All Ebacc subjects are equal, but some are more equal than others….

With a new Ofsted inspector in place for next year, it was inevitable that they would have a different emphasis from Amanda Spielman. Personally, I welcomed an Ofsted focus on the curriculum under Spielman, as I saw it as the best chance that MFL would be promoted. My concern about moving back to a data driven approach is that all the old gaming problems which existed in the Wilshaw era will make a comeback. To sum up, schools that get a good point score will be lauded and the method of achieving that point score may not be scrutinised. As an MFL teacher, I am particularly concerned that schools with low MFL take up are subtly discouraging pupils from opting for MFL at KS4, while taking the opposite approach to the humanities.

I had an interesting Twitter conversation recently, which I reproduce below:

https://twitter.com/thefish64/status/1680680512875012100?s=20

In short, I think there seems to be a pattern whereby MFL teachers in schools with low MFL take up have one hand tied behind their back from the start. I have below the option blocks from 4 different schools which I believe discriminate against MFL.

School A

School A has MFL entry of 22%. This is how the school organised their most recent year 9 option blocks:

Core Subjects

All students study the core subjects of:

• English
• Maths
• Science
• Core PE
• Personal Development Programme
• Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, which is delivered through tutorials, PDP and Impact Days. From September 2023, RPE will be taught to all KS4 students through 1 lesson per fortnight in Year 10.
• In addition, all students will study History or Geography and at least two free choice option subjects.  The number of  free choice option  subjects will depend on the science qualification offered to your child.

Option Subjects

The following option subjects are available at Key Stage 4:

• Art
• Business Studies
• Computer Science
• Creative Media
• Dance BTEC
• Design and Technology
• Drama
• Engineering
• Food
• French
• Geography
• German
• Health and Social Care CNAT
• History
• Land Based Studies BTEC
• Music
• Religious Studies
• Sport BTEC
• Textiles

So history/geography will be compulsory, but not MFL. Hmm….

School B

School B has MFL entry of 14%. This is how the school organised their most recent year 9 option blocks:

This school has two “pathways. History/geography are compulsory in both, but not MFL. Hmm…

School C

School C has MFL entry of 26%. This is how the school organised their most recent year 9 option blocks:

At this school, pupils are ostensibly offered a free choice, yet notice that while history/geography appear in all three blocks, MFL only appear in two of them. Hmm….

School D

School D has MFL entry of 7%. This is how the school organised their most recent year 9 option blocks:

Again, history/geography are compulsory, but MFL are not. Hmm…

Now, I am aware that this is just 4 schools out of hundreds. Indeed some schools have compulsory MFL at KS4. I am also aware that there may be good reasons for discouraging a subject, the most obvious being recruitment difficulties. But I believe it falls to us MFL teachers and HODs to scrutinise carefully the composition of option blocks and pathways in our schools. I also hope Ofsted will in future have a look at a school’s options booklet. Rather than take a head’s word for it that they are doing all they can to boost MFL/Ebacc.