Spanish lessons for children at a leading language school are fun and vibrant. Moreover, they help open up a world of opportunities far beyond the school gates.

Brainy Benefits of Spanish Lessons for Children

 Spanish lessons for children are chockfull of juicy benefits every parent wants to equip their young students with, like:

• Sharper thinking – Learning Spanish boosts memory, multitasking, and problem-solving.

• Speaking confidence – Kids become braver, better communicators, even shy ones.

• Adventurous spirit – Tackling the Spanish language makes children curious and open to new experiences.

These traits give your child that something extra, when they’re in the education system and when they enter the adult world.

Global Citizens in the Making

 We live in a multicultural, multilingual Britain – and that’s a good thing. Accordingly, learning Spanish from an early age helps your child to:

• Champion diversity – Understand and respect other cultures.

• Build tolerance – Learning about different traditions nurtures empathy and global awareness.

• Fit right in – Introduce them to the intercultural skills essential for getting on in a connected world.

Although there’s more to it than soft skills.

Big Futures and Bright Horizons

 According to Wikipedia’s List of countries and territories where Spanish is an official language: “Spanish is the official language in 20 sovereign states, one dependent territory (Puerto Rico), and one partially recognised state (Arab Democratic Republic), totaling around 442 million people.” That’s a lot of amigos!

Imagine how these sorts of numbers translate in terms of:

• Travel made easy – Ordering tapas in Madrid or exploring Mexico City will feel like child’s play.

• Career advantage – Spanish opens serious doors, from food to pharma.

• University entry – A second language looks very shiny on applications.

Give Your Child the Gift of Spanish

 At la Academia, our Spanish lessons or children are fun, playful, interactive, and confidence-building. They incorporate games, songs, and films, with qualified teachers who know how to inspire children to love learning Spanish.

So, why not expand your child’s world with after school and home-schooled Spanish lessons for children?

AFTER SCHOOL SPANISH CLASSES

Mondays | Key Stage 2 | 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Wednesdays | Advanced – GCSE Preparation | 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Wednesdays | Years 1, 2 and 3 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Thursdays | Advanced – Primary (Bilingual) | 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Thursdays | Year 1, 2 and 3 | 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Thursdays | Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 | 4.00pm – 5.00pm

HOME-SCHOOLED SPANISH CLASSES

Fridays | Primary – HOME-EDUCATED | 11.00am – 12.00pm (termly)

Get in touch for any of these courses or something more bespoke.

The British Council’s latest Language Trends England 2025 research lays the crisis bare:

“Language Trends England 2025 surveyed teachers at more than 1,000 primary, secondary and independent schools to provide an up-to-date picture of language education in England… the report builds on findings from 2024, which revealed that six in ten secondary schools faced challenges recruiting qualified language teachers.”

What Does This Mean for Your School?

 As a result, perhaps you too are juggling combined issues of:

• Unfilled language vacancies
• Overstretched non-specialist staff
• Larger class sizes with lower engagement
• A drop in language uptake at GCSE and A-Level

Worryingly, schools in disadvantaged areas are being hit hardest of all, causing widening gaps in language learning and missed opportunities for future success.

But help is at hand in the form of PPA language support.

Discover the Multiple Benefits of Outsourced PPA Language Support

High quality PPA language support lightens the load with expert-led, energetic delivery, including:

• Specialist MFL teaching during PPA
• Flamenco workshops and multicultural days
• Lunchtime and after school clubs
• Consultancy for non-specialist staff
• Efficient and precise curriculum integration

And you’re in safe hands with experienced teachers who know how to benefit both the classroom and the staffroom when you work with a leading-edge language school like Manchester’s la Academia.

Why Does This Matter?

Early exposure to MFL boosts confidence, curiosity, and cultural awareness, while helping shape global citizens of the future.

Don’t your student deserve this opportunity? And don’t your team members deserve to offer it, without burnout and staff attrition?At la Academia, we make PPA language support and supplementary MFL services fun, meaningful, and manageable for your staff and your students.

Get in touch to explore how we can support your school.

MFL became mandatory at primary school levels in 2014, for –

• KS1 – 5-7 year-olds
• KS2 – 7-11 year-olds

But surprisingly, Ofsted’s subject lead for languages Michael Wardle has witnessed a very mixed bag of results. He explained, “…given that many pupils should have been leaving Year 6 with four years’ worth of language study, it was disappointing to see how many schools were barely out of the starting block with their curriculum.” 

It’s a conundrum for many primary school teams, given the well-reported shortage of language teachers in the UK. But, finding an effective solution doesn’t have to be so challenging with trusted supplementary help at hand.

