Lark Hill Primary School

French at Lark Hill Primary School

At Lark Hill, we believe that learning a modern foreign language liberates pupils from a single perspective, fosters curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world. Our French curriculum equips children with practical communication skills, builds confidence in speaking, listening, reading/writing and instils a rich intercultural awareness.

Our goal is to develop enthusiastic, confident language detectives who are ready to explore diverse cultures and communicate effectively in an increasingly interconnected global society.

Our French learning is deeply rooted in our four core school values:

• Respect: Children develop an appreciation for different cultures, customs, accents and ways of life across the French-speaking world, celebrating diversity and listening respectfully to their peers' attempts at a new language.
• Responsibility: Pupils take ownership of their language acquisition; actively practising pronunciation, taking pride in written work and collaborating responsibly in paired and group role-play activities.
• Creativity: Children apply their learning creatively by adapting sentence structures, role-playing practical scenarios, such as cafes, markets and directions, composing original descriptions and engaging in language games.
• Challenge: Children are challenged to decode unfamiliar vocabulary using language detective skills, apply complex grammatical rules (gender, agreements, verb conjugations) and construct multi-clause sentences.

How We Teach French: Our Approach

French at Lark Hill is delivered as a weekly, progressive journey through the Kapow Primary French curriculum. The scheme uses a spiral model where key linguistic building blocks and grammatical structures are revisited and deepened continuously over time.

The curriculum weaves together 6 core strands:

1. Speaking & Pronunciation (including Phonics)
2. Listening
3. Reading & Writing
4. Grammar
5. Intercultural Understanding
6. Language Detective Skills

Substantive & Disciplinary Knowledge in French

Substantive Knowledge (The Building Blocks)

The core pillars of language acquisition:

• Phonics: Learning French sound-spelling correspondences (phonemes and graphemes) to enable accurate pronunciation and decoding.
• Vocabulary: Systematically acquiring high-frequency words, topics and thematic phrases.
• Grammar: Understanding key structural mechanics, including gender (masculine/feminine), plurals, possessive adjectives, adjective positioning/agreements and verb conjugations (e.g., avoir, être, aller, jouer, faire). 

Disciplinary Knowledge (Thinking like a Linguist)

• Language Detective Skills: Using cognates, semi-cognates, contextual clues and structural patterns to decode unfamiliar texts and audio.
• Manipulating Language: Adapting known sentence frames to express personal opinions, build new sentences and communicate spontaneously.
• Intercultural Reflection: Comparing life in French-speaking countries with life in the UK, analysing linguistic differences and reflecting on cultural identity.

A Spiral Journey Through Languages

Languages are statutory in Key Stage 2. Children begin their formal French journey in Year 3:

• Lower Key Stage 2: Focuses heavily on oral confidence, listening, accurate phonics/pronunciation, basic sentence structure and simple written phrases.
• Upper Key Stage 2: Expands into complex grammar, multi-clause sentences, extended reading and writing, independent dictionary work and manipulating tenses.

Mixed-Age Class Strategy (Kestrels - Year 4/5)

To ensure complete National Curriculum coverage and non-repeating progression for our mixed Year 4/Year 5 class (Kestrels), French is taught on a 2-Year Rolling Cycle (Cycle A and Cycle B).

• Both cycles draw from Kapow's LKS2 and UKS2 pathways, differentiated by outcome, depth of grammar and scaffolding.
• Year 4 pupils focus on core vocabulary, basic noun-adjective agreements and scaffolded writing.
• Year 5 pupils are stretched to apply extended grammar (verb conjugations, complex connectors), independent dictionary use and longer written responses.

Inclusive & Multi-Sensory Approach

Kapow French provides native-speaker audio files, video models, visual flashcards and kinaesthetic activities (gestures, role-plays, games). This multi-sensory design ensures full access for all learners, including those with SEND or EAL.

British Values & Oracy in French

• British Values: Individual liberty, mutual respect and cultural tolerance are embedded as children study French-speaking communities worldwide (La Francophonie).
• Oracy: Grounded in the Voice 21 framework, pupils develop Oracy by presenting conversations, negotiating in pair-work role-plays, justifying language choices and refining physical pronunciation and vocal expression.

Progression Overview by Class

Lower Key Stage 2: Year 3 (Introductory Progression)

Kestrels: Mixed Year 4 / Year 5 (2-Year Cycle)

Cycle A

Cycle B

Skylarks: Year 6 (Single Year Curriculum)

Vocabulary & Grammar Progression Overview

Assessment, Evidence and Curriculum Impact

The impact of our French curriculum is monitored continuously through formative and summative approaches:

Kapow Primary uses a dual approach to assessment in French, combining formative assessment (lesson-by-lesson) and summative assessment (end-of-unit and end-of-year).

Rather than testing memorisation of lists of vocabulary, Kapow assesses how well children can apply language detective skills, understand grammatical structures and demonstrate competency across the 4 key skills (Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing).

1. Lesson-by-Lesson Formative Assessment

Assessment for Learning Guidance: Every single lesson plan includes a dedicated Assessing Progress section. This gives non-specialist teachers specific success criteria to look and listen for during activities (e.g. Can pupils correctly match the sound [ou] to its written form? or Can pupils use 'il' and 'elle' correctly in a sentence?).

Assessment Spreadsheets: Teachers use downloadable unit trackers to quickly record which pupils are working towards, meeting, or exceeding the specific learning objectives after each lesson.

2. End-of-Unit Summative Assessment

At the conclusion of each unit, Kapow provides materials to evaluate overall retention and skill application:

End-of-Unit Practical Tasks: Units typically culminate in a practical performance, role-play or written presentation (e.g., ordering at a cafe, describing a monster pet or presenting a weather report) where teachers observe how pupils synthesise their learning.

Summative Quiz / Assessment Sheet: Kapow provides end-of-unit assessment activities to check children's listening comprehension, reading decoding and written grammar application.

Teacher Tools: End-of-unit assessment grids allow teachers to evaluate pupils across the specific strands taught in that unit (e.g., Speaking & Pronunciation, Grammar, Reading & Writing).