French

Classes 3,4 and 5  have a one year rolling programme. Due to the nature of French and our mixed age classes the curriculum is taught as a cyclical, this means that pupils revisit key vocabulary and grammar concepts again and again. Every time vocabulary or grammar learning is revisited, it is covered with greater depth. Upon returning to each area, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build on previous foundations, rather than starting again.

Five key strands run through the curriculum: speaking and pronunciation, listening, Reading and writing, Grammar and Intercultural understanding. We believe the skills children develop can help them in the future learn other languages. Key skills covered are: recognising learnt vocabulary when listening or reading; spotting cognates (words which have the same origin or are in some way similar) and near-cognates; using context and their own knowledge of the world to predict the meaning of unknown words and considering word order to anticipate the meaning of words. We believe these skills support our children to communicate effectively when visiting France and meeting their pen friends in person or through writing and video calls.

The curriculum at The Pochin School this year may look slightly different to the plans below. This is due to staff members adjusting topics taught to support pupils/ classes who have been affected by Covid since 2020. Also this is due to the trasnition period from the previous French curriculum to  the new one below, as plans and topics are regularly reviewed to meet the needs of our pupils.

Intent, Implement, Impact

Progression of Skills

The Curriculum Cycle

Class 3 Knowledge Organisers

Class4 Knowledge Organisers

Class 5 Knowledge Organisers

Close partnership with a French school  – Julien

As a school we have close links with a partnership school in France. Traditionally our year 6 pupils visit this school every year in June and their Year 6 pupils visit us every year in March/ April. Since Covid this has been made very difficult due to Brexit and the financial crisis that has impacted costs both in England and in France.

As a school we are committed to ensuring that relations remain strong between the two schools. The children write to each other, send cards, send videos and we hope to do video conferencing in our year 6 classroom by the end of the academic year with our French friends.

Many Pochin pupils who have in the passed visited France and met with their friends they have made through writing, sending cards and visiting still remain good friends after many years have passed since leaving The Pochin School.

The school is set in the village of Beuzeville-la-Grenier. The village is 6km2, has a population of 1193 and has 459 households. The school is split on two site, one infant and one junior school. The village is very much like Barkby (8km2) in size, although Barbky has fewer residents of only 298 (census 2021).

Location

Ecole Maternelle Pierre Julien (Infant School)

Ecole Elementaire Lucienne Julien (Junior School)

Local Library/ Community Building