Some pupils in Years 8-10 require literacy support to help them develop their language skills, both oral and written. The English Department and the Literacy Coordinator identify pupils and their needs through teacher assessment and cohort testing. Ongoing assessment, in class and for homework, along with school examinations, are used by teachers to judge pupils’ progress and to look for areas where pupils would benefit from further support.

Cohort testing, using CAT and the Progress Test in English (PTE), help to specify areas for support still further. Pupils are supported by the Literacy Support teacher for a defined period, in small groups or one-to-one, as well as in class.

In addition, RSD offers homework support in two formats.

• The first is available to any pupil after school, Monday to Thursday, in the Library. This is a supervised environment and provides a quiet space for pupils waiting for later buses to complete homework, with facilities such as books, journals and computers easily accessible.
• The second is Homework Club, where individual pupils are identified by the Heads of Key Stages 3 and 4 as in need of support to become better at coping with homework tasks. Pupils agree to enter Homework Club for a period of time and are offered guidance about how to organise themselves for homework and structure task completion.

Some individual pupils in Key Stage 4 are identified as requiring study skills support to help them cope with the GCSE examination process, including coursework. Pupils are supported by the Literacy Support teacher for a defined period, in small groups or one-to-one, as well as in class. The objective in all of these instances is to support pupils in reaching a state of independence and self-management.

For pupils whose first language is not English there is support from TEFL teachers (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) through after-school classes and, with the help of tutors and teachers, in some timetabled lessons. There is a strong focus on helping new pupils improve both their conversational English to help them settle and make friends and also their written English to help with their studies.

There is close cooperation between TEFL teachers and the English Department to ensure that every pupil has the best chance to succeed in his or her studies. The focus is upon helping pupils to progress with English as a subject and also in their other subjects. The key areas are:

• Talking & Listening in English
• Writing for effect in English
• English Literature (novels, plays and poetry)
• Understanding key subject terms
• Understanding command words in each subject (e.g. explain; describe; evaluate)

Each Form Tutor group elects two representatives to the School Council, which meets regularly to look at issues relevant to pupils in each Key Stage. In addition, each year group elects representatives to the Pupil Leadership Team which works with the Headmaster, Senior staff and Governors on all aspects of school improvement.