We are a very multi-cultural school at St Richard’s and aim to celebrate many different languages and cultures in a range of ways across the school.  To support our wider aims for the formation of our children we also intend children to make substantial progress in one particular language (French) in order to:

• Enjoy the challenge of learning another language
• Lay the foundations for the further learning of languages in KS3 and beyond
• Learn about another language and culture in order to respect and appreciate difference
• Begin to learn practical skills to support them as global citizens

We have set out a skills progression document outlining the intended focus for each year group; this document forms the basis of our assessment.

Medium term planning is adapted from the Twinkl French scheme of work and parents are informed of the focus each term from the curriculum overview.

French is taught in a fun, multi-sensory way with a strong emphasis on speaking and listening through games and conversations.  Children learn to practically communicate basic French and progress to more challenging themes higher up the school.  They also learn to read and write in French and learn about grammar, culture and learn to appreciate French songs, poems and rhymes.

Children are regularly given the opportunity to express themselves in their own language and learn from each other.  Our library has a range of books in different languages and we try to expose children to a range of languages in class for example by welcoming children using different languages or saying the register in a different language.  

We have Young Interpreters who help younger children with translation.  We are also having a languages day in 2020 where children will learn a range of languages in school as well as celebrating the many cultures of the communities we serve.