At the Viridis Federation of 3 schools, Orchard, Hoxton Gardens and Southwold, there are Language Captains in every class in each school who monitor the daily language enhancement delivered by their own class teachers. “This is a great opportunity to give pupils some responsibility for their own learning,” explains the Subject Lead Dawn Alexander-Joseph. “With 3 schools, myself and the other Spanish teacher cannot be in each school to support the teachers all the time, so the pupils do that for us and we meet up with them weekly to review progress.”
Both these stories illustrate the importance of a whole school approach to language learning. To paraphrase an ancient report on English, ‘everyone is a language teacher’. Ways have been found to involve all teachers and pupils in this language adventure. At Parkwood Primary, they are also about to embark on language lessons for parents so that they can support their children. Displays of work around the school, on their websites and newsletters maintain the high profile of Spanish within the school community.
Both have received Erasmus+ funding to help skill their staff and to cement their partnerships. Both have developed relationships with their receiving secondary schools. Jacqueline Smith, Head of Languages at Skinners’ Academy reports that: “The progress of pupils from Parkwood has been great. They have a solid basic knowledge of vocabulary and a new-found confidence in speaking. Now they are able to structure simple sentences and can use the present tense effectively.” Both engage fully in the borough Hispanic Week, work closely with the Consejería de Educación and happily receive Spanish visitors.
Underlying the work is a clarity about the outcomes expected every year. They track progress and ensure progression through Key Stage 2, sharing the year 6 outcomes with the secondary schools. These samples of work below from year 3 to year 6 in Viridis demonstrate the progress that is expected in just one skill – writing.
