MFL curriculum

Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum Statement

At The Faber Catholic Primary School, we want every child to be enthusiastic learners of Spanish and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. We firmly believe that the recipe for success is high quality first-wave teaching in Spanish, which is central to the life of our happy, caring school.

Intent – What we are trying to achieve?

• Our principal aim is that children leave The Faber Catholic Primary school with a wide range of happy and rich 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, thus ensuring that children see learning a foreign language as an ongoing process and not a one-off event.

• Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in Spanish, which will be taught by highly-qualified staff who will support children to develop the mastery of concepts and inspire enthusiasm and interest in the subject.

• All Key Stage Two children will study Spanish for 1 hour 30 minutes  per fortnight.

• 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 experiences of living in Spain.

• Children will develop a deep understanding of the subjects they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to solve problems and develop the sophistication of Spanish.

• Children will understand how Catholic virtues and British Values relate to Spanish.

• 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.

Implementation – How do we translate our vision into practice?

• The curriculum hours in Spanish are non-negotiable and will be followed by all staff in the school. Fixed timetables will be set before the academic year and monitored by the Senior Leadership Team of the school.

• Subject specialists from our partner secondary school of Painsley Catholic College are, and will continue to be, integral to the planning process. This will aid transition to Key Stage 3.

• Where necessary, staff will receive training in Spanish.

• Carefully designed schemes of learning in Spanish ensure consistency and progress of all learners.

• Vehicles drive learning throughout the term. Therefore, wherever possible, Spanish is taught through the vehicle.

• Vehicles include Spanish speakers, trips to drama productions, innovative use of technology to name but a few.

• Success criteria in every Spanish lesson are set in order to guide children to achieve their potential. This ensures work is demanding and matches the aims of the curriculum.

• High quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of specialist learning admirably. Children understand how Spanish is used in the wider world including careers.

Impact – What is the impact of our curriculum on the students?

• Children are happy, feel cared for, and have excellent relationships with others. They know how to deal with challenges and have a range of strategies to overcome them.

• Through Spanish, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents

• Cultural capital opportunities have enriched the lives of the children and they are able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.

• Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in Spanish, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in Spanish and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education. 

• There is a proven track record of outstanding outcomes as shown in pupils’ ability in Spanish in the areas of oracy, literacy, intercultural understanding and their knowledge about the language.  Their books and views reveal their enjoyment of the subject. These indicators reflect the impact of deep learning.

• Clear outcomes focus and guide Spanish development plans and drive improvement.

• Fundamental British Values are evident in the school and understood by all members of the community.

• Through wider reading and experiences in Spanish, children will gain an appreciation and understanding of the country and some of its historical links to other parts of the world and historical events.