The language hubs programme has been remodelled and had its funding reduced by £2.2m for the 2025-26 academic year.
This is despite a positive , published today, which found that the hubs offered “invaluable” support to the schools involved.
Language hubs were launched in 2023 as a way of boosting languages take-up among pupils. The government will now deliver support via an online CPD platform.
While the original programme was allocated £4.9 million in 2024, the remodelled version is receiving just over half that amount, at £2.7 million.
New scheme considered more ‘cost-effective’
The online platform, Language Educators Online, will be led by the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE), which also managed the hubs programme.
It will be supported by 14 “strategic learning networks” headed up by an expert teacher.
The programme will also establish “national priority projects”, the DfE said, which will “see schools working together across the country to help break down barriers to key issues within language education”.
Vlog understands that the projects’ priorities will be decided later, based on what is most valuable for those schools and the challenges in their areas.
Many lead schools and partners from the hubs programme will also remain as part of the remodelled version, Vlog has also learned.
The new provision is understood to be more scalable and cost-effective, and based on the most valued aspects of the hubs programme: CPD, school-to-school support and participants’ relationship with the NCLE.
Support from hubs ‘invaluable’
The DfE has also published an evaluation of the hubs programme by the Institute for Employment Studies and National Institute for Economic and Social Research.
The report reveals that staff at partner schools were positive about the advice, support and resources they received from the lead hubs.
It says that partner schools found the support of both lead hubs and their peers “invaluable, both practically and emotionally”.
Activities were understood to have had “tangible benefits already”, in terms of “improvements in pedagogy”, “supportive networks for staff” and “events promoting languages aiming to increase pupil interest in and take-up”.
Staff also believed that the hubs had “positive impacts on pupil enthusiasm for languages” and that teachers involved could identify “clear impacts on their delivery of language teaching” as a result of joining the hubs.
However, the report highlighted that teacher recruitment is a “huge challenge”, despite incentives to join.
Language teaching needs strategy, warns union
Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “NAHT shares the government’s ambition of increasing participation in language learning and we recognise the benefits it brings to pupils.”
However, Ms Hannafin warned of resource and staffing issues, and a lack of strategy to link learning at primary and secondary schools.
A DfE spokesperson said: “Learning a language empowers young people to engage with the world, think critically and understand new perspectives, and we want all children to have this opportunity regardless of their background or postcode.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are ensuring more language teachers from all corners of the country can access targeted professional development opportunities.”
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