Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg
By integrating cultural experiences into their new curriculum, Sully Primary School are inspiring pupils to find out more about the world around them and discover a love for languages.
With a diverse pupil population, the school has created an environment where language is a dynamic force for celebration, identity, and connection. Parents and cultural institutions are invited into the school to share their personal experiences, knowledge and language skills.
Through exposure to Welsh, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Italian, a multi-language approach has been developed.
A new curriculum
The school developed a clear aim and vision of what they wanted from the new curriculum and how to achieve it.
Their vision was for pupils to receive an engaging language education, one that developed their curiosity of the world around them, not just being the passive recipients of language teaching.
Their curriculum has been designed to ensure International Languages are firmly positioned to connect with the other areas of learning and experience, with the four purposes as its cornerstones.
Putting theory into practice
They wanted recognition of their curriculum journey and aimed to become an International School with accreditation from the British Council. This itself gave a framework to plan within.
At the beginning of their journey, they were lucky to have a member of staff who was passionate about international studies and languages. With the backing of the senior leadership team, this person acted as a driver for change. Initially some staff were a little reluctant to give a full buy-in to this planned approach but time, strong guidance and obvious pupil interest gradually resulted in all staff being fully on board.
In the beginning, action plans were shared with stakeholders to gain and buy-in and support from all members of staff and also with the shared understanding of families and the governing body.
They quickly developed strong links with the Italian Embassy, The Confucius Institute and The British Council who have all been immensely supportive in helping Sully Primary School become an International School.
At the heart of their curriculum lies the translanguaging approach. Pupils are encouraged to explore linguistic connections and patterns through exposure to Welsh, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Italian at different stages throughout their education. These languages were chosen after discussions with their secondary school MFL teachers, who advised to stay away from delivering on one language and instead encouraged us to develop a multi-language approach to foster a love of and a curiosity for languages.
Professional learning
It was very important to ensure staff were fully on board and confident enough with their own language skills and cultural knowledge. Funding from the British Council enabled staff to travel to countries including Spain, Italy and China.
Cultural visits across the globe assisted in creating a greater independent approach towards professional development with staff seeking to increase their own language skills.
A few members of staff requested refresher training in Welsh language. Another enrolled on a night school course with her husband to learn Italian and a few others started competing with each other using Duolingo.
Skills of the existing workforce were developed along with relationships with outside agencies who could bring expertise into the school, benefitting both children and staff. There are now members of staff who are comfortable in delivering basic Spanish, French and Italian sessions and peripatetic Italian and Chinese language teachers are used to deliver weekly language lessons across the school.
Language as a tool for connection and knowledge
Recognising the relationship between language and culture, cultural experiences are actively integrated into language education. ‘International Languages Week,’ enables pupils to immerse themselves in the exploration of a specific country, delving into its culture, language, and religion.
These weeks provide a platform for inviting parents into the school to share their personal backgrounds, cultural knowledge, and language skills. Embraced by the wider school community, these weeks culminate in a celebratory display, allowing children to showcase their newly acquired skills and knowledge to a wide audience.
Last year the school was selected to work with the British Council for the Cerdd Iaith project with pupils learning songs in a range of different languages. They worked with the writer and composer, Tim Riley, and the Welsh actor and singer Lily Beau. The positive impact of this project on pupils was clear. The weekly sessions left pupils feeling energised and excited, learning new words and phrases in different languages.
Involvement in the project culminated in a concert at the Wales Millennium Centre where pupils got to perform with a live orchestra alongside children from all over Wales.
Use of the Cerdd Iaith website continues with a weekly singing assembly for older children. The resources provided by Cerdd Iaith fit perfectly with the schools translanguaging-centric approach to the teaching of International Languages.