French

Curriculum Intent

It is our intent at Victoria Primary Academy to provide all of our children with a high-quality education in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), which develops their love of learning about other languages and cultures and provides them with aspirations for the future.

Our current chosen MFL is French; however, we strive to provide children with opportunities to experience a range of other languages, as we are a multi-cultural school; a school of many languages and cultures. Increasing the children’s exposure to other languages and cultures can lead to deeper learning and significant gains in their general understanding of the world, as they are able to recycle, reinterpret and reinforce their existing knowledge across the curriculum.

With such a diversity of languages spoken in our school, it is our aim to ensure that children are provided with an appreciation and respect for the language, culture and way of life of other people.

Understanding a modern foreign language also increases children’s understanding of their own language. The process of learning another language reinforces fluency and understanding of grammar, syntax, sentence structure and verbal precision. This helps children to consider how a language is similar to or differs from their own.

In French lessons at Victoria Primary Academy, children are able to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond, both in speech and in writing. We aim to inspire pupils to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2 and ultimately to work towards becoming life-long language learners and to become whatever they aspire to be.


Curriculum Aims

At Victoria Primary Academy we aim to:

  • discover and develop children’s appreciation for a language other than their first language
  • ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to study a foreign language and develop their interest in the culture of other nations alongside their own
  • extend pupils’ knowledge of how language works and explore differences between French and English; specifically, language structure
  • raise the profile of MFL in school
  • support children to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity; finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.

Minimum Standards

Teaching a Broad and Balanced curriculum for educational recovery DfE June 2021 states:   

Knowledge of phonics, vocabulary and grammar is essential for the ‘skills’, or modalities, of listening, speaking, reading and writing. To make progress in understanding and producing language requires learning and being able to combine and apply such knowledge with increasing fluency in different contexts through a planned and sequenced curriculum, with input and targeted practice firmly built in.   

Teachers in key stage 2 and 3 should:  

  • identify and teach essential vocabulary for progression. 
  • make sure pupils have a strong mastery of the sound and spelling system 
  • prioritise grammar.

 At Victoria Primary Academy:  

  • Rigolo Software is used to support teaching of French across KS2 
  • Children follow a structured scheme (Rigolo) to ensure they have a clear understanding of reading, speaking and listening, spelling and grammar(writing) to ensure they progress. 
  • Teachers ensure that the learning of both language and culture is embedded into the broader curriculum for the children to develop an international outlook. 
  • One French lesson is delivered per week 
  • There should be a balance of spoken and written language 
  • Focus of study is on practical communication  
  • Children will broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material  
  • Vocabulary books will be used to record key words and key phrases covered in each Rigolo unit. 
  • Grammar links can be made with English curriculum.  
  • Pupils with additional needs are supported to access the learning as appropriate depending on their need.  

Subject Leader

For more information, please contact the French Subject Leader:

Mrs L Yarrow

yarrowl@victoriaprimaryacademy.org.uk


Useful Documents

FRENCH Subject Coverage Map for Key Stage 1 and 2