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Episode 292: In this episode of Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I’m joined by Bunmi Richards, Alastair Anderson and James Cousins from Shaftesbury Park Primary School to explore what bilingual education looks like in practice.

Shaftesbury Park’s bilingual curriculum did not begin with a language programme. It began with the school’s values: a local school with a global perspective, serving a richly diverse community and committed to helping students develop cultural appreciation, confidence and a strong sense of identity.

Across the conversation, we explore how the school’s French bilingual stream works from the early years through to the end of primary school, how oracy, immersion, phonics, topic-based teaching and cultural learning are carefully sequenced, and why the model depends on long-term commitment rather than short-term initiative thinking.

We also discuss the practicalities: staffing, planning, parental communication, governance, workload, progression, misconceptions about bilingualism, and the challenge of what happens when students leave primary school with a level of French that many secondary schools are not yet equipped to build on.

This is a fascinating conversation about curriculum, culture, implementation and ambition. Whether you are interested in language learning, school vision, curriculum design or the conditions that allow distinctive practice to thrive, there is plenty here to think about.