DfE-funded National Hubs Programme supports languages in schools as report finds 60% of schools struggle with recruitment  

The National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) reacted to this year’s Language Trends England 2024 report with a call to schools and Languages teachers to engage with NCLE to apply new, evidence-based, research-informed methods for boosting languages uptake, and announced a new free Universal CPD platform launching this Autumn, for all language teachers nationwide. 

The British Council’s Language Trends report this year found six in ten secondary schools struggle to recruit teachers and identified further evidence that Languages uptake is increasingly the preserve of students from socio-economically advantaged backgrounds. 

Professor Li Wei – IOE Director and Dean, Professor of Applied Linguistics, said:  

“This year’s Language Trends report adds to a mountain of evidence that languages uptake reflects certain structural challenges both within the education system – and in society, with lower uptake among boys, socio-economically deprived groups, and students whose first language is not English.” 

Bernardette Holmes MBE, Honorary Professor at UCL-IOE and NCLE Director, said:  

“In a changing Britain, languages and intercultural understanding matter. Working with teachers in our Hub schools, NCLE is strengthening system leadership for languages across the country.  Our work is informed by research evidence of how learners learn most effectively. This is our moment to transform languages education for every learner. Join us!” 

What is NCLE? 

The NCLE was appointed by the DfE in 2023 to boost languages education in England. 

It is a Consortium led by UCL Institute of Education together with the British Council and the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s national cultural body. 

Fifteen Language Hubs have been set up across England, each lead school working with up to seven partner secondary schools and affiliate schools, and up to five feeder primary schools. This supports over 100 schools directly, with reach extending to 200 or more schools who are benefitting from the programme. 

 
The Hubs are strengthening system leadership to transform languages education through a dual focus on supporting teachers’ pedagogy through CPD, and addressing structural challenges such as increasing uptake in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 especially among  disadvantaged students and boys, improving primary-secondary continuity of learning, boosting the number of students studying German and better recognising and supporting the rich diversity of languages in addition to English spoken by one in every five of our pupils.  

Targeted interventions 

Professor Zhu Hua, Professor of Language Learning and Intercultural Communication, said: 

“We are working closely with the schools and teachers to provide targeted inventions to boost languages take-up and attainment and looking into ways of sustaining the improvement.” 

New, free online Universal CPD programme launching this Autumn to support languages teachers.  

NCLE’s research-informed approaches will be nationally available through a new free, online Universal CPD platform, hosted by UCL, being launched this Autumn to support Languages teachers’ pedagogy and agency as they adopt the new GCSE. 

 
Teachers and school leaders are invited to join the NCLE’s mailing list to gain first access to NCLE support, including the new CPD.