3 Brilliant Primary School MFL Boosts to Try 

Forming a meaningful partnership with a well-reputed local language school has the potential to resolve your MFL issues, and keep them resolved, with –

• Term time after school and lunch clubs to reinforce and amplify your school hours curriculum

• Multicultural days that provide engaging and memorable experiences to students, bringing language learning to life with national foods, music, singing and dancing

• PPA cover during periods of temporary skills shortages, e.g. when you’re recruiting to replace a teacher who has left, or the provision of specialist MFI support on a more semi-permanent basis

Michael Wardle has seen many instances of external supplementary help significantly boosting MFL standards in primary schools, concluding that, “… where a specialist teacher visits the school, class teachers practised what has been taught during the week in between languages lessons”.

At La Academia, our primary school MFL teachers are all experienced language teachers of KS1 and KS2 groups. So, if know you’ve still got work to do around MFL, get in touch to arrange a free lesson to try us for fit –

• Telephone – 0161 4911444
• Email – info@laacademia.co.uk

Sources 
Supporting Foreign Languages in your School: A guide for governors in primary schools, Association of School and College Leaders
Languages in outstanding primary schools, Michael Wardle, Ofsted

Schools continue to be more multi-cultural and diverse. As a result, progressive Trusts, headteachers and their teams are keen to embrace and leverage the melting pot of awe and wonder that comes with having a student base from many and various countries.

In addition, they’re recognising it’s no longer a big wide world their primary and junior students are growing up in.

So, they’re finding it enriching and expansive to use expert and credible KS1 and KS2 language support services for supplementary learning, such as –

• Special culture days that celebrate the Chinese language, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish or even Russian.
• Regular Spanish and/or French clubs.
• After school and/or lunchtime Spanish and/or French Clubs.
• Flamenco classes and clubs.
  

But the benefits of KS1 and KS2 language support don’t begin and end with broadening the horizons of 5-11 years old students.

There’s More to External KS1 and KS2 Language Support than the Joy of Language Learning

Schools are enlisting external KS1 and KS2 language support to help them plug gaps caused by the ongoing shortage of language teaching talent on the market.

Teach First explains –

“In an increasingly globalised world, the ability to speak additional languages can provide a major career boost for school leavers. But…There is also currently a shortage of modern foreign languages (MFL) teachers in schools across England. New Spanish and French teachers are particularly needed…”

At La Academia, all our team members are fully qualified teachers who can provide supplementary KS1 and KS2 language support and cover PPA with our lessons.

We’re so convinced you’ll love our KS1 and KS2 language support services we’re offering schools the opportunity to try a MFL taster lesson on us for free!

Get in touch today to arrange your complimentary try-before-you-buy session at –
T – 0161 491 1444
E – info@laacademia.co.uk

Sources 

Help lead a revival in modern foreign language teaching, Teach First
https://www.teachfirst.org.uk/teach-languages

PS. One to tell parents of 7-11 year-olds about – KS2 CHILDREN’S SPANISH FOR BEGINNERS GROUP (YEAR 3 TO YEAR 6) EVERY TUESDAY AT 5.00-6.00PM AT THE LA ACADEMIA SCHOOL IN CHEADLE

Places available immediately!

“Tuition groups

After-school clubs

Supplementary schools

Mother-tongue classes

Saturday schools

Private tuition”

The National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education sums it up nicely.

It’s been on the rise and rise for the past 15 months, when home schooling began due to lockdown restrictions. Since then, supplementary education has become a hot topic. It continues to be debated as the 2020-21 school year draws to a close.

School has been in rather than out since March. But, there’s nationwide concern on multiple levels about the need for more supplementary education to help an entire generation catch up on lost ground.

An educational support package worth an estimated £400million has been announced by the government to help address this problem.

Leora Cruddas, the chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, stressed the benefits of supplementary education in support of the GSCE and A-Level lessons students receive in schools.

“Where tuition can have value is where it’s done alongside the curriculum. If the government is going to be spending money, I would suggest that those programmes start in the autumn and are strongly aligned with the work a school is doing.” 

Yet, it’s much more comprehensive and inclusive than just GSCE and A-Level booster lessons.

At La Academia, we’ve been specialist supplementary education providers long before recent circumstances made it headline news.

Dozens of existing and new students are already signing up with us for-

• Modern foreign language and other core subject tuition during the summer holidays.
• Reception age Saturday morning Spanish classes starting in September.
• Booster lessons, courses and private tuition in preparation for GCSE and A-Level re-sits in autumn.
  

Will your child be amongst them? 

Sources 

Supplementary Education, National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education

https://www.supplementaryeducation.org.uk/supplementary-education-the-nrc/

Government to fund private tutors for English schools, Sally Weale and Richard Adams, The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/17/government-to-fund-private-tutors-for-english-schools

The ability to express an opinion is very important in GCSE language exams, and this will be easier to do where the topics are a little more edgy. Teachers who were surveyed suggested to OCR that language lessons should be more relevant to young people and use more convincing settings.

