At Longdendale we look at homework as an opportunity to enrich the learning of our students and believe it is a valuable learning tool which also prepares our students for the demands that they may face later on in life. Homework is intended to be beneficial for students by broadening, consolidating and mastering and the learning achieved within school time, laying the foundation for future self-supported home study, and promoting the home/school partnership.

 

Students’ knowledge and understanding is promoted through the publication of 'knowledge organisers' for each student in every subject termly. These will inform students and parents exactly what knowledge the students need to acquire and understand as the building blocks of learning for that term. They are published on our school website. 

Commitment to homework will be evident in students' mastery of that knowledge and understanding and their response to teacher feedback in lessons. This will be reported on termly, for each student in the form of a grade 1-4 for their attitude to homework.

 

  • 1=excelling
  • 2=engaged
  • 3=coasting
  • 4=disengaged
  1. It can support students to make more rapid progress in learning.
  2. It promotes independent learning. This way of working is vital at all stages of secondary education and will prepare them for the demands of independent revision for assessments and ultimately GCSE exams.
  3. It can allow valuable practice of skills learned in the classroom.
  4. It can allow students to use materials and other sources of information or experiences that are not always available in the classroom.
  5. It can involve parents, carers and others in the student’s work for their mutual benefit.
  6. It can give students valuable experience of working to deadlines.
  7. It can support students’ self-esteem and allow confidence to build. 
  8. It may have links to knowledge organisers to support the retention of knowledge into the long-term memory.

How We Set Homework

Whole school policy dictates that homework tasks set should broaden and master the learning taking place in the classroom. Homework tasks should provide students with the opportunity to practise the various skills in any given subject and to further develop their knowledge and understanding.

 

Students’ may also be required to complete independent revision at home in preparation for these assessments and exams. The setting of homework tasks should therefore promote and develop these independent study skills.

 

Staff will inform students of homework set in lessons and provide the necessary support and resources. This is then supported by the setting of homework through the Class Charts platform. Parents and carers can access the details of the tasks set, how long should be spent on the task and when the task should be completed by. Resources can also be uploaded by staff and accessed by both students and their families. Submission is also tracked and teachers can send reminder notifications to classes, parents and carers.

 

Students’ independent learning habits will be promoted through the homework tasks set on Class Charts and the direct link to the knowledge organisers. This long-term approach to independent study becomes habitual and the same strategies are embedded in all students by the time they do external examinations in Year 11. All parents can access their child’s homework record via Class Charts. Teaching staff will record for each student whether the work was;

 

  • Submitted
  • Submitted Late
  • Not Submitted

When homework culminates in a low-level quiz, teachers may select ‘not submitted’ to illustrate where there was a lack of commitment in preparation which is reflected in the score/result achieved.

 

Students will be given a second chance to submit work before a detention is set for no work submitted or incomplete work.

All students should:

  • Log on to Class Charts daily to check independent learning tasks that have been set and to meet deadlines. www.classcharts.com/student/login Students will not be issued with planners;
  • Locate and use the termly knowledge organisers in Class Charts;
  • Log on to their school email account daily to check for shared resources and messages from staff;
  • Use the independent study skills to improve knowledge and understanding across the curriculum;
  • Read regularly and widely including their own library reading book and a range of fiction and non-fiction texts.

All Parents and Carers should:

  • Ensure they have used their login code to set up their Class Charts account www.classcharts.com/parent/login ;
  • Log on daily to Class Charts and check the independent learning that has been set;
  • Encourage the completion of independent learning tasks every day and support the development of effective study habits;
  • Ensure that reading is promoted and valued at home;
  • Support students in acquiring factual knowledge and sound understanding of subject content by discussing academic progress at home;
  • Use the subject knowledge organisers to check for understanding in preparation for tests and assessments at school.

Homework Frequency

We support the view that a healthy balance between homework activities and other life enriching activities should be maintained. We do not expect homework to be set with a deadline for the following day as routine.

 

Below is a table of the frequency of homework being set for your child

Core and EBACC Subjects – English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Modern Foreign Languages.

In Years 7-9, History and Geography will be set as a frequency of once a fortnight due to the timetable, so that they receive one piece of humanities per week. There will be no PSHE or core PE homework.

 

Homework Frequency – Years 10 and 11

 

Homework activities will be set regularly. An average should be one hour per week per subject (including revision for key exams). In Years 10-11 students will regularly be set structured activities for examination preparation as homework. They will be set specific tasks around revision and may create revision materials as homework evidence.

 

It will be recorded and tracked on Class charts.

 

All students in all years should be completing twenty minutes of reading for pleasure per day. They should also be accessing Spellzone for a minimum of twice per week to develop their spelling skills.

Each homework task should take approximately 30-60 minutes but could take longer if the nature of the task dictates it.

Stamford Park Trust