Regents Review Spring 2024

The Regents Review Spring 2024

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

Regents Reads This term our ‘Read Aloud’ programme has gone to the next level, as we now have exciting new texts being read to tutor groups in Years 7 through to 10, with Year 11 focusing on key interventions during tutor times. As you can see below, we have just purchased a range of wonderful new titles for students in Years 9 and 10, meaning tutor time will support the reading progress they make in their English lessons and across the school. Book Stairs In the previous issue of the Regents Review, we told you about the amazing book stairs that we have installed up the main staircase. Well now, we can announce that the back stairs to English, the science stairs and the stairs up to humanities, will all shortly be turned into giant bookcases to celebrate the fact that, Regents Park truly is, a reading school! Debate Club Debate club have been discussing everything from uniform in schools, to the question of whether children are exposed to too much too young. We have also discussed various climate issues and even the existence of ghosts! Fatimah in Year 9 said: “ It is interesting to hear other people’s opinions and perspectives on a range of issues and it is also nice to have my opinion heard. ” Our chair person, Georgia-Rose has been doing an excellent job at bringing a huge range of topics to our meetings! We are in need of new members, so if you like to debate, please come along to room 14 after school on Thursdays! The club runs until 3.30pm.

Reading Intervention At Regents Park, we quickly identify students who require additional help to make progress with their reading and robust interventions are put in place. This term we have employed our specialist phonics teacher, who delivers our phonics programme to students in Year 7 and Year 8, who require additional support. These tailored, individualised lessons are delivered in six-week blocks, designed to help these students strengthen their reading skills. This programme also includes support for comprehension, spelling and grammar. Reading age data is available to all teachers to inform their layered planning. Through on-going teacher assessment, we identify students in Years 8 to 11, who also require additional help to make progress with their reading. As of this term, these students have access to Bedrock Learning to drive up their standards of literacy. Bedrock provides lessons in 5 ‘blocks’, which roughly equate to one for each year group. Each student takes an initial test, which determines which ‘block’ they study. Each student takes two 15-20 minute ‘lessons’ each week. The lessons are engaging, with a mixture of audio and video. The main focus of these lessons are vocabulary and grammar – perfect in supporting those students who are struggling most with reading and literacy. Bedrock also supports our students’ disciplinary literacy. Each student will get support to learn Tier 3 vocabulary from three different subjects – providing a significant level of support for whole-school literacy.

13