Building confident communicators and curious linguists
French is taught from Year 3 to Year 6. We use Primary Languages Network as our main scheme, giving pupils a carefully sequenced route through listening, speaking, reading, writing, phonics, vocabulary, grammar and cultural knowledge.
How children learn French
Our language-learning sequence is teach → model → repeat → practise → apply → review. Oral language comes first: children hear and rehearse new language before reading and writing it increasingly independently.
What children learn
| Phase | What children learn |
| Year 3 | Build confidence with listening and speaking, core vocabulary, pronunciation, simple questions and answers, and short modelled sentences. |
| Year 4 | Broaden vocabulary, strengthen sound-spelling relationships, read short texts and use familiar grammar in increasingly varied sentences. |
| Year 5 | Develop more secure grammar, adapt language for different contexts, read for detail and write increasingly from memory. |
| Year 6 | Combine prior vocabulary and structures, sustain short conversations, interpret short texts and produce increasingly independent spoken and written French. |
Phonics, vocabulary and grammar
Children learn common sound-spelling relationships, increasingly precise pronunciation, progressive vocabulary and grammar including gender, articles, agreement, word order, verbs, negatives and questions.
Culture and the wider world
Children encounter France and the wider French-speaking world, exploring traditions, everyday life, geography and culture so that language learning develops curiosity as well as communication.
| External Resource/Organisation | Link |
| Primary Languages Network Scheme Overview | Primary Languages Network |
Related North Mead Pages
- Our Curriculum