Rationale:
Our Spanish curriculum seeks to give pupils a relevant, broad and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite them through a wide variety of topics and themes. All pupils will be expected to achieve their full potential by encouraging high expectations and excellent standards in their foreign language learning – the ultimate aim being that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2.
The intent is that all pupils will develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating. Learning another language also offers pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences.
The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing will be taught and all necessary grammar will be covered in an age-appropriate way. This will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning. In addition, children will be taught how to look up and research language they are unsure of and they will have a bank of reference materials to help them with their spoken and written tasks going forward. This bank of reference materials will develop into schema to help pupils recall and build on previous knowledge throughout their primary school language learning journey.
All KS2 classes will have access to a high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources. This will progressively develop pupils’ skills in foreign languages through regularly taught and well-planned weekly lessons. Extended writing activities are provided to ensure that pupils are recalling previously learnt language and, by reusing it, will be able to recall it and use it with greater ease and accuracy. These tasks will help to link units together and show that pupils are retaining and recalling the language taught with increased fluency and ease.
As well as each subsequent lessons within a unit being progressive, the teaching organisation of Language Angels units also directs, drives and guarantees progressive learning and challenge. Units increase in level of challenge, stretch and linguistic and grammatical complexity as pupils move from Early Learning units through Intermediate units and into the most challenging Progressive units.
Pupils will continuously build on their previous knowledge as they progress in their foreign language learning journey through the primary phase. Previous language will be recycled, revised, recalled and consolidated whenever possible and appropriate.
Lessons follow a clear sequence allowing opportunities for deliberate practise and memory recall; challenge for all pupils, through the curriculum, is central to what we believe is key. All children will access the same curriculum as we believe all pupils are capable to achieve and thrive, ensuring there are no glass ceilings limiting anyone. For those pupils who need further support within a lesson/activity, we scaffold learning where appropriate to allow all pupils to achieve expected standard or beyond.
Knowledge organisers are shared at the start of every unit. Pupils are taught strategies to help them learn the knowledge and vocabulary that they contain. We also share ideas with parents on how to support their children to learn the content at home. Vocabulary is taught explicitly with opportunities provided for deliberate practice.
Assessment opportunities are carefully planned so that they are purposeful, support learning and inform us as to whether our curriculum and or the delivery of it is effective.
