Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6)
In years 5 and 6 we set homework for the following reasons:
- to encourage a positive attitude to learning;
- to improve learning and progress;
- to stimulate intellectual curiosity and encourage independent learning;
- to consolidate skills and knowledge;
- to reinforce and extend classwork
Students are expected to make a regular commitment to homework and are encouraged to manage their own time with the assistance of a School Planner.
Weekly Expectations
- Independent reading recorded in reading log 5 times a week
- Practice and prepare for weekly spelling tests
- Literacy task set weekly
- Maths task set weekly
- Foundation subjects will set extended projects over the course of the year.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7 and 8)
We provide each students in Key Stage 3 with a Knowledge Organiser that contains knowledge that we will be delivered in school over the half term and a set of ‘Big Questions’ for each curriculum area.
Underpinning the learning through the Knowledge Organisers are four key learning methods whose impact is reinforced by considerable evidence based research. These are:
- Information retrieval (locating specific information)
- Information recall (exercising the memory to bring back prior learning)
- Spaced practice (revisiting information over a period of time)
- Interleaving (combining new learning with prior learning or other connected new learning)
The aim is for the students to learn the key information for each subject in class and to reinforce that learning through the homework tasks. Each area of learning should become embedded to create a secure foundation for further learning. This will not only prepare students academically for Year 9 and GCSE studies, but it will also enable them to develop purposeful study habits and greater independence.
Each half term students are expected to complete the following as a minimum requirement:
Maths, English and Science:
– 2 Homework Learning Challenges for each subject
– A Big Question for English, Maths and Science
Foundation subjects:
– 1 Homework Learning Challenge for each subject
– A Big Question for each subject.
