We have a "Network News" section as part of our membership update and we share this with the wider community as the ideas and activities may help others too! Indeed yesterday ,whilst working with Lynsey McHugh primary languages coordinator at Christ Church CE. we discussed the "joy" of the network.she reminded me how much teachers do appreciate sharing local successes and progress and how this sharing helps us all in our language teaching, learning and planning for next year.It's probably been one of the contributing factors why we never stopped teaching primary languages in 2011!

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Network News
We started Network News in September 2013 and we have seen so many wonderful primary ideas and activities that local colleagues have shared with us.

Today I have been loading up yet more ideas and pictures and reflecting on my conversation with Lynsey.
I decided to put together a sample of the types of language learning activities shared so far this academic year.

So here we go - pictures of real,simple to organise, achievable and effective primary language learning practice in our local NW area.
It's a sample in academic calendar order just from Summer 2014 to May half term 2015.

Summer 2014

Taking a trip abroad
A report back from the Callands CP trip to Normandy with Year 6 in the Summer holidays

Celebrating learning a language across the whole school
Whole school French celebrations at Locking Stumps CP .Great to see teachers and children having such a great time!

September 2014

Making the transition from one year to the next
Unpacking those virtual suitcases of favourite activities that some of us packed with the children at the end of the last term! Ready to learn a language again! Sharing with new teachers and classmates.

Linking with a French primary school
Building links with a school near Carcassonne .Miss Perkins shared her Summer French upskilling CPD and the school she visited with her class.Ready for a year of snailmail and contact with real French children at St Barnabas CE

Learning about French children and practising French handwriting
French cursive handwriting at St Luke's Catholic Primary
Thinking about the similarities and differences in boys and girls names in France and England

Linking language learning and literacy.
Roald Dahl Day and describing characters in Spanish at Barrowhall CP

Practsiing familiar language in new contexts European Day of Languages and a child's assessment from Culcheth CP of a "grand day out at our virtual French language learning street festivals

Food tastiing and working with a native speaker European Day of Languages and food tasting with Jose at Latchford CE!

October 2014

Using bilingual dictionaries Dallam CP independently using bilingual dictionaries to write their own descriptions of an ideal school

Puppets for role play Puppets, personal information questions and answers and monsieur grenouille at St Teresa's

Retelling and rewriting a story Linking languages, the Hungry Caterpillar and the class literacy project at Holy Family in Halewood.

Creating target language display ,written by the children.

Je me présente bunting all about themselves French writing from Y4 at St Phillips to decorate their classrooms during their school project.

Linking language learning to the seasons
Writing independently about the colours of Autumn at Rainford CE in Spanish

November 2014

Linking language learning to national and global events Poppies at St Philips CE to celebrate Armistice Day

Linking language learning to national and global events
Writing and thinking about Armistice Day at St Barnabas CE

Practising phonics Sounds and colours games with Y3 at Woolston CP

KS1 language learning linked to projects Animal puppets for KS1 farm project at St Gabriel's

Exploring other areas of the curriculum through language learning

Linking geography and languages with a tour of North America at Our Lady's Catholic school

Exploring the planets at Plantation CP

Learning more about the target language country
Starting to create a 3D map of France to be added to over the year at St Andrew's CE Wigan
Over the year new objects , cities and key geographical features are being added.

December 2014

Celebrating Christmas and practising language A sapin de noel made up all the numbers the children in Year 3 have learned since they started French in September at St Andrew's CE in Warrington.

Celebrating Christmas and practising language
Playing a snowman beetle game at Winwick CE

Celebrating Christmas and practising language
A festive French grammar lesson based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at Woolston CP

Communicating with other local children in the target language Oakwood and Latchford CE Spanish Christmas card swap!

January 2015

Making our own target language food Investigating a real Spanish Epiphany at St Gabriel's

Practising our sound spelling links Making your own letter string galette games -so many of you really enjoyed this!

Developing a project between French and English school children Cinnamon Brow CE's "Who is who?" project with their link school! A parcel arrived ... great excitement!

Making language learning current and topical Barrowhall designed snowmen -" because it was snowing" and they were practising body parts and they sang a song made up by their teacher to the tune of Frozen!

Exploring texts linked to the language learning focus Birchwood CE used the Herve Tullet book to investigate eye colour!

Learning about nouns and sound spelling links
Moorfield CP beginner language learners sorted their animal nouns in to sound boxes!

February 2015

Extending our spoken language with opinons
Carnival Time and so many of you enjoyed the triaramas

Listening to stories in KS! and joining in
Dallam CP Year 1 listened to the hungry caterpillar in Spanish , joined in with the story and made their own fruit caterpillars

Cross curricular language learningOur Lady's Catholic primary went to the circus!

March 2015

Theatre performances in school Westbrook Old Hall invited a real French theatre company in to school to work with their UKS2!

Using target language texts to reinforce a Science project St Michael's in Halton listened to and joined in with una rica merienda and listened out for healthy and unhealthy foods as part of their cross curricular work.

