Spanish

INTENT:

At Sutton Benger CE Primary School, we recognise the importance of learning a modern foreign language. We aim to instil a love of Spanish and we want our children to be liberated from insularity, curious, and to ask questions to develop their understanding and fascination about the world and its people. Our Spanish curriculum is deliberately knowledge and vocabulary-rich as we believe it is vital to acquire a cumulatively sufficient understanding of key linguistic concepts and new vocabulary. We also recognise and value the need to develop methods of linguistic enquiry and so our children are fully immersed in units of learning that allow them to learn, grow and flourish within the Spanish curriculum.

In conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum, our Spanish curriculum offers opportunities for children to:

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied

IMPLEMENTATION:

Spanish is either blocked as units of learning within a 39-weeks curriculum map or taught as discreet lessons each week. The children take on the state of being of ‘Being a Linguist’ and are fully immersed in a curriculum unit that is dedicated to Spanish, with pre-existing knowledge from other curriculum areas used to support where possible. Knowledge Organisers are provided for every Spanish unit and they include the foundational knowledge needed first in order to access next learning. Subject specific knowledge is also included which allows pupils to then apply when thinking critically within the unit. The implementation of Spanish in this way supports children to become fully secure in each Spanish unit as well as supports them to build progressive understanding of the key concepts that are woven throughout the curriculum. To support high quality planning and assessment, teachers draw upon knowledge from the school’s Spanish subject leader, as well as from experts within our multi-academy trust, DBAT.

To ensure a cumulatively sufficient curriculum, key concepts are woven throughout. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all children access the key concepts within a range of units as they progress throughout the school e.g. tense or grammar. They are challenged to meet learning expectations for their key stage. Key concepts are referred to throughout the curriculum units so that children are given opportunities to recall and retrieve knowledge in order to support them to build upon it.

Our curriculum is vocabulary-rich encouraging children to build a wide vocabulary of everyday Spanish terms. All Spanish vocabulary which is key to the unit is included as part of the Knowledge Organiser and is referred to throughout the unit. Children are given opportunities to develop and practice their vocabulary and oracy so that they become confident linguists who can develop, expand on, and articulate their learning.

At Sutton Benger CE Primary School, children are taught a balance of Spanish cultural knowledge and vocabulary skills. They work linguistically and make links with other areas of learning in subjects such as maths, English and geography. Through linguistic enquiry, children are encouraged to: foster a curiosity and deepen their understanding of the wider world, express their thoughts and ideas in another language, and understand and respond to its native speakers, both in speech and writing.

IMPACT:

Children at Sutton Benger CE Primary School enjoy ‘Being Linguists’ and flourish within our curriculum. They are able to use their curiosity and their knowledge to make meaning of the world around them through a deep understanding of linguistic concepts and new vocabulary. They are able to make connections and think critically about their existing Spanish learning so that they can apply this to new learning.

Our curriculum allows for excellent progress over time and children are exposed to a wide range of units that build cumulatively. Children are able to confidently speak, listen to, read, and write as Linguists.

Our curriculum allows children to develop their linguistic knowledge and understanding of the Spanish culture. This means they gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and are building the foundations for further learning in these areas as they move on to the next stage of their education.