French

French 

Curriculum Intent & Overview 

Key person responsible - K Speak 

Curriculum Intent: 

At Embsay School, we want our children to: 

• be curious 

• explore ideas 

• be able to shine at what they enjoy and do best 

• be aware of our locality and the wider world 

• care about others 

• have experienced a wide range of opportunities 

• have the skills and mind-set to be meet the challenges of our changing society 

Our French curriculum is therefore, planned in order to foster curiosity of different cultures around the world.  Opportunities, which will open the children’s eyes to the wider world, are both planned and taken up, when they are offered, to the school.  Children are involved with their learning, can explore ideas and make links between subject areas.  French teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.  Given the challenging nature of the world we live in, we also focus on the skills and mind-set that the children will need to succeed, in whatever they do, throughout their lives.  Our curriculum leaves them with firm foundations for further learning in languages and to open the door to studying, travelling and working abroad.   

Curriculum overview 

Key points -  teaching & planning: 

• North Yorkshire’s Scheme of Learning is used as a basis for planning, but is adapted and added to, to meet the needs of the cohort 

• All staff have electronic access to North Yorkshire’s Scheme of Learning on the server, as well as paper copies in each classroom. 

• Other scheme materials are available to each year group to compliment and enhance the North Yorkshire Scheme.  (eg Early Learning 1 & 2 Scheme, Catherine Cheater Scheme) 

• French is taught from Year 2 through to Year 6 

• French is taught by the classteacher. 

• It is taught each week (sometimes this is blocked -eg over a fortnight- or it can be taught in multiple shorter sessions across the week.  This little and often approach is not only advantageous for time management, but also much more effective for retention.) 

Key points - assessment: 

• North Yorkshire’s pupil self-assessment grids are used at the end of each unit to assess children’s attainment and inform future planning & teaching. 

Key points - resources: 

• A wide range of French resources are stored in the staffroom (books, schemes, dvds & games (Boardworkd), song books & CDs (Singing French & Chantez Plus Fort) and flashcards etc) to compliment the North Yorkshire Scheme and to enhance pupils’ learning. 

• A set of TTS discs (Teachers Talking French) to help staff with pronunciation 

• A full class-set of French dictionaries are stored in Year 4. 

Key Points - Diversity: 

The French Language is the second most spoken language in the world (in terms of the number of countries which use it as a national or an official language).  Over 220 million people in approximately fifty countries on different continents speak French.  French and English are the only languages appearing on all five continents. French and English are also the main official and working languages of most international organisations and are the source of the major world law systems: the civil law tradition (French) and the common law tradition (English). 

• Each class will focus on a different French- Speaking country in order to learn about the diversity of French-speakers across the globe and to foster cross-cultural understanding.