Spanish

At Shirehampton Primary School, we want children to develop a love of languages and curiosity about the wider world.

Learning Spanish gives children the opportunity to communicate in another language while developing their understanding and appreciation of different countries and cultures.

Our Spanish curriculum develops children's confidence in listening, speaking, reading and writing, alongside their understanding of Spanish vocabulary, phonics and grammar. 

Our Vision for Spanish

We want children to enjoy learning another language and to feel confident having a go.

Through Spanish, children develop their ability to:

• Listen and respond to spoken Spanish

• Speak with increasing confidence and accuracy

• Develop accurate pronunciation

• Read and understand words, phrases and increasingly complex texts

• Write words, phrases and sentences in Spanish

• Develop their understanding of vocabulary and grammar

• Learn about Spanish-speaking countries and cultures

• Recognise similarities and differences between languages and cultures

Learning a language also gives children opportunities to develop wider skills including curiosity, resilience, perseverance, collaboration and creativity. 

What Children Learn

Spanish is taught throughout Key Stage 2, in line with the National Curriculum.

Children progressively develop their knowledge of vocabulary, phonics and grammar alongside their skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Learning is carefully sequenced so that children revisit and build upon previously taught language, becoming increasingly confident and independent communicators as they progress through the school.

 How We Teach Spanish

At Shirehampton Primary School, we use Language Angels to support the teaching and learning of Spanish.

The programme provides a carefully sequenced and progressive curriculum which enables children to build their knowledge of Spanish vocabulary, phonics and grammar over time.

Lessons provide opportunities for children to develop the four key language skills:

Listening – listening carefully to spoken Spanish and developing understanding.

Speaking – developing confidence, pronunciation and the ability to communicate using increasingly complex language.

Reading – recognising and understanding Spanish words, phrases and texts.

Writing – progressing from words and simple phrases towards increasingly independent sentences and longer pieces of writing.

Children regularly revisit and build upon previous learning, helping vocabulary and language structures become increasingly secure.

Developing Language Over Time

Children's knowledge and skills build progressively as they move through the school.

In the younger year groups, children begin by listening to and repeating Spanish, learning familiar vocabulary and using simple words and phrases.

As children progress through Key Stage 2, they develop greater independence. They learn to ask and answer questions, express opinions, participate in conversations and read and write increasingly complex sentences.

By Year 6, children are working towards listening for key information, conversing briefly without prompts, reading short texts independently and writing several sentences from memory or developing a short text from a model. 

Phonics, Vocabulary & Grammar

Children are explicitly taught the sounds and patterns of Spanish and learn to connect pronunciation with written language.

As they progress, children develop an increasingly broad vocabulary and learn how Spanish sentences are constructed. They explore grammatical features including:

• Masculine and feminine forms

• Singular and plural

• Adjectives

• Conjunctions

• Prepositions

• Opinion verbs and idioms

• Different sentence structures

• Verb forms and tenses

These elements are revisited and developed progressively so that children can increasingly manipulate language rather than simply memorising individual phrases.

Culture & the Wider World

Learning Spanish is also an opportunity for children to develop their understanding of the wider world.

Through their language learning, children explore aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures and communities and develop an appreciation of cultural and linguistic diversity.

We encourage children to be curious about other languages, countries and cultures and to recognise similarities and differences between their own experiences and those of other

How We Assess Spanish

Teachers assess children's developing knowledge and skills throughout their Spanish learning.

Assessment considers children's progress across listening, speaking, reading and writing, alongside their developing pronunciation, grammatical understanding and accuracy.

Assessment is ongoing and includes children's spoken contributions, conversations, reading and written work. This helps teachers identify what children know, remember and can apply independently. 

Spanish Curriculum & Progression

Our curriculum documents provide further information about what children learn in Spanish and how their knowledge and skills develop from Year 3 to Year 6.

📄 Spanish Whole-School Curriculum Overview

📄 Spanish Progression of Knowledge & Skills