At St Nicholas we are committed to providing a curriculum for all where every child grows:

• Academically
• Socially
• Morally
• In aspiration
• To be prepared for the next phase in their academic journey and be spiritually nourished.

To achieve excellence in all that they do in the knowledge that we love one another as God loves you.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive school, where all pupils are welcomed, valued and supported to succeed. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils, underpinned by high expectations and a belief that every child can achieve.

Our first approach is always high-quality teaching, where the learning objective remains the same for all pupils. We do not routinely lower expectations. Instead, we focus on identifying and removing barriers to learning, adapting how pupils access the curriculum. For pupils working significantly below age-related expectations, learning is adapted so that they remain fully included in the same curriculum experiences, themes and contexts as their peers, while working towards personalised targets linked to their individual needs. Support is planned and reviewed through the school’s graduated approach of assess, plan, do, review, ensuring that provision is responsive, builds over time, and leads to meaningful progress and increasing independence.

In MFL, we are committed to ensuring that every child can participate, enjoy and succeed in language learning. High expectations and the learning objective remain the same for all pupils, with adaptations made to remove barriers and support access to the curriculum.

Teachers use a range of inclusive strategies and resources, including visual prompts, Widgit symbols, key vocabulary banks, sentence stems, repetition, songs, actions, games, talk partners and modelling. Key vocabulary and language structures are revisited regularly to support memory, confidence and independence. Children are given opportunities to develop all four language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – with appropriate scaffolding and reference materials available where needed.

How languages begin in the EYFS

Although a modern foreign language is not formally taught until Key Stage 2, Reception establishes important foundations for future language learning. Children listen carefully, discriminate between sounds, repeat words and phrases and develop confidence in speaking through songs, rhymes, stories and conversation.

The languages spoken by children and their families are recognised and valued within the setting. Children encounter different languages, cultures and traditions through books, music, celebrations and contributions from their community. They begin to understand that people may communicate in different languages and that linguistic and cultural diversity should be respected. This develops curiosity, attentive listening and confidence in experimenting with unfamiliar words and sounds.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build knowledge and develop skills progressively over time. We use Primary Languages Network to support curriculum design, drawing carefully on its progression of knowledge and skills to ensure learning builds securely from pupils’ starting points towards increasingly complex concepts and outcomes.

The scheme is not used as an off-the-shelf curriculum. Leaders and teachers carefully select, adapt and supplement its content to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum and the needs of our pupils. This includes adding our own learning where appropriate and considering pupils’ backgrounds, cultures, experiences and local context, ensuring that the curriculum is relevant, representative and ambitious for the children at St Nicholas.

Progression mapping is carefully applied across our mixed-age classes, ensuring pupils access their age-appropriate curriculum entitlement while making meaningful connections with learning across the class. Teachers use progression documents to identify what pupils should know, understand and be able to do, building deliberately on prior learning, avoiding unnecessary repetition and preparing pupils for what comes next.

This ensures that, while Primary Languages Network provides a strong structure and progression framework, the curriculum pupils experience is distinctly our own: carefully designed, inclusive and responsive to the St Nicholas community.

At St Nicholas, we believe that learning a Modern Foreign Language helps pupils develop confidence in communication, curiosity about other cultures and a wider understanding of the world.

Our Key Stage 2 MFL curriculum is carefully sequenced, allowing pupils to build and revisit their knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and language skills. Pupils develop their ability to listen, speak, read and write in another language through engaging and meaningful topics.

The curriculum meets the aims of the National Curriculum by developing pupils' ability to understand and communicate ideas, take part in conversations, express opinions, develop accurate pronunciation and read and write simple phrases and texts.

MFL also supports learning across the wider curriculum, with links to subjects including Geography, History, Science, PSHE, Computing, DT and RE. Cultural experiences, such as exploring Carnival, tapas and celebrations, help pupils develop respect and appreciation for different cultures.
Through MFL, we aim to equip pupils with the skills, confidence and cultural awareness to communicate effectively and become respectful, open-minded global citizens.

Assessment in Spanish is continuous and informs both teaching and learning throughout the curriculum. Pupils are assessed against the four core language skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, using the progression statements for each stage. These statements provide clear expectations of the knowledge and skills pupils should demonstrate as they move through the four stages of learning.

