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I
t is more than three years since the study of a
modern or ancient language became statutory
during the last four years of primary school in
England. The latest Language Trends survey by the
British Council shows that there have been
numerous positive developments: in the sample of
727 primary schools, more than 99% are teaching
a language as part of the curriculum, while 88%
of respondents expressed "whole-hearted
commitment to primary languages".
1
However, the survey makes no attempt to gloss
over the considerable challenges that remain and
which, in some cases, have been compounded
by an uncertain economic climate. Since 2015
school budgets have been cut by £2.7 billion in
real terms. Many schools will suffer further losses
following the introduction of the government's
new national funding formula in 2018; schools in
London are among those set to be the worst
affected. Against this backdrop, there is now a
growing body of evidence that modern foreign
languages (MFL) at primary level are being severely
impacted by budget cuts.
Only six schools in the survey sample were not
teaching a language at all. However, as the report
points out, this may not be an accurate reflection
of the national picture, since schools teaching a
language were more likely to respond. Finance
has been added to the reasons why a primary
school may not offer a language, and one of the
six schools no longer teaching a language
Amanda Barton
considers the impact of
reductions in primary
school funding on
language provision
Primary cuts
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