French

Intent

At Walmley Junior School, we use Kapow Primary’s French scheme of work to foster a curiosity and enthusiasm for language learning, alongside an appreciation of other cultures. We aim for pupils to develop confidence in communicating in French for practical purposes, using both spoken and written language. 

Our French curriculum provides pupils with a strong foundation in language learning, supporting them to apply key skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Through this, pupils also develop a greater understanding of how language works, including links with the English language. This foundation supports future language study and helps to broaden pupils’ horizons, opening up opportunities to study and work in other countries later in life. 

Kapow Primary’s French scheme of work ensures coverage of the National Curriculum requirements and supports pupils in meeting the end of Key Stage 2 attainment targets for Languages. 

Implementation

At Walmley Junior School, the Kapow Primary French scheme of work is structured around five key strands that run throughout the curriculum, ensuring a broad and balanced approach to language learning. These strands are: 

Speaking

Listening

Reading

Writing

Grammar

Through the Kapow French scheme, pupils are given regular opportunities to communicate for practical purposes within familiar contexts and routines. The curriculum provides a balanced approach to spoken and written French. In Year 3, there is a strong emphasis on developing listening and speaking skills, building pupils’ confidence with pronunciation and oral communication. Written French is gradually introduced and developed, allowing pupils to apply their growing language knowledge with increasing accuracy and independence. 

Kapow Primary’s French curriculum follows a spiral approach, meaning that key vocabulary, grammar and language structures are revisited and built upon over time with increasing complexity. This enables pupils to consolidate prior learning while extending their understanding. Cross-curricular links are embedded throughout the units, supporting pupils in making meaningful connections between French and other areas of the curriculum. 

Lessons incorporate a wide range of teaching strategies, including independent tasks, paired and group work, role-play, language games and investigative activities. A strong emphasis is placed on developing pupils’ ‘language detective skills’, encouraging them to identify patterns in language and deepen their understanding of grammar, rather than relying solely on memorisation of vocabulary. Differentiated guidance is provided within each lesson to ensure that learning is accessible and engaging for all pupils. To embed learning, teachers are encouraged to incorporate French into the wider classroom environment through daily exposure, as outlined in the scheme’s ‘During the week’ guidance. 

Each unit includes teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and build confidence, recognising that not all staff may feel confident teaching languages. Lessons include clear explanations of key grammar points within the ‘Teacher knowledge – language points’ section, alongside key vocabulary and pronunciation resources with accompanying sound files. These resources support accurate pronunciation and consistent delivery, ensuring that all pupils receive high-quality French teaching and are supported to make strong progress over time. 

Impact

The impact of Kapow Primary’s French scheme of work at Walmley Junior School is monitored through a combination of formative and summative assessment. Each lesson includes clear guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils’ understanding against the intended learning objectives. In addition, assessment tools are used to track pupils’ progress across units, enabling teachers and leaders to build an accurate picture of pupils’ attainment and progression in French over time. 

Following the implementation of the Kapow Primary French curriculum, pupils leave Walmley Junior School equipped with a secure foundation of language-learning skills. They are well prepared to continue their study of French, or to learn additional languages, with confidence and enthusiasm at Key Stage 3. 

The expected impact of the French curriculum is that pupils will: 

Engage in purposeful spoken communication in a range of practical contexts, such as ordering food, asking for directions and expressing opinions. 

• Make increasingly accurate attempts to read and understand unfamiliar words, phrases and short texts. 
• Speak and read aloud with growing confidence, fluency and accuracy in pronunciation. 
• Demonstrate secure understanding of spoken French by listening attentively and responding appropriately. 
• Use a bilingual dictionary effectively to support independent language learning. 
• Identify key grammatical features, including word classes, and apply grammatical rules they have learned. 
• Recognise cognates and near-cognates and use this knowledge to infer meaning in French, English and other languages. 
• Construct short written texts on familiar topics, using appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures. 
• Meet the end of Key Stage 2 expectations as outlined in the National Curriculum for Languages. 

Progression of Skills