Homework Policy

Here are the details regarding our homework policy.

Rationale

encourage children to develop a positive attitude towards their work
provide an opportunity to develop independent learning
extend the school curriculum and improve standards of attainment
create a partnership between home and school in relation to children's learning.

Homework throughout the school

All children will be encouraged to undertake homework from Nursery to Year 6.
From their entrance in Nursery, the children will be encouraged to learn at home with their parents. This will be a natural progression from previous learning activities with the emphasis on reinforcing skills acquired in the nursery environment.
Within Reception and Key Stage 1, homework will be provided regularly, usually every week. Activities taken home will normally involve the development of children's literacy and numeracy skills. These include taking home reading books and maths games to share with parents. Spellings, largely made up of the 100 and 200 common words, will also be taken home on a regular basis and children will be encouraged to practice their spellings with their parent(s).
Throughout Key Stage Two children will be encouraged and expected to do homework. Activities will be provided which will enhance their current skill development and learning needs.

Year group and frequency of homework tasks
Yr 1 Up to 3 times per week
Yr 2 Usually 3 times per week
Yr 3 Usually 3 times per week
Yr 4 Usually 3 to 4 times per week
Yr 5 Usually 4 times per week
Yr 6 Usually 4 times per week

Homework will normally be stand alone tasks, not completion of schoolbased work. Completion tasks are acceptable only if they are part of planned schoolwork and intended as an extension to an activity (eg Write an extra verse for a poem studied in the Literacy hour.)
Open-ended homework tasks, including investigations, research and the exploration of ideas will feature regularly.
Some of the homework activities will be planned to involve the participation of parents or another member of the family. If participation is required this will be clearly stated in the homework books.
An expected time span for completion of homework will be provided for both children and parents. The time span for a homework activity should fall into the following categories according to age group:-

Age group and expected time span for child to devote to homework
N & R A maximum of 10 minutes
Yrs 1 & 2 A maximum of 20 minutes
Yr 3 A maximum of 25 minutes
Yr 4 A maximum of 30 minutes
Yr 5 A maximum of 35 minutes
Yr 6 A maximum of 40 minutes

Children will be provided with books and materials from school, so that they can undertake their homework effectively.
For some research tasks, children may be expected to visit the library. It will never be assumed that all children in the class will be able to access reference books and/or computer-based materials at home.
The homework record books will also serve to provide a means of communication between parents and teachers. Both instructions and comments may be pasted in or written where appropriate.

We cannot control the homework environment and because of this children will not be penalised for non completion of homework .If a child is not completing homework to an acceptable standard and this has occurred on at least two consecutive occasions, a standard letter (see appendix 1) will be sent to the parents/carers. This may be followed up by a meeting with parents to discuss ways to ensure that their child can take advantage of their entitlement to homework.

This policy and other general information will be provided for parents to help them to support their child with their homework. More specific written instructions will be included with homework tasks in the homework record book(s). The homework record book can be used as a communication tool between parents and teachers.

In certain circumstances, individual programmes of homework may be provided for children after consultation between parents and teachers. This homework could be for the enhancement or consolidation of specific skills/concepts or because of a prolonged enforced absence from school.

Examples of Homework Activities
Foundation Stage
Talking about colours
Recognising numbers
Practising pencil skills
Reading & Phonics
Key Stage One
Reading
Playing Maths games
Practising number facts
Spelling activities
Researching simple questions
Key Stage Two
Reading, to include reading for information
Writing - usually to a set time limit
Spelling
Maths Activities
Practising number facts, including tables
Researching topics

Monitoring homework activities
The subject co-ordinators will request information from teachers about homework in their particular subject. This needs to be done once or twice a year so that an overview can be established.
Parent's views on homework will be recorded and monitored and a questionnaire will be sent out once every two years. This will help the school to respond to difficulties experienced by parents or implement suggestions made by parents.