Homework

DEVELOPING HOMEWORK

We always appreciate the help and encouragement you give to the children in support of learning that goes on at home, particularly in the area of reading. As I am sure you are aware, there is a national drive to raise overall standards in literacy and numeracy and the role of the home is rightly considered a crucial element in this. We are also conscious that a number of parents would welcome a more formal approach to homework, with clear guidance on expectations. I hope this information sheet goes some way towards providing the structure and information needed to help ensure homework is both valued and beneficial. Your child will shortly have a Homework Diary in which to record the homework set.

What is homework?

'Homework' refers to any work or activities which pupils are asked to do outside lesson time, either
on their own or with parents.

What is the purpose of homework?

To consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding, particularly in literacy and numeracy;
To develop an effective partnership between school and parents in pursuing the aims of the school;
To utilise resources of all kinds for learning;
To extend school learning, for example, through additional reading; and
To encourage pupils as they get older to develop the confidence and self-discipline needed to study
on there own, and prepare them for the requirements of secondary education.

How much time should be given to homework?

The government has set recommended time allocations for daily home activities. These are

Reading Other Activities

Children in years 3 and 4 20 minutes 20 minutes

Children in years 5 and 6 20 minutes 30 minutes

A Homework routine

For parent and child alike it is important that a routine is established for the successful completion of homework. This will vary from home to home and will take into account other valuable outside interests such as Cubs, Brownies, swimming club, etc. As a general rule it is helpful if the same period is set aside each day ...e.g. immediately on arrival at home, or after a meal or a little time before bed. It is not necessarily the exact time which is important, but rather, the accepting of a regular routine. From experience, 'homework before TV' seems to work a treat for many! The incentive and reward philosophy works for others! Reading is an ideal activity just before bedtime.

What are the Homework components?

The prime focus of 'homework' must be on developing fluency of reading, extending reading experiences and ensuring understanding of what is read. To this must be added the regular practice of learning and using the numeracy knowledge of times tables and the skills of mental computation. For these tasks there will often be little or no written work to be returned to school and therefore your co-operation in ensuring that they are undertaken is vital. Running alongside these most crucial daily activities will be tasks from across the curriculum .... for example; set spellings to learn, handwriting practice, comprehension, vocabulary work, a book review, numeracy knowledge related to the week?s topic, information to be gathered from a variety of sources, tasks to be completed in preparation for or follow up to a particular subject. This may vary from pupil to pupil depending on individual need.
A Homework timetable?

As a guide we will endeavour to set the following on a weekly basis. It will however vary from class to class. The amount of formal homework increases as children progress through the school.

Monday A spelling focus
A mental numeracy focus to practice for Friday

Tuesday A Literacy Task
A Numeracy Task to be returned by Thursday

Wednesday A variable task

Thursday A Numeracy Task to be returned by Monday

Friday Learn from any mistakes in spelling or mental numeracy ?tests.

You might like to develop a timetable with your child. This may need to be adjusted to fit the pattern of work given to your child. Work given as part of a ?Special Needs? programme should always be given priority.

Your role as parents

We hope you will be able to support your child by:
- providing a reasonably peaceful, suitable location for the homework to be done alone, or with an adult;
- making it clear that pupils need to value homework;
- giving encouragement and praise when homework is completed;
- becoming actively involved in joint homework activities (but not doing the homework for him/her!);
- when appropriate, reading to, and with, the child;
- ensure work is returned promptly;
- provide appropriate resources at home for your child to complete the tasks ? e.g. dictionary, colouring pencils, ruler, glue, etc. We are able to sell these through the school shop;
- Some of the Maths sets make regular use of a published Maths Homework book, which we would ask that you purchase for just £2.00. It will be used throughout the year.

Our role as teachers

We will endeavour to:
- provide regular worthwhile learning activities appropriate to the needs of the individual child,
- link the homework to on-going class activities,
- provide opportunity for homework details to be recorded in the Homework Diary,
- value the work the children have done and, as far as possible, respond positively to their efforts.

Homework wallets

We can supply A4 plastic zip wallets at 50p each which help to protect homework books and sheets as they travel to and from school. A stiff piece of card is a useful addition to stop sheets of paper becoming too ?dog-eared! Older children find a plastic document file useful, particularly in year 6 when there is more to take to and from school. Back to top