Reading and Literacy

At The Regis School, we are working hard to promote our students’ literacy and ensure they all achieve to the very best of their ability. We believe all teachers are teachers of literacy. The key skills of reading, writing, and oral communication are what enables students to access all areas of the curriculum.

We place high value on reading widely and often - students are encouraged to read books across a variety of genres. We have a library we are proud of with a range of interesting books for every learner and all abilities. In tutor time, students in Years 7-10 participate in our comprehensive reading programme. The reading programme is designed to expose students to high quality children’s literature and develop a love of reading. We have carefully selected a canon of novels that a tutor group will read as a group throughout the year. Tutor and students read books together, discussing important points in the story as well as gathering vocabulary and looking closely at the writer’s craft. The central aim of this programme is to model excellent oracy, develop student’s appreciation of literature and immerse students into worlds beyond their imagination. The novels may also encourage the students to discuss relevant world events and offer students the chance to discuss themes or topics in the novels.

Throughout the school day, during lessons and around the school, students are encouraged to use Standard English and speak in full sentences in conversations with both their peers in addition to adults. 

Literacy at Home

The National Literacy Trust believes that parents are their children's first role models and have a strong influence on their reading habits and ongoing learning. At The Regis School, we believe that all teachers, parents and students have a role to play in supporting and developing students’ literacy skills. Our aim, therefore, is to ensure students can communicate effectively in today’s highly judgmental and competitive society.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Reading at home can include listening to your child read, reading with them or simply making sure they are given the opportunity to read independently. We would recommend that students read for 15-20 minutes per day. If students want to read for longer, this is perfectly acceptable.

Encourage your child to read a range of materials such as newspaper articles, blogs and non-fiction text as well as fiction. Many students prefer non-fiction like biography or anthologies of shorter extracts, this is perfectly acceptable and should be encouraged.  Graphic novels and comics can often engage even the most reluctant of readers.

Test your child regularly on their spellings and encourage them to look up definitions of unfamiliar vocabulary.

Encourage your child to check their written work for errors. Sometimes this can simply be a case of reading their work aloud to you or to themselves. This can often encourage students to see their own errors.

Be as helpful as you can in helping your child write. Talk through their ideas with them; help them discover what they want to say. Sometimes writing out a short plan can really focus students and help them to structure their work more effectively.

For further information about literacy at The Regis School please contact Mr Down, Vice Principal at  Sam.Down@theregisschool.co.uk