Subject Intent

At Long Mountain Primary we teach French from Year 3 to Year 6. Through our teaching of French as a modern foreign language, we foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The skills and knowledge they gain from learning French will provide a foundation for future language learning and will widen their future opportunities. 

Our French curriculum will enable our pupils to develop the following essential characteristics:

- The confidence to speak with good intonation and pronunciation.

- Confidence in reading French.

- The ability to communicate orally and in writing, in French.

- Understanding of the culture and location of the countries where French is spoken.

- A passion for languages and a commitment to the subject.

Subject Implementation

We have a 2 year rolling programme for French. This means every KS2 child will cover a variety of subject content in French (see the Curriculum Map for further detail). The rolling programme is structured so that pupils build on prior knowledge and have opportunities to revisit and deepen their confidence of core French knowledge e.g. pronunciation of the alphabet, knowledge of numbers, key verbs, masculine/feminine word endings etc.

We have liaised with our colleagues in KS3 at our feeder secondary schools and continue to work with them to ensure our end points are relevant and useful as our pupils move into their secondary education.

French is taught to all Key Stage 2 classes by their respective class teachers in a weekly lesson. The learning is interactive, engaging and fun. It includes depth and detail about the French language and French culture. The lessons include singing and games to introduce new vocabulary and phrases to read and write, as well as allowing pupils to explore the language further through stories, poems and rhymes. We have a variety of resources to draw on in school to support the children’s learning in French. 

Subject Impact

The impact of the subject can be seen in the progress that the pupils make and their attitude to the subject. We want our pupils to know more, remember more and be able to do more. The impact is seen in the way pupils are developing their ability to communicate in French.

Assessment is used to inform teaching and learning. We do not routinely use summative assessment in French (e.g. end of unit ‘tests’). However,  teachers make use of retrieval practice throughout a learning sequence in French; they refer to and activate prior knowledge and build multiple opportunities to recall key vocabulary (for example).

French and Inclusion 

At Long Mountain we pride ourselves on supporting all pupils to reach their full potential. As with all our teaching at Long Mountain, we provide a suitable learning environment and use appropriate strategies at all times, which allows us to meet individual needs in all lessons. We provide all children with the tools and support to be involved and access every French lesson.

To promote an inclusive environment in French we will:

Read aloud texts and information to support understanding as needed.
Ensure all instructions are clearly communicated and broken down into smaller steps where necessary.
Allow longer processing times for all pupils, so all have the opportunity to think about questions.
Provide visual resources and prompts to support understanding of tasks and learning as needed.
Offer an alternative to written evaluation (video, adult scribe) as needed.
Promote positive relationships, well-being and active engagement.
Ensure all pupils can access the best possible teaching.
Adopt a positive & proactive approach to behaviour.