At Newton Abbot College we have a range of learning platforms that support the progress of students.

The New Group Reading Test (NGRT) is a standardised, adaptive assessment used to measure reading skills against the national average. At Newton Abbot College, we use NGRT to assess the sentence completion and passage comprehension of all pupils in years 7 to 10. We use this information, along with other data, to inform our interventions and monitor and measure the impact and progress of students. Students will sit an NGRT assessment at the start and end of the year. Any students who are receiving intervention will complete the NGRT termly, or when the intervention comes to an end.

Readingwise

Readingwise is an online literacy intervention tool that is used to support students who need to further develop their decoding and comprehension skills. Once students have been identified for reading intervention, they will take part in further diagnostic testing to determine which of our personalised programmes would be best for them. Students work in small groups or one-to-one with our reading intervention leads either daily or weekly, depending on the need.

Sparx Reader

Sparx Reader is our homework reading programme for students in Year 7 where students choose a book, whilst the Sparx Reader programme regularly checks their understanding of the story. From this data, teachers know exactly who is reading and can focus on those who need intervention and support. We love Sparx Reader because it enables us to set every student a personalised reading task to complete at home; it provides real-time insights into who is engaging; and it encourages students to read more carefully and with improved understanding.

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader is a student driven, but teacher guided reading course that our Year 8 students take part in. Students receive one guided library-based lesson each fortnight, which includes a section of individual reading for 20 minutes. Students initially take a STAR test that provides a student with a reading range based on their responses. They are then helped and guided to choose a book within this range. After reading a book, students take engaging quizzes relating to that book to help hone reading skills and improve vocabulary. Students are set a target to reach and each completed book they quiz on will be worth a set amount of points. Students STAR test each term. Our aim is to develop high-quality reading practice that fuels growth, monitors comprehension and extends vocabulary.

Sparx Maths

Sparx Maths is an educational resource used to support the teaching and learning of Mathematics, both in class and at home. It is often used in lessons as an interactive learning tool across all year groups, usually after a teacher led episode.  Students use the platform to work through their learning via the use of support videos linked to specific questions.  Sparx Maths highlights misconceptions for individual students and links this to home learning, allowing for further practice and consolidation.  As a result, Sparx Maths is an adaptive tool that supports individual progress, both at home and in college.

Sparx Maths home learning is set weekly and for an hour in Years 7 – 10, which supports students with filling gaps in knowledge, as well as consolidating their learning in the classroom. Depending on the progress of students, Sparx Maths automatically adjusts to the learner, ensuring all home learning is personalised.  To gain the most out of the use of Sparx Maths, it is important 100% of the questions are correct and fully completed before the home learning deadline.

Our college VLE has a link dedicated entirely to work that student can complete, which follows our curriculum, in the event of absences. All lessons are numbered and titled and the work closely resembles that being covered in college. Students are responsible for completing the lesson activities and spending their usual lesson time on their learning, if they are well enough to do so.