Outdoor language learning Nutgrove Methodist YR went on an outside French animal hunt

Using objects of interest to explore new language
Park Road CP investigated a real French doll's house,donated by a kind grandad to look at the rooms and colours in the house

Putting on a performance Cuddington CP practised their samba style masks and dance for their Mother's day assembly

Putting on a performanc to share and celebrate a unit iof language learning! Beech Hill CP Year 3 Spanish learners performance of Brown Bear as part of their animal unit

Taking part in competitions
Parish CE found out who were the winners of their design an alien competition

April and May 2015

Making role play real LockingStumps hold their French cafe afternoon for their Year 6 learners as part of their cafe culture unit

Creating our games to practise language Bruche create a life size game of the hungry giant for their food unit - and play as a class !

Using our imaginations to revisit and reinforce language St Ann's hold a madhatter's tea party

Making language learning an integral part of the whole school development Beech Hill CP hold a fiesta enrichment day with "tapas" for their Year 5 and 6 in Spanish!

Visiting the country and using the target language for "real"! Latchford CE Year 6 go to the real market in Malaga and practise their language

Well yesterday was the last of three Subject Coordinators CPD afternoon sessions this academic year for Janet Lloyd Network.51 local primary schools have participated in these sessions and we have run each session twice so that the groups were half that size and colleagues who signed up at the start of the year could make one of the two sessions. We have shared our findings and discussions and the materials we have considered via our subject coordinator pages on the JLN website with all our colleagues .

When we set off in October it was very much led by myself as we began to unpick the new DfE POS but over the second and certainly the third sessions it’s been wonderful to observe and listen to the teachers’ discussions and opinions and to hear what they have done or are doing back in school. One colleague and one school has learned from another school but we have kept a steady keel and a clear focus and view by working together and breaking down the steps we have taken.It’s also important to understand that the network schools teach different languages – French (in the main), Spanish and a few teach German. One or two have considered Mandarin particularly later in UKS2.

Our main focus has been the new DfE POS from September 2014, but the benefits have been extended networking , building working relationships and sharing of ways forward. Yesterday we welcomed two new coordinators on board and it was the support I observed other colleagues offering these two new coordinators that not only made me smile but made me feel confident that this is a supportive way to work.

The CPD sessions have been some of the most enjoyable training sessions I have been involved in. Why? Well I think there are a few reasons. I think one very large reason is that we see it as “our” network and we enjoy new members joining us too. Here are some of the other important reasons why I think it works:

Our network has schools within it that have worked with together alongside myself for at least 11 years and we have experience to draw upon from earlier language learning.
Our network never stopped .It was established back in 2001 when I was a local AST – it’s just grown.
Our network also has new network members who have joined us recently or are still joining us and they bring different approaches and new horizons and views of primary languages.
Our network members share and appreciate each others’ opinions and ideas.
Not everything is “rocket science” ,much is down to earth and practical approaches to the weekly ways to deliver effective primary language learning.
Colleagues ask and challenge and don’t just accept.
The sessions have focused on the mechanics of developing language learning in individual schools
All the colleagues are keen to plan for, look for and demonstrate progress.

All of the 90 networks have subject coordinators and each subject coordinator has or becomes committed to the development of primary foreign language learning in their school. Why shouldn’t they?

For each of them it becomes a role in which they can have very positive impact and in which role they can develop activities and learning programmes that the children in their school enjoy and benefit from. This is probably one of the greatest joys from my viewpoint- watching individual s grow and watching often quite scared individuals take on the challenge of establishing primary languages in their school and amongst their staff. What they all do and want to do is find solutions that work.

Our subject coordinators are a diverse group too:

Degree level secondary trained linguists who became primary class teachers
Degree level linguists who are PGCE primary trained
Primary QTS teachers who have a language specialism or an A Level in a language
Primary QTS who have an interest in languages
Literacy coordinators with a responsibility for communication skills in school
Primary teachers who have spent several years working or travelling abroad and learned their language whilst abroad.
Primary teachers who struggled at school to learn a language and want t make a difference to their young learners’ experience of languages
Teaching assistants who have developed a very special role as the person in charge of language learning in their school- some of these people have degrees in a language or two, have learned a language all their lives or have a passion for a language

The diverse nature of the network and the colleagues I work with, is what helps us thrive. Each person and every school has the right to be within the network. The network is built around primary language learning and the native speakers who work with us adapt their understanding of how they learned English or taught English so that they can work with us and provide creative primary approaches to language learning. As Emilie @EWoodruffe often says to me in her tweets #ilovemyjob.

Who are the native speakers in our network? Well in general they are our support and link to the real language and the real culture. This has definitely made a difference for us all. When we don’t know or we want to learn more we have Emilie, Stephanie, José, Ana and Barbara who we can turn to. In the network 31 schools work with associate language teachers every week ( either native or fluent language deliverers)and this works best when it suits the school and the staff embrace the language learning too!

And so to next week It’s our conference – the afternoon tea is important- always has been , but the meeting up as one very large group of people is far more important. This year the network has been able to invite Clare Seccombe and Julie Prince to speak so we can take on board new ideas for phonology , communication and literacy skills. As always there is a local speaker. Last year it was two subject coordinators who had good practice to share and Ana and her subject coordinator who shared their trip to Malaga with 12 year 6 children. This year it’s Emilie and her down to earth but effective work with speaking and APPS.

It seems to me that the driver of our progress is based upon effective and appropriate networking.Thank you to everyone of the colleagues who works within the network!