French

French

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Curriculum Vision Statement

At St Jérôme, our French curriculum reflects our vision of being an aspirational, multilingual and multicultural learning community in which every child is empowered to grow, flourish and communicate with confidence. Through French, pupils develop the knowledge, wisdom and skills needed to engage with the wider world and to translate the love that God has for all people into both words and actions.

French is not simply a subject at St Jérôme; it is part of pupils’ daily experience. From EYFS onwards, children encounter French through songs, stories, classroom routines, acts of worship, special celebrations and meaningful interactions with our francophone community. These experiences foster a love of languages and a deep appreciation of francophone cultures and traditions.

Our curriculum develops pupils’ knowledge of French phonics, vocabulary, grammar and culture alongside the key language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. We aim to nurture confident communicators who can understand, respond and express themselves with increasing accuracy and independence.

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are equipped to use French in a range of authentic contexts, demonstrate intercultural understanding and continue their language-learning journey with confidence. Many pupils also achieve internationally recognised DELF qualifications, providing formal recognition of their bilingual achievements.

How is French taught at St Jérôme?

French is taught through a combination of structured language lessons, language immersion and bilingual learning experiences across the curriculum. In Key Stage 2, our curriculum is built around the Rachel Hawkes Scheme of Work, which reflects current research into effective language learning and focuses on the key strands of phonics, vocabulary and grammar. The scheme provides a strong foundation which we adapt and enrich through bespoke resources and activities designed to meet the needs of our bilingual learners.

Adaptive teaching is central to our approach. Pupils are taught in streamed groups according to their current level of French proficiency rather than their age or year group. This enables teachers to provide appropriate support and challenge, ensuring that all pupils make strong progress from their individual starting points. Our wealth of francophone staff allows us to tailor learning experiences and respond effectively to pupils’ varying language needs.

Oracy lies at the heart of our French curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to speak French every day through classroom routines, partner discussions, role play, presentations, songs and structured speaking activities. Regular opportunities to listen and respond to others help pupils develop confidence, fluency and accurate pronunciation.

Language immersion further strengthens learning. French is used extensively throughout the school day, and pupils experience Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) through subjects such as PE and Art/DT, which are frequently taught in French. The French and francophone cultural experiences established in EYFS and Key Stage 1 continue throughout Key Stage 2 through daily songs, acts of worship and special calendar events.

Vocabulary enrichment is an important part of our curriculum. Pupils regularly learn, revisit and apply new vocabulary in a range of spoken and written contexts, enabling them to communicate with increasing accuracy and independence.

As an accredited DELF examination centre, we prepare pupils for internationally recognised DELF qualifications. Several members of staff are trained DELF examiners, ensuring that pupils benefit from expert preparation and guidance. Depending on their level of proficiency, pupils may work towards DELF Prim A1.1, DELF Prim A1 or DELF A2. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are expected to communicate in French with increasing confidence, accuracy and independence, ready for the next stage of their language-learning journey.

How is children’s learning in French assessed at St Jérôme?

Assessment is an integral part of French teaching and learning at St Jérôme. It enables teachers to identify pupils' strengths, address misconceptions and adapt teaching to meet individual needs.

Pupils are assessed regularly through a combination of formative and summative assessment. Ongoing assessment takes place during lessons through questioning, observation, speaking activities and written work. Weekly vocabulary tests help pupils to secure and retain new language.

In addition, pupils complete termly assessments linked to the Rachel Hawkes Scheme of Work, which assess progress in phonics, vocabulary and grammar. DELF-style assessments and practice papers are also used to prepare pupils for external examinations and to monitor progress across the four language skills: listening (compréhension orale), speaking (production orale), reading (compréhension des écrits) and writing (production écrite).

Assessment information is used to inform future teaching, support pupil progress and ensure that pupils are working within the most appropriate learning group. For many pupils, progress culminates in the successful completion of internationally recognised DELF qualifications.

Rachel Hawkes Scheme of Work 

By Key Stage 2, most of our pupils have been introduced to the Rachel Hawkes Scheme of Work, upon which we build our French curriculum. Our wealth of francophone staff allows us to stream our French learning: just as Years 2 and 3 are split into three separate French ‘streamed’ levels, Years 4, 5 and 6 are split into four streamed levels. An individual pupils’ level is based on their current learning needs in French, rather than their year group or how long they have been learning French. The Schemes of Work draw on key recommendations from the pedagogy review and the Ofsted languages research report, which highlight the three key knowledge strands phonics, vocabulary, and grammar. They also exploit everyday and rich cultural contexts to build confident communication in the new language. The cyclical schemes are written with the four year groups of Key Stage 2 in mind: Year 3 - Rouge; Year 4 - Jaune; Year 5 - Bleu; and Year 6 - Vert. However, this is based on non-bilingual primary schools, so we begin the scheme in Year 2. The Schemes of Work, which have been written with the non-specialist teacher in mind, allow us to utilise the lessons and resources to suit our needs - we adapt, and ‘pick and choose’.

DELF Prim preparation

Most importantly, in terms of progression, the scheme gives us a very good basis. We add to these lessons, by using our bespoke activities built up from our range of resources, and lessons that will help pupils to prepare for the DELF Prim examinations, which can be taken in Year 4, 5 and/or 6. For example, Groupe Jaune (made up of mostly Year 4 pupils but also Y 5 and 6 pupils who need consolidation) will follow the Jaune (and progressing to Bleu) programme whilst also preparing for the DELF Prim A1.1 examination. Groupe Bleu will be working towards the DELF Prim A1 while utilising the Bleu / Vert scheme of work. Groupe Vert, mostly Year 6, some Year 5 and native French speakers will be working towards the DELF A2, using some resources beyond this in adapted foundation GCSE-level lessons.