How to make secure judgements about students’ progress in primary languages.
Emilie Woodroffe is a Director at PLN, leading a team of specialist language teachers working across 40 primary schools in the North West. A native French speaker with 16 years of experience in primary MFL, she is also the voice and face of PLN’s in-class support programs, Video2Teach and Click2Teach. In this blog series, she shares insights, reflections, and ideas to inspire primary language teaching. Connect with Emilie on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.
Last week, I attended Kate Percival’s half-termly network session for Primary Languages Network (PLN) members, focused on moderation in the primary languages classroom. The session had been requested by members looking to build confidence in assessing students’ work—particularly in writing and speaking.
It was a practical and collaborative session where attendees were encouraged to bring and share examples of work. For me, it was a great reminder not to overthink it—a bit of a reset. Sometimes, we all need to step back and reflect on what we're doing and why.
So, how do we make secure judgements about students' progress in primary French or Spanish? How do we recognise it when we see it? And what actually constitutes evidence of progress?
What does the national guidance say?
The KS2 Programme of Study (PoS) for Languages is brief. It outlines the purpose of study, aims, and 12 attainment targets describing what children should be taught. It tells us that teaching “should focus on enabling pupils to make substantial progress in one language”—but it doesn’t define what progress actually looks like or what we should expect by the end of Key Stage 2.
This leaves it up to teachers to assess children's learning and make a judgement about whether they are:
Working towards the expected standard
Working at the expected standard
Working at greater depth
To make confident and secure judgements, we first need to be clear on what Working towards, Expected, and Greater Depth look like at each stage of learning.
In the absence of clear national definitions… What can you do?
Teachers need a clear picture of what progress looks like from the beginner level onwards—
a) within each year group, and
b) over time as knowledge and skills build.
At PLN, we’ve developed a progression document that defines and exemplifies progress across the four years of KS2, aligned with our scheme of work.
We summarise the four stages like this:
Stage 1: Nouns and set phrases
Stage 2: Nouns + adjectives – building up to full sentences
Stage 3: Extended sentences using conjunctions
Stage 4: Volume – more of the same, independently produced and manipulated with or without support
The document includes video examples of spoken language at different stages, and during the session we discussed what the phrase “understandable by a sympathetic native speaker” really means in practice.
We also looked at writing samples that clearly illustrate progression—from individual words and set phrases to extended sentences and independent writing.
What tools do you have at your disposal?
To make secure judgements, use a range of evidence—not just one assessment.
✅ Formative assessment
Used to inform teaching on an ongoing basis. It’s usually informal and may include:
Observing spoken interactions
Monitoring written tasks in books
✅ Summative assessment
Used to check understanding at the end of a unit—often through an end-of-unit task or test.
But remember—summative assessment is just one tool. It’s not designed to be the only piece of evidence for overall judgement.
Challenges and things to consider
🗣 Speaking
This is one of the hardest skills to assess, especially with a class of 30. If possible, take a sample group outside the classroom to ask questions based on recent learning. Rotate groups throughout the year to hear from a range of pupils across the ability spectrum.
🧪 End-of-unit tests
Use these as an additional piece of the puzzle—not your sole measure of progress.
And don’t forget: writing with support—even during assessment—still counts as writing. We often assume assessments must be done from memory, but in reality, we rarely expect this during regular lessons. Support and scaffolds should still be available when appropriate, even in assessment situations.
Final Thought
Making judgements in primary languages doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. With a shared understanding of what progress looks like, practical examples of work, and a clear framework to refer to, we can feel more confident and consistent in how we assess.