Language teachers are so important in inspiring young people to engage with other languages and cultures and progress with languages education. We have two groups for language teachers at primary and secondary levels supported by Sarah Edgar at Newcastle City Council and have recently relaunched these with new teacher leads and with the support of Steven Fawkes (ALL) and under the auspices of the Association of Language Learning.
Newcastle City of Languages (our partnership supporting language teaching and learning) launched in January 2020 to add value to this endeavour, by facilitating and brokering a range of opportunities, from enrichment activities to career-related language programmes and CPD. We also support cultural and international connections for schools, helping to ensure that students gain meaningful experiences through languages.
Read on to find out more information and getting involved in the Newcastle MFL Primary Hub and Newcastle and North East Secondary Network for language teachers. Your first point of contact for both and to find out more information is Sarah Edgar (School Effectiveness, Newcastle City Council) Email: sarah.edgar@newcastle.gov.uk
Newcastle Primary Hub for language teachers
- Primary Hub Network Meeting: 3.45-5.15pm on 25th November (Online)
- Click here to sign up to join the Primary Hub, sign up for the meeting in November and to let us know what you would like the Hub to discuss.
We are excited to announce the launch of a new version of the Primary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Hub in Newcastle! This builds on the success of the previous MFL Primary network but now comes with additional support from the Association of Language Learning (ALL) North East and International Newcastle.
The hub will be led by MFL teacher Caroline Hewson, who brings a wealth of expertise and passion for language education. We invite all Primary languages teachers from across the city to join this revised primary hub.
Meetings will be once a term and held online, to maximise the opportunity for as many primary teachers to attend as possible. Guest speakers and experts will be invited to provide insight and expertise in areas of interest identified by Primary Hub members. Information will also be shared by a dedicated Primary MFL Hub padlet, an online platform that all teachers can access.
We look forward to seeing you at the Primary Hub Network Meeting and collaborating in this exciting new phase of MFL support for language teachers.
For more information about the Primary MFL Network, please contact Sarah Edgar from the School Effectiveness team at Newcastle City Council: sarah.edgar@newcastle.gov.uk
Newcastle and NE Secondary Network for language teachers
The relaunch of the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Network for secondary languages teachers, is a collaboration between the Association for Language Learning (ALL), Newcastle City Council, and International Newcastle. With Veronica Gonzalez Otero from Jesmond Park Academy leading the secondary network, it promises to be a valuable resource for language teachers.
This Secondary Network is open to language teachers from Newcastle and across the North East of England.
The first meeting, held on the 8th of October, featured Helen Myers from ALL, who explored the new GCSE curriculum and the A level curriculum. This session also covered other important developments from ALL and the upcoming Express Yourself: Festival of Languages 2025. It is a great opportunity for secondary languages teachers to connect and gain insights into the latest updates.
The network meetings are intended for colleagues in secondary schools to share practices, learn about policy and developments in languages education, and explore opportunities for CPD and enrichment activities. These events will usually be held online once a term and are open to interested language teachers in Newcastle and the NE region.
International Newcastle also co-ordinates and collaborates with Newcastle City Council and many other local, regional, national and international partners to deliver the annual Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages.
This festival runs from January to March and offers free activities around languages, cultures, and careers to children and young people in schools and community schools in the North East. The programme for the 2025 Festival is currently being developed, with advance information available by November and activities and events open for booking from the 8th of January. You can see the 2024 Festival website online until November 2024, when it will be replaced by the 2025 Festival website.