Rationale

At The Federation of Canewdon and St Nicholas Primary Schools we believe that homework is an essential part of pupils’ learning. In line with National Curriculum requirements, homework is set and children are encouraged to, and expected to establish good homework habits from the beginning of their school life.

• Homework is set regularly as a means of reinforcing and extending learning
• Homework is differentiated to meet the needs of individual pupils
• Homework should be understood by pupils and parents, and not be seen as an onerous task

Definition 

Homework is defined as work set by the teacher to be done at home, either by the child alone or with the support of an older sibling, parent or carer. The main focus of homework will be numeracy and literacy, with occasional tasks to extend and enhance learning across the curriculum.

Homework will involve some or all of the following activities:

• Reading: independent, shared or paired reading, with possible activities to reinforce comprehension and understanding of texts as children progress through school.
• Spellings and vocabulary extension: learning sounds and spellings; activities to apply spelling rules and patterns to extended tasks.
• Research into an aspect of the curriculum as preparation for, extension to, consolidation of or follow up to work carried out in class.
• Learning number facts and practice of calculation, including problem solving (multiplication tables, number bonds, etc..).
• Written assignments in English and Maths.

Handwriting

Other tasks to extend work done in class, including topic-based work.

The nature, type and amount of homework will vary according to the age and ability of the pupil.

Entitlement

All children are entitled to have homework set by their teacher which is matched to their ability and needs. Parents are entitled to share in the learning of their child.

Aims

At The Federation of Canewdon and St Nicholas Primary Schools, we appreciate how important the links between home and school are, and the need for us to work together to ensure a good education for all children. It is for this reason that we believe that it is important that children have homework set that will support learning within the classroom. Homework will be carefully planned to extend learning, enhance and reinforce skills and understanding, and allow children to consolidate and improve their skills further.

• Through the provision of a variety of activities and approaches to homework we aim to:
• raise standards in all curriculum areas but particularly basic skills in Maths and English
• create a sound partnership between parents and teachers with regard to children’s learning
• consolidate/reinforce pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding of work covered in class
• improve pupils’ attitudes to learning and independent learning skill

Teachers

In setting and marking homework, teachers will:

• give reasonable time for its completion (including time to complete tasks if homework is not returned)
• match tasks to time and as far as possible to the abilities of the children
• ensure homework is marked in line with the school’s marking policy
• provide feedback to children on their progress
• provide additional guidance for parents as part of termly curriculum letters, on
• how/when homework should be completed, including web links, etc. (see Appendices)

Parents

At The Federation of Canewdon and St Nicholas Primary Schools, we recognise the importance of developing a sound partnership between parents and children with reference to children’s learning.

Parents will:

• be provided with additional guidance to support learning at home and to help children with homework tasks;
• be encouraged to support the school’s homework policy when signing the home school agreement;
• be given feedback on how children are doing with homework through marking and during parents’ meetings.

Monitoring

SMT will regularly review the Policy and Guidelines on behalf of the Governing Body, alongside the whole staff team, and will monitor the quality of homework provision through planning and work scrutiny.

Appendix 1 – Guidance for parents/carers

Homework – Guidance for Parents

At The Federation of Canewdon and St Nicholas Primary Schools we appreciate how important and valuable good home/school links are and the need for us all to work together to ensure a good education for all children.

Homework is an important part of the curriculum for pupils, and in line with National Curriculum guidance we provide regular homework for pupils in all year groups.

We aim to vary the approach to homework according to the age and learning needs of the child and we cannot emphasise too strongly the importance of parents working with their child to ensure homework is completed.

Why do we set homework?

Homework enables children to practise and extend skills learned in the classroom, and also gives pupils a chance to undertake research and additional learning, as required. It involves parents (and other adults) in the children’s work and we believe that homework encourages and improves independent learning.

How can parents help?

There are many ways you can help:

• Ask the children questions about what they are learning at school (talking helps everyone understand things clearly).
• Play word and number games to consolidate early learning of letter sounds, common vocabulary and number bonds.
• Spend a little time, on a regular basis, listening to your child read and discussing the books they have brought home. Encourage your child to read words and books regularly (show them how important words are).
• Help them to form letters the way they are taught at school starting at the correct point.
• Test what has to be learned e.g. spellings, tables, number facts etc.
• Read what your child has written, and talk to them about their writing: Does it make sense? Is it correctly punctuated, etc.? Is writing neat and accurate? Have they used exciting words?
• Encourage your child to check over his/her work.
• Help your child find out additional facts, e.g. by visiting the library or researching on the Internet.

We ask for your support in seeing that homework is done conscientiously and in the best possible conditions. If homework is not completed children are often at a disadvantage in class, as many homework tasks are discussed in class and often inform future learning.

Teachers will ask children to complete homework in school if it is not handed in.

Time set aside for homework should be respected by the rest of the family. Try to make sure it becomes part of your child’s daily routine.

Encourage your child to establish a homework routine which best suits them, e.g. not when they are becoming tired, etc.

For younger children little and often is best – 10-15 minutes daily is a good habit. As children become older they should be encouraged to sustain their concentration for longer periods of time, and to work with increasing independence. For example, it would be beneficial to get children into the habit of reading every evening; time spent on reading should range from approximately 10 minutes in Key Stage 1 and up to 30 minutes in Key Stage 2.

We appreciate this isn’t always possible every day but a minimum of 4-5 times a week should be encouraged.

If a child struggles with an activity, try to avoid becoming anxious about it and approach your child’s teacher as soon as you can. They will spend more time explaining the task to help you and your child.

What sort of homework should I expect for my child?

Children will bring home reading books every day. Please ensure these are returned when requested. In addition, children will be given tasks to support learning in literacy and numeracy lessons, and occasionally to extend learning in other subject areas.

Homework tasks will depend on the age and ability of children, but in general terms the   following can be expected:

Reception

Reading – When children are ready, they will bring their reading books home daily along with reading record books so that you can share comments on progress and enjoyment with school staff

Phonics words

Y1

Reading

Spellings/phonic words

Y2

Reading

Spellings

Key Stage 2

Homework will include:

Reading 

A literacy task 

A numeracy task 

As children progress towards Year 6 they may often be given additional activities and this will also include SATs revision. It is expected that parents encourage greater independence as children move into upper Key Stage 2.