“Teachers and Parents Working Together to Help Raise Standards “
The Nature and Purpose of Home Learning
- To ensure all students make progress
- To consolidate and extend learning from the lesson
- To embed key subject content in long term memory e.g. learning key vocabulary, spellings
- To reinforce, practice and further develop mastery of key skills e.g. calculations
- To engage in wider reading and research in readiness for future learning
- To allow students to gain and practice the skills required for formal assessment and examinations
- To allow students the time and structure to reflect on their learning, correct mistakes and act on feedback to make improvements
- To support students in gaining the skills necessary to become effective learners such as independence, self-discipline, time management and organisation
It is the academy’s policy to set home learning in all subjects for students of all abilities as appropriate.
- At KS3 Subject teachers set home learning every 4 lessons.
- At KS4 and KS5 home learning is set regularly to support learning and to prepare students for exams and coursework deadlines.
- Home learning should be timely, purposeful and achievable, giving students the opportunity to embed and develop their learning.
- Home learning should be accessible and challenging to all. It must support the vulnerable by:
- Giving clear instructions for focused tasks
- Providing appropriate resources
- Differentiating work to take into account the ability of the student
- Taking into account the special educational needs of some students
- Starting home learning in class to assist with understanding and completion of home learning tasks
- The marking of home learning forms an integral part of our assessment process and where appropriate is marked in line with our checking and marking policy. Home learning should be marked and returned to students as soon as is reasonable.
- Home learning must be recorded in student planners.
It is the academy’s policy to involve parents/carers in the home learning process.
- Parents/carers should check that home learning details are filled in clearly and regularly in the planner. They are requested to sign the planner weekly to maintain regular communication with a student’s tutor.
- They should help their child organise his or her time to the best advantage so that work is not left to the last minute or forgotten.
- They should try to make sure that there are suitable working conditions at home and that work is completed at an appropriate time.
- They should take a positive and active interest in their child’s work not just insist that it is done.
The Role of the Parent/Carer
- To reinforce the importance of home learning as part of their child’s learning and progress
- To check the planner for home learning
- To support their child to meet the deadlines set
- To take action if and when they receive notice that their child has not completed their home learning
- Provide a suitable environment for their child to complete their home learning
- Inform their child’s tutor if their child is having difficulty
Tips to help your child learn
- Give your child confidence through lots of praise and encouragement.
- As a parent/carer, you have tremendous power to strengthen your child’s confidence – and confidence is vital to learning.
- Provide specific praise that focuses on a particular aspect of their work. Comments such as “I like the way you have…” is more effective than “You’re clever!”
- Read to, and with, your child as much as possible.
- The Government is encouraging parents and carers to read to children, hear them read, or encourage them to read to themselves for at least 20 minutes a day.
- Make use of your local library.
- Look out for special events and services for children and young people.
- Visit museums and places you think your child might find interesting.
- Children now have free admission to major national museums and art galleries.
- Try to set time aside to do home learning and encourage a routine.
- Wherever possible, try to provide a reasonably quiet place for home learning (or help them to get to other places where home learning can be done).
Action on non-completion of home learning in KS3 (Years 7 and 8)
- Sanctioned with a C1 – recorded in the student planner
- Teacher sends an email to the home learning email
- Message sent home to parents/cares informing them of the lunchtime detention
- Student goes to the detention room at 12.40 for 20 minutes and completes the home learning due
- Any student who fails to attend their home learning detention will be collected the following day to ensure the detention is completed. Any form of defiance will result in an Internal Exclusion
- Subject teachers, Faculty Leaders and tutors should work with all students, and their parents/carers, who persistently fail to complete home learning or hand it in late to try to rectify the issue and support learning
- Staff should seek the guidance of the Vice Principal if they are unsure of the course of action they should take
- It may be necessary for the teacher to set alternative work for any student failing to complete their home learning as it is a key aspect of the scheme of learning
Action on non-completion of home learning in KS4 (Years 9-11)
- Teacher sends an email to the home learning email
- Message sent home to parents/carers informing them of the after school detention on the same day
- Student goes to the detention room at the end of the day for one hour and completes the home learning due
- Any student who fails to attend their home learning detention will be collected the following day to ensure the detention is completed. Any form of defiance will result in an Internal Exclusion until 4:30pm the following day.
- It may be necessary for the teacher to set alternative work for any student failing to complete their home learning as it is a key aspect of the scheme of learning
We will ensure your child can get home safely and we will also inform you that your child will be staying after school to complete the home learning that they did not do.
