MFL Curriculum Statement
St. Anne’s Catholic Primary School – Spanish Curriculum Statement
At St. Anne’s Catholic Primary School, we want every child to be happy and enthusiastic learners of Spanish, and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. We firmly believe in high quality first teaching, which is central to our success as a school.
Intent – What we are trying to achieve?
Our principal aim is that children leave St. Anne’s Catholic School with a wide range of happy memories in Spanish formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through vehicles that enhance a child’s awareness of their own abilities and strengths as a learner; therefore, ensuring that children see learning in Spanish as an on-going process that builds on previous learning and experience.
Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in Spanish, which will be taught by enthusiastic staff who will support children to develop mastery of concepts and inspire enthusiasm and interest in the subject.
All children will study Spanish for 60 minutes each week.
We follow the PAINSLEY acronym to ensure teaching follows a style where prior learning, acquiring new knowledge and developing pupils who have inquiring minds is a key focus. Children are introduced to new vocabulary within each area of learning and opportunities are sought to develop understanding of new terms. Approaches, such as the Frayer Model, will be utilised to support this.
Children demonstrate their understanding with discussion feedback and some written practice. We provide opportunities for children to assess their learning within lessons and post-teaching.
Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, creative workshop days at our feeder high schools or visitors to school who may read stories in the language or share their experience of living in Spain. Developing opportunities for cultural capital within the subject will also be sought.
School will also look for opportunities for children to develop a real understanding and appreciation of the world, learning from the best that has been developed and said.
The scheme of learning developed follows the National Curriculum. We subscribe to language angels to support our delivery of our scheme of learning. The schemes allow for appropriate sequencing and aims to secure long-term memory as well as the enjoyment and necessary curiosity of learning Spanish. The overview of progression and areas studied are included on our website.
In Spanish, children will develop the skills to appropriately understand, speak, read, write and transcribe phrases, as well as use and manipulate a variety of key grammatical structures The areas are developed throughout KS2 in order to prepare children for secondary education.
Implementation – How do we translate our vision into practice?
The curriculum hours allocated for Spanish are non-negotiable and are followed by all staff in the school. Fixed timetables are set before the academic year and monitored by the senior leadership team of the school. There may be times in the school year when additional time for Spanish is developed through visits or visitors.
The subject leader for Spanish meets the senior leadership team on a regular basis to evaluate provision in order to ensure that teaching and learning in Spanish is outstanding. Where necessary, staff receive coaching and training in Spanish.
Carefully designed schemes of learning in Spanish ensure consistency and progress of all learners.
Vehicles support the delivery of our curriculum and may include elements such as: guest speakers who are specialists in their field, trips to businesses, fieldwork to relevant places of interest and innovative use of technology. Spanish is taught individually but plays a key role in the achievement of the learning aims of the vehicle.
Spaced learning is a key focus of all formative and summative assessment with teachers actively marking work in lessons in order to identify misconceptions. End of unit quizzes help to support the delivery of spaced learning in future terms.
High quality input from experts and educational resources is sought to complement the delivery of learning in school. We work closely as a wider MAC, seeking support and advice from the MFL hub school to enhance our own provision. Regular meetings take place between subject leaders and visits to observe best practice are facilitated.
Impact – What is the impact of our curriculum on the students?
Children experience a wide range of learning challenges within the subject and know appropriate responses to them. Through Spanish, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents. Children understand how Spanish is used in the wider world, including careers.
Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in Spanish reflected in a clear learning journey in books and responses from children. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in Spanish and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education. Clear outcomes focus and guide all Spanish implementation plans and drive improvement.
Fundamental British Values are evident in the school and children understand how the subject helps us to celebrate difference. Through wider reading and experiences in Spanish, children will gain appreciated and understanding of the country and some of its historical links to other parts of the world and historical events.