Spanish at Princess May

In Europe, Spanish is the second most spoken language, after English. With more than 300 million speakers, Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world. Spanish is an official language on four continents.

Hackney is carrying out pioneering work in the teaching of Spanish across all primary and secondary schools. The Headteachers agreed to teach Spanish as the first foreign language in all schools. This is to ensure that pupils develop a deep understanding of one language and to make the transfer to secondary school smoother.

The teaching of a modern foreign language is a statutory requirement in Key Stage 2 from September 2014.

Purpose of study

Our implementation of the Spanish curriculum is being supported by a pilot project which is available to schools across the borough.This project has provided a wealth of expertise and staff have benefited from inset and access to a wide range of quality resources.

Aims

The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Listen attentively and show understanding by joining in and responding
• Read carefully and show an understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
• Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary
• Write words and phrases from memory
• Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link spelling, sound and meaning of words
• Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others.