At St. Helen’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that all children should be provided with a curriculum that teaches and helps them to discover and develop their varied gifts and talents. In learning a modern foreign language, these gifts and talents will be nurtured by supporting the children to develop an appreciation and developing knowledge of other cultures. As our curriculum is thematic in design, we aim to support our children to transfer their developing knowledge and linguistic skills to a range of rich learning contexts.

As a school we use Kidslingo’s CAA gold accredited French language programme which offers a carefully planned sequence of lessons, delivered by trained and skilled expert linguists, ensuring progressive coverage of the skills required by the National Curriculum. The coverage and content provides an introduction to the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. It aims to foster children’s curiosity and help deepen their understanding of the world. By teaching French across Key Stage Two, it allows opportunity for children to gradually build on their skills. The Kidslingo French programme enables children to express their ideas and thoughts in French and provides opportunities to interact and communicate with others both in speech and in writing.

At the heart of Kidslingo’s French programme is the desire to expose children to authentic French, so the scheme offers regular opportunities to listen to native speakers. In Lower KS2, children acquire basic skills and understanding of French with a strong emphasis placed on developing their Speaking and Listening skills. These will be embedded and further developed in Upper KS2, alongside Reading and Writing, gradually progressing onto more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy. Lessons are sequenced so that prior learning is considered and opportunities for revision of language and grammar are built in. The lessons and resources help children to build on prior knowledge alongside the introduction of new skills. The order and sequence of lessons are suggested, providing structure and context as well as offering an insight into the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. The introduction and revision of key vocabulary and grammatical structures is built into each lesson. Through the Kidslingo French scheme, it is intended that pupils are intended to develop a love of languages and to expand their horizons to other countries, cultures and people. It also aims to help children grow into curious, confident and reflective language learners and to provide them with a foundation that will equip them for further language studies.