Spanish Intent, Implementation & Impact

INNOVATE . FOCUS . ACHIEVE

At Boldon School, all aspects of the school ethos, ‘Innovate, Focus and Achieve’ are underpinned across each subject area. In English, we strive to embed these principles within our curriculum:

Innovate: To create innovative and progressive schemes of work which are well-sequenced to ensure excellent student outcomes.

Focus: A clear drive and focus key threads for reading, writing and spoken language;
A relentless drive to sharpen key knowledge concepts and ensure understanding of portable themes.
To ensure that all lessons widen the scope and appreciation of grammar, vocabulary and subject content.

Achieve: The aim is to ensure proficiency in reading, writing and oracy; this is key to social mobility. Our robust curriculum is designed to build strong foundations in knowledge and understanding which lead to academic and personal success. We want our students to enjoy the subject, and be inspired to be innovative in their responses, to focus on skill acquisition and implementation and, ultimately, to achieve their true potential. Students will be well-skilled to succeed in their next steps, whether it be education, further training or the world of employment.

Each of our curriculum areas are carefully designed with the students at the heart of our thinking. The intent is for the framework for each programme of study in the National Curriculum to be well planned and sequenced to enable all students to build their knowledge and skills towards the agreed end points at each key stage. We consider how this is taught in order to support our students and ensure this is implemented effectively. For the desired impact to be reflected in the outcomes that students achieve through the education they have received.

This is embedded across each subject area: French

Intent:

Teaching and learning is sequential and carefully planned to support progression. Progression is determined by knowledge and understanding of the functions of grammar, and the frequency and usefulness of vocabulary and phonics. 

The curriculum is divided into Key Stage 3 (years 7-9) and Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11). The content delivered and skills developed in each Key Stage are informed by the National Curriculum. We select and design our resources carefully. 

Literacy is key to our teaching and the progression of our students. Students are taught phonics to enable them to speak confidently, planned sets of words shown to be most useful in communicating and specific grammar features alongside grammatical terminology. Structured practice becomes looser and more student-led over time allowing students the opportunity to become more creative and independent communicators.

We include formal teaching, cultural awareness of the countries and communities where the target language is spoken and extra-curricular activities. 

Content is regularly reviewed to ensure we meet our curriculum aims. The MFL curriculum is planned to enable all students to develop: 

  • Communication skills 
  • Literacy skills
  • An ability to manipulate language 
  • Problem solving and enquiry 
  • Resilience
  • Intercultural awareness  
  • Opportunities for further application of language learning  

We make clear links to the world of work when discussing careers and life beyond secondary school as part of the GCSE specification. 

The MFL department contributes to whole school events and activities to promote the transferable skills developed through language learning and their application to the work of work. 

Additional opportunities to engage in language and language-related activities beyond the classroom contribute to several aspects of personal development, including British values:

– character development (resilience, confidence and independence)

– global citizenship
– understanding and appreciation of diversity
– openness towards and acceptance of others and otherness

Implementation:

The MFL team work together to plan and implement the curriculum and develop high quality lessons. Lessons include differentiation to support and challenge all students. Resources are selected and designed to support student progression and are reviewed and updated regularly. 

Students’ knowledge and learning is assessed each half term. Assessment is formal and informal (tests and low-stakes knowledge checks) and is designed to assess student progress, to shape future learning and to pinpoint any gaps in learning which need to be addressed. Quality feedback is given informally in lessons and after assessments which enables students to further progress their learning. Assessments are checked for reliability across the faculty and moderated within departments, particularly in KS4.

Our curriculum has a planned re-visiting of language knowledge to promote effective, long-term retention and retrieval. Grammar features and high-frequency vocabulary and phonics are recycled in new contexts to strengthen students’ knowledge. This may be weekly, monthly, termly or the following year. By teaching thoroughly the most frequent and useful phonics, vocabulary and grammar knowledge, the expectation is that learners’ motivation is fed by a sense of progress and increased confidence.

To further support our learners we make effective use of language learning apps such as MEMRISE and Languagenut. Students are able to develop their knowledge base independently whilst supporting their progress in school.

Staff have regular access to professional development/training to ensure that curriculum requirements are met. Collaboration with colleagues delivering MFL in other schools is a further way of developing our practice.

We make clear links to the world of work when discussing careers and life beyond secondary school as part of the GCSE specification. 

The MFL department contributes to whole school events and activities to promote the transferable skills developed through language learning and their application to the world of work.

Impact:

The impact of our curriculum upon students is evaluated continually to ensure the best progress.

Examination results analysis and evaluation for school based exams and using the AQA Enhanced Results Analysis tool following the GCSEs.

Meetings are held following Assessments and Quality Mark tasks in order to analyse progress and inform interventions. 

Lesson observations, Learning walks and work scrutiny are an integral part of our Faculty’s drive to effect progress for our students.

In delivering MFL to our learners we are able to support the development of literacy skills, to enrich and broaden their knowledge of the English language. Students deepen their knowledge about how language works. They learn how to infer the meaning of new words from context; they are able to draw comparisons between English and the target language; for example, when considering how verbs change to form tenses, thereby improving their understanding of the English language.