Modern Foreign Languages

Intent 

At Swindon Academy, Spanish is taught through the Language Angels Curriculum, ensuring a consistent, engaging, and progressive language learning experience from Year 1 to Year 6. Our aim is to foster a lifelong love of language learning while equipping pupils with essential linguistic skills and cultural understanding. 

• High expectations for all pupils and a focus on continuing language study into secondary school and beyond. 

• The curriculum is reviewed annually and structured through clear long- and short-term plans to ensure continuous progression emphasise the four key skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—with grammar taught in an age-appropriate manner. 

• Pupils are encouraged to learn how to research and use reference materials, developing a personal library to support long-term language retention and application. 

 

Implementation 

All classes will have access to a very high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources. This will progressively develop pupil skills, in foreign languages through well-planned, immersive MFL days each term.  

• Teachers deliver a coherent and ambitious MFL curriculum across all year groups through 6 MFL days each year- deep dive into the Spanish language. 

• Pupils build vocabulary, grammar, and language skills progressively through age-appropriate themes and topics. 

• Teachers monitor each pupil's progress throughout their language learning journey. 

• Lessons are tailored using Language Angels’ ‘Teaching Type’ categories to ensure appropriate challenge and progression: 

• Non Statutory Units: For Year 1 and 2 where the teaching of a Modern Foreign Language is not obligatory. 

• Early Language Units: For Year 3 or beginners. 

• Intermediate Units: For Year 4–5 or those with basic prior knowledge. 

• Progressive/Creative Curriculum Units: For Year 6 or advanced learners. 

• Pupils engage in listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks, with and without support, gradually increasing in complexity. 

• Each unit includes a grammar concept, progressing in complexity across teaching types. 

• Extended writing tasks reinforce vocabulary retention and link prior units for fluency and accuracy. 

• Unit planners guide curriculum progression across the school year. Unit overviews and lesson plans outline specific learning objectives and teaching strategies. 

 

 

Impact 

Our MFL curriculum is high quality, well-sequenced, and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress.    

• Pupils build on prior knowledge, with regular opportunities to recycle, revise, recall, and consolidate language. 

• Pupils review learning objectives at the beginning and end of units. 

• Formal assessments in speaking, listening, reading, and writing occur at the end of each 6-week unit. 

• Progress is tracked and reported to pupils and parents/carers. 

• End of Unit Skills Assessments help identify gaps. 

• Early intervention is provided when progress is below expectations in any skill area.