What does French look like at Hilderthorpe?

At Hilderthorpe Primary School, we follow the national curriculum for languages (French), using the Kapow  scheme of work.

Subject Leader

The subject leaders for French is Miss Loggie.

J'adore French! It's fun to learn words in a different language and I would love to go to France one day.

Olivia, Year 5

Intent Statement

Throughout KS2 we aim to embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing necessary to enable children to use and apply their French learning in a variety of contexts, preparing children for the KS3 language curriculum, enabling them to transfer confidently and successfully.

Kapow: Key Information

The school uses the Kapow scheme of work to support the teaching and learning of French. Children acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics. This ensures our MFL curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s skills in French. 

The planning covers all the components of the Programme of Study. Throughout all the stages the aims of the current curriculum include:

  • Introducing children to a different language in a way that is enjoyable and fun
  • Fostering an interest in learning another language
  • Developing their speaking and listening skills
  • Stimulating and encouraging curiosity about language
  • Helping children to understand cultural differences in other countries
  • Encouraging awareness of the fact that language has structure and that structures differ from one language to another
  • To lay foundations for future study
Teaching for Greater Depth

Upper KS2 units are increasingly challenging, often revisiting and extending previous work and offer the inspiration and opportunity for children to communicate knowledge and use language more creatively and imaginatively. Children have access to bilingual dictionaries and are taught by a specialist teacher who is able to up skill during speaking work allowing the opportunity to extend .

‘I can’ self assessment sheets are completed during each unit along with an end of unit traffic light. When completed, these act as a checklist for the knowledge covered. In some units this includes the use of a bilingual dictionary, understanding of any grammar points and a more challenging final activity.

Links to Real Life

The children enjoy and value DT and know why they are doing things, not just how. Children will understand and appreciate the value of DT in the context of their personal wellbeing and the creative and cultural industries and their many career opportunities. At our school we intend that children should master DT to such an extent that they can go on to have careers within DT and make use of design and technology effectively in their everyday lives. 

Throughout their time at school, they will have opportunities to go visit industries to see how different things have been made. This gives them an insight about how things have been created and the effort which goes into them.

Variation

Assessment criteria has been developed for each unit to assess the progress of children in their language learning as they move through KS2. This helps to ensure that children are supported and challenged as appropriate.

An essential part of the beginning of every French lesson is reminding, revisiting and repeating prior learning including vocabulary as well as asking and answering simple questions. This affords regular catch up and extension opportunities for all pupils and allows the level of support offered to reflect the needs of all the children. In addition bespoke PowerPoints, games on Purple Mash and worksheets are all designed to help support and extend new language learning.