Assessment is based on the following progression principles:

• Listening – Pupils progress from understanding a few familiar spoken words and phrases to understanding the main points and some detail from short spoken passages containing familiar language.
• Speaking – Pupils develop from saying and repeating a few familiar words and short phrases to asking and answering questions on several topics, expressing opinions, and taking part in simple conversations with generally accurate pronunciation.
• Reading – Pupils progress from recognising and reading familiar words and phrases to understanding the main points and simple opinions within longer written texts, using phonics and bilingual dictionaries to support their understanding of unfamiliar language.
• Writing – Pupils develop from copying or writing a few simple words to producing short connected texts that accurately use nouns, adjectives and commonly used regular verbs in the present tense on familiar topics, with increasing independence.

Teachers assess these four strands through a range of formative assessment opportunities embedded within lessons, including observation, questioning, paired and group speaking activities, role play, presentations, listening tasks, reading comprehension activities, written work and retrieval practice. Assessment is ongoing and enables teachers to monitor pupils' progress against the stage-specific progression criteria rather than a single end-point assessment.

Teachers use assessment information to identify misconceptions and gaps in learning. Regular retrieval practice, revisiting previously taught vocabulary and grammatical structures, and cumulative review are built into lessons to strengthen long-term retention. Where gaps are identified, teachers respond by adapting planning, providing additional modelling, targeted questioning, scaffolded tasks, small-group support and further opportunities for pupils to practise and apply language in meaningful contexts. This responsive approach ensures pupils develop secure foundations in each of the four language skills before moving on to more complex vocabulary, grammar and language structures.

Our Spanish curriculum contributes significantly to pupils’ cultural capital by providing opportunities to explore the diverse cultures, traditions, languages, music, food, celebrations, geography and everyday lives of people across the Spanish-speaking world. Through learning another language, pupils develop an appreciation of similarities and differences between their own lives and those of others, promoting curiosity, respect and understanding.

We aim to make Spanish memorable through a range of enrichment opportunities. Pupils experience Spanish through songs, games, performances, role play, stories, cultural activities and opportunities to communicate in the language.

These experiences support the wider vision of St Nicholas that learning should go beyond the National Curriculum. Spanish helps children to develop curiosity about the world, broaden their horizons and build confidence in communicating with others. It provides pupils with experiences that can inspire future interests, aspirations and opportunities.

Learning a language also supports the school's commitment to developing children socially and morally. Through exploring different cultures and perspectives, pupils develop respect for others and an understanding that there are many different ways of living, communicating and experiencing the world.

Through Spanish, we want every child to leave St Nicholas with not only an understanding of another language, but also a greater curiosity about the world and a respect for the people and cultures within it.

Reading is an integral part of learning Spanish at St Nicholas Catholic Primary School. Through our MFL curriculum, pupils develop their ability to recognise, decode and understand Spanish vocabulary and simple written texts, while building their confidence in applying their knowledge of phonics, vocabulary and grammar. Reading in Spanish provides opportunities for pupils to encounter new vocabulary and develop their understanding of how language works, supporting the school’s wider aim of developing confident and fluent readers who can use reading to gain knowledge about the world around them.

Spanish reading opportunities are carefully integrated into lessons through authentic and engaging materials, including short texts, stories, poems, songs, menus, postcards, descriptions and cultural information. Pupils are encouraged to use their existing knowledge of Spanish sounds, vocabulary and cognates to work out meaning and develop increasing independence when encountering unfamiliar language.

Reading in Spanish also broadens pupils’ experiences beyond the English curriculum. Children encounter texts and information linked to Spanish-speaking countries and cultures, helping them to understand that language is a means of communication which connects people, communities and countries around the world.

Pupil voice reflects the value we place on MFL across St Nicholas. We want pupils to recognise that learning another language is an important part of their education, developing communication skills, cultural awareness and curiosity about the wider world. We value MFL as a subject that enriches the curriculum and provides children with meaningful opportunities to broaden their experiences and understanding of different languages and cultures.

“My favourite part is singing the Spanish songs because it makes the lesson fun.”- Year 3 pupil 

“Spanish can be difficult but in a good way. I like learning a new word and then trying to use it in a sentence.”- Year 6 pupil 

“I like learning Spanish because I might go to Spain one day and be able to speak Spanish.”- Year 4 child 

“I like that Spanish lessons are really interactive. We don't just sit and write – we speak, listen, play games and sometimes sing.”- Year 5 child