Home Learning

Research over a number of years has shown how important home learning, or home activities, can be to a child’s progress in school.

“Many pupils and their parents saw work done at home as a valuable and essential part of school work…” Homework in Primary and Secondary School, HMSO 1995

“ Homework is important at all stages in a child’s education” and that when “used properly, it extends the challenge open to the pupil and ensures that teaching time is used to maximum effect.” Ofsted Annual Report 1996/97, HMSO

Home learning tasks

Home learning should not be seen as just the carrying out of formal exercises by children without the help of adults. For young children, in particular, the involvement of parents on brief tasks is often most valuable in promoting learning.

The following are all examples of home learning activities:

Regular reading to, and with, parents for all the primary age range

Learning of Spellings

Numeracy tasks including the learning of tables and mental strategies

Science tasks

Finding out information including topic research

Reading in preparation for lessons

Creative projects

Preparing oral presentations

Written assignments

Where possible the class teachers will give clear, written instructions on what is expected from the home learning and how the task is to be carried out. All Key Stage 2 children receive a home learning diary at the beginning of the school year in which this information is recorded.

Timings

The following timings for homework are based on Government recommendations for daily home activities. Staff follow this total weekly recommendation but may decide within each year group to block the time and have, perhaps, one or two activities each week if this makes more effective use of their time allocation.

The role of parents in supporting pupils

Parents can help their children to benefit from the home learning set by:

Providing a reasonably peaceful and suitable place for homework to be done in

Supporting the child with their help and presence while the homework is being done

Making it clear to the child that they, the parents, value homework and that they support the school in explaining how homework can help in the child’s learning

Encouraging children and praise them when they have completed homework

Feedback for pupils, parent and teachers

Feedback to children should come through a number of different approaches, such as:

· Annotated points on the child’s homework

· Oral feedback

· Test results of spellings and tables

Feedback to parents will be via:

· Written comments on the set homework

· Parent/teacher meetings

· End of year report

Feedback to teachers could be from:

· Notes written by parents regarding the homework set

· Appropriate comments in the ‘parental comments’ section of the homework diary

· Parent/teacher meetings

· Responding to annual report