The Teacher's Trail
The Teacher’s Trail is the Institut français du Royaume-Uni’s continuing professional development programme for teachers of French in the United-Kingdom. This programme aims at supporting future teachers, newly qualified and qualified teachers of French throughout their teaching career.
Every year, training opportunities are offered online and face to face all over the country.
Primary French Teachers – Moving forward with the Primary French Project
- Date: Saturday 4 July 2026 – 9:00 – 13:00
- Location: Institut français du Royaume-Uni, 17 Queensberry Place, SW7 2DT, London
- Trainers: Catherine Cheater and Clare Seccombe
- Languages used during the workshop: French and English
- Registration deadline: Wednesday 1 July 2026
- Fees: Training fees are covered by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni
Workshop description: Do you wish to know more about the curriculum review and its implications for French teaching in KS2?
This session will be useful to experienced teachers of French, as well as those who are new to teaching the subject. The Primary French Project provides all the resources you need to teach the language throughout Key Stage 2. This workshop will demonstrate how to :
- teach the language, and develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing, spelling and pronunciation.
- make links with English literacy
- develop an understanding of culture
- understand the curriculum review in relation to the Primary French Project
The workshop will be useful to language coordinators as well as class teachers.
About the trainers
Catherine Cheater, Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques and Lifelong Fellow of ALL, has spent over four decades shaping primary languages education in England. A former LA advisory teacher and national lead at CILT, she has worked with national agencies such as the DfE, the Goethe-Institut, Institut français, TDA and the British Council, as well as agencies across Europe, and was a key author of the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages (2002). Catherine supports thousands of teachers through her online communities and is the principal author of the Primary French Project materials for IFRU.
Clare Seccombe has taught in Sunderland for over thirty years. She began her career as a secondary languages teacher, becoming an Advanced Skills Teacher and primary languages adviser for the city. She changed phases to become a primary languages specialist in 2009, and has taught Spanish and French in local primary schools. Clare is probably best known for setting up, maintaining and writing resources for Light Bulb Languages. She is an active member of the Association for Language Learning and writes the primary blog for their Languages Today magazine. Clare collaborates with publishers, speaks at conferences, supports teachers all over the country and trains students at universities.
Summer School in France for Primary School Teachers of French
- Location: Alliance Française de Normandie, Rouen, France
- Date: Sunday 2 August to Sunday 9 August 2026
- Eligibility: Primary School Teachers teaching French
- Content: General French language group courses will be offered (20h) as well as 2 workshops focused on French phonics. This summer school is intended to help teachers upskill their proficiency in the language in order to feel more confident in the classroom. Please note that the course will not cover the pedagogy of teaching French and will not provide any teaching materials or techniques.
- Fees: Training fees, breakfast, dinner and accommodation in a French host-family are covered by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni. Travel expenses will be incurred by the participant.
- Registration deadline: Sunday 31 May 2026
- Apply now
- All applications will be reviewed. Selected candidates will be contacted by mid-June.
Summer School in France for Secondary School Teachers of French
- Location: Alliance Française de Normandie, Rouen, France
- Date: Sunday 2 August to Sunday 9 August 2026
- Eligibility: Secondary School Teachers of French (KS3 – KS5), with a minimum level of French equivalent to B2.
- Following the Summer School, selected participants will be invited to run a workshop with the Institut français du Royaume-Uni to share tips and best practices with other UK-based teachers.
- Content: Through a series of workshops, the summer school will focus on cultural skills and innovative pedagogical practices in French class.
- On the programme: jeux & grammaire ludique ; phonétique en classe ; lexique : carte mentale & approche interculturelle.
- Fees: Training fees, breakfast, dinner and accommodation in a French host-family are covered by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni. Travel expenses will be incurred by the participant.
- Registration deadline: Sunday 31 May 2026
- Apply now
- All applications will be reviewed. Selected candidates will be contacted by mid-June.
Teaching Resources
Arte
The European cultural and educational TV channel, including pedagogical resources.
Canopé
The French Ministry of Education platform for pedagogical materials.
CLE International
CLE International
Publishing house specialised in French as a Foreign Language.
Culturethèque
The “Learn” section on Culturethèque provides a wide range of free educational resources for teachers and students of French at all levels. The “Primary French Project” is a part of this section and offers sound-embedded powerpoints. Secondary school resources include subtitles documentaries and accompanying worksheets, in partnership with the INA. Detailed reading notes, grammar and language e-books are also available.
Didier
Didier Editions specialise in textbook publication and sell pedagogical resources in French (French as a Foreign Language books, books for math, biology, physics, and chemistry).
Hachette FLE
Publishing house which specialises in foreign language teaching.
IFcinéma
An online French film database of over 500 movies exclusively for French educators.
IFprofs
IFprofs UK officially launched during the Language Show London in mid-October and is now open to all teachers of French across the country. Connect with others, share resources, events, and professional development, all for free! Discover and make the most of this great collaborative platform by joining us.
Maison des Langues
Publishing house which specialises in foreign language teaching.
Presse universitaire de Grenoble
Branch of the University of Grenoble publishing house which specialises in textbooks for French as a Foreign Language.
RFI
International French radio RFI provides pedagogical materials on current topics, for advanced students (Level B1-C2). An entertaining and challenging way to keep abreast of international and French events.
Samir
Specialised in French as a native, a second and a foreign language, Samir Éditeur is a literary and educational publishing house for children, teenagers and young adults.
The French Box
Give your pupils the opportunity to discover more of the French language and culture. With the French Box, you will have the resources at hand to work on various subjects, with authentic and popular French books.
The Language Magician
The fruit of an Erasmus + funded project involving 10 international partners, The Language Magician is an innovative serious game dedicated to encouraging the learning of languages for children aged 6-9, and providing a fun way of assessing their progression in the language.
The Primary French Project
The Primary French Project provides free teaching materials that aim to train all who teach French at KS2. Suitable for all practitioners, including those who have no prior knowledge of the language, and also specialist linguists who are new to teaching children in KS2, the materials aim to train the teacher by providing the subject knowledge and classroom methodology that are needed in order to meet the requirements of the Programme of Study for Languages in KS2, as well as transition into KS3.
TV5Monde
International French-language television channel TV5Monde offers interactive exercises based on a wide range of videos. Ready-made worksheets and cultural guidance are also available. The identified levels refer to the CEFR.