Intent

At Edale Rise Primary and Nursery School, our Spanish curriculum is designed to develop a love of language learning and an appreciation of different cultures. Through our curriculum, pupils build confidence in communicating in Spanish for practical purposes, using both spoken and written language.

Pupils develop a strong foundation in the key building blocks of language learning: phonics, vocabulary and grammar. These are carefully sequenced to enable pupils to understand and produce language with increasing accuracy and independence. The curriculum fosters curiosity about the wider world and supports pupils in developing transferable language-learning skills that prepare them for further study at Key Stage 3 and beyond.

Implementation

Spanish is taught through a progressive and carefully sequenced curriculum in Key Stage 2, built around four key areas:

• Speaking
• Listening
• Reading
• Writing

These are underpinned by the core knowledge strands of phonics, vocabulary and grammar. Learning follows a spiral curriculum, enabling pupils to revisit and build on prior knowledge with increasing confidence and complexity.

Lessons are engaging and interactive, incorporating a range of approaches including role-play, language games, discussion and collaborative activities. Pupils are given regular opportunities to practise and apply their learning in meaningful contexts, developing both fluency and comprehension.

Teaching focusses on developing ‘language detective’ skills, enabling pupils to recognise patterns, decode unfamiliar language and apply their understanding across contexts. Cross-curricular links provide further opportunities to embed and apply learning.

Teaching is inclusive and adaptive, ensuring that all pupils can succeed. This includes modelling, scaffolding, structured support, visual prompts, repetition and opportunities for rehearsal. Teacher resources, including pronunciation guides, sound files and subject knowledge support, ensure high-quality delivery and build staff confidence.

Impact

Pupils develop increasing confidence and competence in communicating in Spanish. They are able to listen, respond, speak, read and write with growing accuracy and independence, using appropriate pronunciation and grammatical structures. Pupils also develop an appreciation of different cultures and a broader understanding of the world.

Assessment is both formative and summative, enabling teachers to monitor progress, support all learners and ensure strong outcomes. Pupils are encouraged to evaluate their work and reflect on improvements, developing independence and critical thinking.

By the end of primary school, pupils will:

• Understand and respond to spoken Spanish with confidence
• Speak and read aloud with increasing accuracy and fluency
• Apply phonics knowledge to decode unfamiliar language
• Engage in simple conversations and express opinions
• Use basic grammar and sentence structures accurately
• Write short texts for a range of purposes
• Demonstrate strategies to learn and understand new languages
• Be well-prepared for further study in languages at Key Stage 3