Language Policy

 

You probably remember the announcement from the DfE earlier this summer that money is being made available for the teaching of Latin in secondary schools.  

I said at the time that, while I am a big fan of Latin having studied it to A level and used it in my M.Phil. thesis, I think the proposed £4million being set aside for secondary Latin could be much better used for putting into practice the recommendations of the White Paper, and ensuring that all children in primary schools receive a quality languages education.  I wrote to the DfE saying as much on 31st July:

"Having studied Latin to A level, I am pleased to see the plans to ensure that Latin is taught in KS3 and KS4 in the state sector. However this is another project aimed at the secondary phase. They have the Mandarin project, NCELP and now this Latin project. I have been a teacher and independent consultant of KS2 Languages for 12 years. Since the first injection of money for special projects shortly after statutory languages in KS2 were introduced, there has been no funding or support for primary languages forthcoming. Are you able to assure me that you are taking on board the recommendations of the White Paper "Primary Languages Policy in England: the way forward" which was published by the Research in Primary Languages Network (RiPL) in March 2019, and allocating to KS2 language teaching some funding in order to ensure that all KS2 children receive a quality languages education?"

Today (almost a month later) I received a reply:

"Thank you for your email of the 31 July sharing your thoughts on the launch of the Latin Excellence Programme.

You are correct that the NCELP hubs, the Mandarin Excellence Programme and the intended Latin Excellence Programme are all aimed at the secondary phase of languages education.
We are aware of the RiPL White Paper and its recommendations for the Department for Education, as well as the distinct challenges which primary schools face when teaching languages.

Currently the Department’s priority is on funding of programmes which focus on secondary school teaching of languages, with the aim of increasing GCSE uptake. This links to the government’s English Baccalaureate ambition and, in the case of the NCELP programme, follows up on the 2016 Teaching Schools Council’s MFL Pedagogy Review which encourages secondary school teachers to build on pupils’ language knowledge from primary school.

The Department continues to review all existing and intended programmes, as well as recommendations from the most recent research, in allocating funding to priority areas.
Thank you for writing to the Department on this important matter."

So good news for secondary schools, not so much for primary languages.