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Homework and Revision Guides
Credible research shows that for secondary school pupils, the impact of homework is consistently positive, leading to an average of five months of additional progress across an academic career. With this in mind, we have aimed for a simple process when homework is set.
1. The work pupils will be reviewing will be either:
a. Homework booklets (Years 7, 8 and 9 only)
b. GCSE/BTEC Revision guides (Years 10 and 11 only)
c. Online platforms such as Sparx (all Year groups)
d. Any other work that your teacher feels it’s important for you to complete, such as exam questions (Years 10 and 11 only)
2. When pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 use the homework booklet they should simply write out the question and answer they have been asked to review on some paper. They should then memorise this knowledge using a process of look, cover, write (in rough) and check. More information about how to review can be found at the front of the homework booklet.
3. For online work, it is expected that pupils complete the work as the teacher has outlined.
If work is not completed to the standard set by the class teacher then a catch up detention will be issued. These are sat for 30 minutes at the end of the following day after the detention has been set by the teacher.
4. The booklets will be available in the behaviour room, on the SEND floor, during prep time and during detention time so students can use their time effectively.
HOW WILL HOMEWORK BE SET?
Any homework set by a member of staff will be specific and include how long they would expect the task to take so in History for example in Year 7: Review questions 4, 7,8,9 and 10 on The Norman Conquest. This should take around 20 minutes. As the homework booklet is being used the pupil will write out the question and answer in their book.
If your child struggles with any work, please contact the member of staff who set it, for additional guidance and support.
HOW WILL TEACHERS CHECK THAT HOMEWORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED?
Your child will be quizzed on the homework at the start of a subsequent lesson, the class teacher will also check the work in their exercise book or online platform, if necessary. This way both the member of staff, and your child, can see what knowledge they have retained, and which knowledge needs further review until it is embedded.
This process clarifies that learning does not stop in the classroom and helps pupils to get the information they learn into their long-term memory. Over time it will help avoid the stress that can occur in some pupils who end up ‘cramming’ for tests or public exams and feel so overwhelmed they end up doing very little because there is “too much” to do. So, in the same way, a marathon runner, no matter what their relative skill level wouldn’t simply just run a marathon without prior training, over time, pupils can’t expect to recall and deploy information just by looking at a topic in school once, they need to revisit it periodically, over time, to know it.
HOW CAN PARENTS/CARERS SUPPORT THEIR CHILD?
From your point of view, homework will help your child to make progress but also develop the independent skills and resilience we all need to succeed in life as we move from being a child to a teenager and beyond. You can support your child in the following ways:
a. Work with the school to reinforce the message to your child that homework is important and there is an expectation that it will be completed on time. It is in their best interests so that they will make better progress with their learning. .
b. Showing interest in your child’s homework, whatever age they are, is important. This will give you insight into what they are learning and how they are progressing. It builds connection, which ultimately will serve to give your child the self-esteem and confidence that will help them succeed.
c. Set up a designated space for homework. It can be as elaborate or simple as you prefer, as long as there is somewhere that is calm and uncluttered that your child knows is their spot for homework.
d. Set a routine. If everyone knows homework is completed when they get back from school, or after dinner, then it will soon become a habit that is stuck. Video games/TV/social media or downtime can then be the reward after the homework is done.