Students will be asked to develop an argument on more youth-orientated topics, for example, the French exam may ask pupils to discuss: “A mon avis un tatouage discret est une expression de ta personnalité”, which means, “In my opinion a discreet tattoo is an expression of your personality.” This would replace questions that requires them to describe all the extended generations of their family, or their day at school.

OCR hope that their plans for a more modern style of teaching will help schools to recruit more young people to study modern languages. There has been a steady and alarming fall in numbers of students taking modern languages at GCSE, with a knock-on effect on the number of linguists at A-level and at University.

Employers and organisations promoting exports, such as Chambers of Commerce and the UKTI, often complain that the lack of language skills is damaging the UK’s economy. If the changes to OCR’s syllabus can engage more students and make language learning more relevant to them, both they as individuals and businesses would benefit.

“While language teachers are pulling their hair out as their student numbers decline with languages not prioritised by the current system, captains of industry are also deeply frustrated,” says Katherine Smith, who is the Curriculum Manager MFL at OCR.

These proposed changes would be implemented from September 2016.

What are your views on Modern Language teaching? If you are a student or business that finds that the vocabulary and topics students are expected to learn are outdated, boring, or not useful in a business context, do you think these proposed changes will help?

All KS2 students will now be taught a language. This may be “any modern or ancient foreign language” which allows Somali, for example, to be taught in schools where there are large numbers of Somali pupils, aiding cross-cultural communication.

Most schools in Stockport and Manchester are opting for more traditional languages such as French, German and Spanish.  This is mostly due to familiarity of those languages, and availability of teaching resource.

Schools are taking a variety of approaches to language provision, as no rules have been laid down.  Some are employing specialist external language teachers, others are using existing staff with language qualifications (this can range from a GCSE to a degree) to deliver  cover the language component.

This can prove an additional burden to already busy Primary School teachers. la Academia has already had to respond to several urgent requests to provide teachers where it has quickly become clear that the school’s internal staff resources are not able to take on language teaching as well.

There are a lot of factors to consider – developing a study programme, how to build in progression, how to afford all the students the opportunity to practise speaking and listening, the level of written work that can be undertaken and how to cater for different ability levels in one class.

All of the above comes with the package when you work with la Academia – let us take the strain and we’ll plan for a full 4 years of progression and fun in languages at KS2. We don’t offer Somali, but there are plenty of other languages on offer – contact us here to find out more!

la Academia is very serious about teaching languages to children and we believe that the sooner you start, the better the result. Our new partner Je Parle Français have been delivering French in Primary Schools and Early Years for more than 20 years, matching la Academia’s 21 years of experience teaching Spanish.

Our team of KS1 and KS2 language teachers at la Academia deliver language tuition successfully at many Primary Schools in the North West, with glowing reports from OFSTED MFL inspections. With our specialist teachers children enjoy learning French and Spanish in an authentic and fun environment.  We offer:

• Language curriculum teaching at your school (full and half days), PPA Cover if needed
• Consultancy Service for non specialist teachers
• After school/ lunchtime Spanish and French Clubs.

**NEW** Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, Russian and Magic Days (please ask for details)
Flamenco classes and clubs at your school.

We are all trained specialist teachers with ample experience of teaching languages in Primary Schools in the UK.  Case studies:

Holy Trinity School – Spanish
Moss Hey Primary – Spanish
Woodheys Primary School – Spanish

To book a free Spanish or French taster lesson at your Primary School, please contact us for more information. Our telephone number is 0161 491 1444

The Children’s Spanish Summer Course will run for 5 days from 5th to 9th August, from 10-11:30 each day, at our language school in Cheadle. This is a total of 7.5 hours of Spanish classes, for a cost of just £37.50.

Our team of native Spanish speakers teach in local schools in Stockport, Manchester and the North West, and we have a proven programme that develops your child’s enthusiasm and confidence in Spanish.

Places on the Spanish Summer course are limited to 10 children aged 7-11 (KS2), so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Do contact us with any questions. Other languages are available for all ages and levels on a one-to-one basis over the summer.

The DofE has now put forward a list of suggested languages – French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, German, Italian, Latin and Ancient Greek. They propose that primary schools should teach at least one of these languages to their KS2 pupils.  September 2014 is rushing fast towards us, and many primary schools will not have in-house skills to provide classes in MFL such as Spanish or French, let alone Latin, even though the move has been under discussion for some time.

La Academia can help primary schools in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and the North West to provide language classes that will not only tick boxes in curriculum terms, but more importantly will fire enthusiasm and love for languages in their KS2 pupils.  La Academia already provides language classes to many North West primary schools, in curriculum time and in after school clubs.

Our tutors are native speakers, and we can supply KS2 lessons in French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and German.

If you’d like to submit your comments to the DofE on their proposals, go here for a consultation response form:

http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/consultations/a00216689/modern-foreign-languages
And if you’d like to assure your school of the best tutors in French, Spanish, Chinese, Italian and German, contact la Academia to set up a meeting and to learn more about our language tuition in primary schools.