At Phoenix Primary, our children are becoming linguists — confident, curious and ready to speak to the world.

Our Intent

At Phoenix Primary, our ambition is for every child to see themselves as a confident communicator and global citizen.

Through Spanish, we aim to:

• Develop curiosity about the wider world
• Build confidence in speaking and listening in another language
• Strengthen memory, pronunciation and vocabulary acquisition
• Foster respect and understanding of different cultures
• Prepare pupils for a successful transition to secondary school

From September 2025, we made the strategic decision to move from French to Spanish. This reflects:

• Spanish being one of the most widely spoken languages globally
• Stronger alignment with local secondary school language pathways
• The opportunity to secure specialist subject expertise
• Our commitment to improving progression and long-term language retention

As this is a new implementation, we are in the early stages of embedding Spanish across all year groups. We are prioritising secure foundations so that pupils build confidence, accuracy and enthusiasm before moving into more complex language structures.

⭐ Spanish & Phoenix Values

At Phoenix Primary, our Phoenix Values are at the heart of our Spanish curriculum.

🔴 Resilience - Learning Spanish takes bravery and perseverance. Pupils are encouraged to take risks, practise pronunciation and understand that mistakes are part of the learning journey. We build confidence step by step so children feel proud of their progress.

🔴 Responsibility - Children learn to listen carefully, rehearse key vocabulary and take ownership of remembering and applying new language. As their knowledge grows, they use Spanish more independently in speaking and writing.

🔴 Kindness - Through Spanish, pupils develop respect for different cultures and communities. They learn that language connects people and helps us understand the wider world with empathy and appreciation.

🔴 Ambition - We want our pupils to believe there are no limits to where languages can take them. Spanish opens doors — to travel, future study and global opportunities. We nurture confident, capable communicators who are proud of what they can achieve.

Our Curriculum

We use the Language Angels scheme to deliver our Spanish curriculum.

Language Angels organises learning by linguistic stage rather than age, ensuring pupils move forward based on secure knowledge. The programme progresses through five teaching types:

• Starting Off / Moving On – immersive, oral-based foundations

• Early Language – core vocabulary and simple sentence building

• Intermediate – phrase-level work with increasing grammar

• Progressive – extended speaking and writing with greater fluency

Because we are at the beginning of our Spanish journey as a whole school, all classes are currently building foundational knowledge in vocabulary, pronunciation and sentence construction before accelerating into more advanced units.

Each unit is structured across six lessons and includes:

• Detailed lesson plans and teacher guidance

• Knowledge organisers

• Vocabulary glossaries and picture vocabulary

• Built-in revision and assessment opportunities

The scheme ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum Programme of Study across speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Provision Across the School

• KS2 pupils access a dedicated weekly Spanish lesson delivered by our Spanish teacher. This ensures accurate pronunciation, secure subject knowledge and strong modelling of spoken language. The teacher uses formative assessment to determine when classes are ready to move on more quickly or revisit key content.

• KS1 pupils access shorter, engaging Spanish sessions focused on vocabulary, speaking and listening to build early confidence and enjoyment.

• Pupils within our SEND Unit access adapted Spanish sessions, with an emphasis on repetition, visuals, immersion and communication to support speech, language and memory development.

Assessment & Progression

As we embed Spanish across Phoenix, assessment is formative and responsive.  We monitor:

• Vocabulary retention

• Pronunciation and phonics

• Sentence construction

• Application of previously learned language

The flexible structure of Language Angels allows us to tailor progression carefully. Over time, as sustained teaching continues, pupils will move securely through Early, Intermediate and Progressive stages — building towards confident, fluent language use by the end of primary phase.

At Phoenix, we believe learning a language nurtures confidence, resilience, responsibility and ambition — opening doors to the wider world and helping our children understand their place within it.