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@Linguist_CIOL DECEMBER/JANUARY The Linguist 21 FEATURES learn from others. The first part of the meeting gives them a chance to discuss their concerns and successes since the last meeting, first in small groups and then with the whole group. Teachers find this part of the meeting particularly supportive. Their relief is often palpable when they discover they are not alone and that others have had the same worries. There is always someone who has overcome a particular concern, which in the past has included how to assess progress; write a school policy; prepare for Ofsted; set up a link with a school in another country; involve reluctant colleagues; raise the profile of languages in the school; and involve children with special needs. On one occasion, a hub member new to teaching languages and lacking confidence was given the opportunity to shadow another member teaching French to various year groups. Participants can also be inspired to try something new after hearing of its success in another school. It might be something as simple as experimenting with a recommended classroom resource, or something more ambitious, such as applying for an International Schools Award. It is a case of a problem shared is a problem halved – or, in many cases, resolved. Sharing information The next part of the meeting enables attendees to find out what is happening locally and nationally in the world of primary languages. Each term, ALL sends out a PowerPoint presentation entitled 'The Roadshow' for hub coordinators to share. For the most part, participants are time- poor teachers. Searching social media forums, Twitter, language websites and similar platforms to keep up to date with the latest developments can be time consuming, and the demands of their other teaching commitments can prevent them from doing this. So this is a valuable and effective way of keeping them informed. The information might be about forthcoming conferences and meetings, new resources and websites, the latest pedagogical ideas or even developments at Ofsted. The main part of the meeting is dedicated to a particular topic of the teachers' choice, which is agreed in advance and relates to their role as class teacher, subject leader or specialist MFL teacher. The topics we have covered in the past include schemes of work; writing MFL policies; using songs; activities for teaching grammar; assessment; raising the profile of languages; storybooks; and using technology in the classroom. The topics that generate the largest output of ideas are the ones that involve teachers sharing resources that have worked well for them, for example songs, stories and online interactive games. In these budget-restricted times, recommendations are important so as not to waste funds, and anything that is freely available is of particular interest. One such free resource is the Language Magician, an online assessment tool funded by Erasmus+, which many schools adopted after a practical session dedicated to how it works. There are no invited experts dictating how things should be done, just the teachers themselves, with their wide range of knowledge. They can say what has worked for them and what to avoid. Their ideas are based on practical experience in the classroom and in their schools more broadly, and although every school setting is different, they have relevance and resonance for others. One particularly successful meeting was when we invited representatives from the local secondary school MFL departments to join us. That was probably the most well-attended meeting, with 15 primary and 14 secondary schools represented. The topic of discussion was transition from Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) to Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) . We set ourselves the task of designing and creating a meaningful document which could be completed easily by primary schools and sent to secondary schools at the end of Year 6 (age 11). The information in the document would concisely detail the prior language learning of a cohort of children transferring to a particular secondary school. The email addresses of the named MFL transition coordinators in the local secondary school were shared to ensure the information was sent to the right person. This document is still used on an annual basis, which is testament to its usefulness. Pressing concerns The hot topic at the moment is an Ofsted 'deep dive', which could take place in any foundation subject, including MFL. This involves a detailed examination of the teaching and learning taking place in this subject. We discussed this at our autumn meeting. Three members of the group, in different schools in the Thames Valley, have undergone this process and they shared their experiences. The after-school demands on primary teachers are great – there are weekly staff meetings to join, clubs to run, parents' evenings to attend – so hub members cannot always make every meeting. Notes are taken and posted on my website (cavelanguages. co.uk/thames-valley-primary-hub) for those who are unable to attend. In fact, these notes are freely available to anyone who is interested. Notes from previous meetings are archived on the website and there is a dated topic list to aid retrieval. In this way, we can reach and support teachers beyond the confines of the Thames Valley. A HAPPY COLLABORATION Community support can be as helpful for primary MFL teachers as shared knowledge The relief is often palpable when teachers discover they are not alone and that others have the same worries Being a facilitator of meetings for the committed primary MFL teachers of the Thames Valley is a rewarding experience and I would encourage others to get involved. If you are interested in setting up a hub, particularly in an area that doesn't have one, ALL would love to hear from you: all-languages.org.uk/about/community/local.