It develops the whole person – knowledge, skills, understanding & attitudes.

Lessons are relevant to the age of the children.  It provides them with vocabulary, speaking, reading and writing opportunities.     

3. It is broad and balanced.

Different topics are covered throughout Y3-Y6.  There is full curriculum coverage. 

4. There is clear progression in subject knowledge and skills.

Some topics are revisited as the children move up the school – such as greetings, numbers, days of the week and months of the year.  Spiral curriculum.  Simpler and more child focused topics take place in Y3/4 and more complicated topics are covered in Y5/6.

5. It is filled with rich first-hand experiences.

The children take part in a French food tasting morning during Excellence and Enjoyment Week and in the past they have been offered a day trip to France. Two staff members are fluent French speakers and other staff members have studied French at A level. 

6. It is flexible and responsive to individual needs and interests.

The topics taught have been carefully spread across the four year groups to ensure that each year group teaches lessons relevant to their children.  Native speaking children are encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences.  Lessons are differentiated for less able and more able children.

7. It has an eye on the future and the needs of future citizens.

Children are taught that adults sometimes go to live in other countries to work and that sometimes a second language is needed.  Having a second language is an excellent skill for life.

8. It encourages the use of environments and expertise beyond the classroom.

French day trip, talking about holidays and experiences in French speaking countries.  Excellence and enjoyment week food tasting. 

9. It makes meaningful links between areas of knowledge across the curriculum.

Topics cover PSHE, maths, literacy, geography, music, science, art.

10. It has a local, national and global dimension.

Children are taught French but understand the context of the language, in that we are not a French speaking region or country and that they would have to visit another part of the world to experience the language fully.

11. It is supported by high quality Subject Leader CPD.

Subject leader speaks French fluently.  Attended a French speaking secondary school.  Studied MFL as foundation specialist subject within BEd.  Subject leader currently teaches French to the Y3 and Y4 children, immersive teaching whenever possible.       

12. SMSC is embedded within the curriculum

(See SMSC subject statement).

Social, Moral, Spiritual, Cultural Links – MFL

Spiritual

Engages children with the beauty inherent with another language.

Through MFL children can explore using another language to express thoughts slightly differently.

Moral

Stories with a moral message from other countries are shared.

Children learn about current affairs and human responses to them within different countries.

Children are given an awareness and understanding of fellow human beings living different lifestyles in different countries.

Social

Through MFL the children can compare lifestyles and attitudes.

The children can look for similarities and differences between cultures, in terms of language use as well as social behaviour and issues.

They learn to communicate directly with someone who speaks a different language.

Cultural

Children learn about different foods and eating habits.  They learn about leisure pursuits, fashion and lifestyles as part of a cultural tradition.