MFL

Intent Statement

At Orange Tree School we believe that every child has the right to access education regardless of the challenges they are facing. Our curriculum supports the vision of progress, inclusion and empowerment by giving students the opportunity to learn and develop in a supportive and creative environment. It is much more than preparing students to pass exams but about meeting the needs and aspirations of all our students. We ensure all students have the opportunity to study a rich and broad curriculum which is personalised to meet their needs and target the gaps in their learning come about due to their circumstances. We cater for the language learning experience that may have been missed and scaffold and support new learning. All our students have the opportunity to enrich their core of academic subjects with languages, humanities and creative subjects including art and music. We believe that our community of children should not be disadvantaged by missing out on developing rich cultural capital. If their medical needs allow, we take them on trips to galleries, plays and museums. However, when not possible we bring to them diverse experiences such as talks from inspirational people, to extended projects run by visiting artists.

Curriculum

We provide a wide and varied MFL curriculum across all key stages, introducing pupils to the language through games, visual aids, reading and listening material as well as the written word. We also seek to foster an enjoyment of learning a language and promoting communication. In order to meet the needs of our individual students we cover the syllabus. We offer them the National Curriculum (Key Stage 3) and AQA (Key Stage 4). Much of the initial work is focused on speaking and encouraging participation as well as building their confidence in learning a language. Moving towards the receptive skills – listening and speaking then productive skills – reading and writing with the focus on the individual learner, always ensuring a positive learning environment, providing an individualised learning approach.

Our aim is to inspire and motivate pupils, providing appropriate stretch and challenge, and all MFL staff have high expectations whilst meeting the individual needs of their mental health challenges and understanding the processes needed to learn a language. We aim to provide pupils with a solid foundation on which to build their futures, and effectively equip them with the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need in order to reintegrate and be successful in an increasingly demanding world.

KS3

Students are taught once a week. A starter activity is introduced each lesson to encourage short term memory and recap previous work. Also building on previous learning and scaffolding to support gaps in knowledge. The Scheme of work is followed with lots of support, praise and encouragement in order to participate in learning process. When work is completed verbal feedback is given and then marked for corrections in spelling and grammar. This is used as the basis of a starter activity so as to promote progressive learning. This also supports them into a classroom environment.

KS4

In Years 10 and 11, students are taught either French or Spanish individually one hour a week. Scaffolding work is essential since there are often gaps in learning, topics are revisited, and grammar is revised. It is also important to build on previous knowledge.  This depends on information about each student as well as the syllabus. GCSE includes listening, speaking, reading and writing skills as well as translation. All these skills are practised, and individual feedback given in order to target necessary skills. The focus is on building confidence, encouraging the spoken word, and finally, more importantly, promoting the joy of learning a language.

KS5

Students are taught A level languages AQA. Initially bridging the gap between GCSE and A level course with grammar revision and scaffolding previous knowledge. Liaison is linked to new level of learning environment, recognising the differing needs of each student at this level, offering a more sophisticated learning experience at this level. The focus is on communication, speaking; listening; translation as well as reading and writing. Supplementary work is given on new grammar structures, background reading is supplied and reading around the topic is encouraged. A variety of revision methods is practised in order to develop language structures and learning methods so as to commit to memory new vocabulary and expressions. Written, visual, listening as well as repetition and speaking is encouraged when learning a language.

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