Year 6-into-Year 7 Summer School 2021

Schools are required to provide details of their summer schools, including the amount of funding received and how the funding was spent.  We have described our arrangements below, and how the grant was spent.

Summer school overview

Introduction

We delivered a transition summer school for students joining Year 7 in September.  The summer school ran for five days from Monday 26 to Friday 30 July 2021.  

Attendance

All 180 new Year 7 students were invited to attend the summer school.  110 families confirmed their places.  100 students attended across the week, giving us an overall attendance rate of 91%. 

Staffing

29 members of staff were engaged to work solely on the programme, including the Head of Year 7 and SLT lead.  A further 9 members of staff provided administrative, premises and technician support.

Curriculum

The curriculum for the week was bespoke and well-sequenced across all subject areas, taking into account the gaps advised by primary schools, as well as how the week would prepare students for starting our Year 7 curriculum.  The focus of the week was on teaching and learning, with some welfare elements to support this.

Each day started with an assembly that spoke to the theme of the day (welcome, participation, prejudice, belonging – with a focus on LGBTQ+ belonging – and ambition, each of which was a theme of the week during last academic year), introducing students to our culture and ethos.  The history and RESPECT curricula for the week then drew upon these daily themes.

Students had a maths and English lesson each day, and a reading session drawing on the poems of Steve Camden that all speak about starting at a new school.  There was a carousel between Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Drama, Music, PE and Physics during the afternoon sessions.

We had five teaching groups, each named after a royal palace.  One group was designated as a nurture group for SEND/EAL students, with the various curricula being adapted by specialist teachers for this group.

A disciplinary literacy knowledge organiser was compiled for the week, alongside a skills passport.  These were used to support students during the week, while also introducing them to teaching and learning strategies used in school.

The subjects that did not appear on the timetable provided enrichment activities for students to complete at home.  These, along with each lesson that was taught, were posted on specially-created Google Classrooms so that students could engage with home learning.

There was a team-building ‘daily workout’ activity each morning, and a final team activity on Friday to cement the Year 7s’ sense of being a year group.

We held a final assembly on Friday to congratulate the students for participating so well.  Each was given a certificate to mark their attendance at the summer school.  Students were also awarded gold stars and R points for excellent work, attitude and behaviour.  

Equipment 

All students were provided with a stationery pack, which many continue to use in Year 7.  Each child who attended was given a reading book to read during the remainder of the holiday, in support of our drive to develop students’ literacy and engagement with reading.

Funding and how it was used

Regent High School was given £43,880 of funding to deliver a summer school.

The funding was used as follows: