Homework
It is important that children consolidate the skills they learn in school through practice at home. Parents and carers are asked to regularly check the class pages of their child's class on ClassDojo for details of any work that has been set. When homework is set, the Class Teacher will have explained it to the children, ensuring they understand how it links to what has been taught in class. Sometimes, homework will be deliberately set that checks to see whether children are retaining prior learning: when this is the case, pupils should still understand how it fits in with their learning.
Generally, parents and carers should expect the following:
The maths and English work will typically be set towards the end of the week with a week's deadline for completion. Children are urged to get into the good habit of completing work reasonably soon after it has been set, rather than leaving it to do in a rush just as the deadline approaches.
Most of our homework is set electronically: if your family is short of devices for your child to work on, it is possible for us to arrange a loan device for their use. If this is the case, please contact the School Office, using the form below, to raise a request.
Your Child Is Stuck?
Avoid telling them what to do! They should have been provided with work that is within their abilities. Ask them what they do know and get them to talk this through with you. If that does not open up their understanding, encourage your child not to worry but to ask for help at school the next day. If your child is worried about the work and the anxiety is impacting on their wellbeing, contact the Class Teacher via ClassDojo to discuss the situation. While it might be that your child needs further academic input, it could be that the responsibility of undertaking work independently it triggering other underlying issues and, if this is the case, other means of support might be appropriate.
Feedback
Homework is not always marked and commented on individually by the Class Teacher. In common with our marking policy, a child's work will be acknowledged - if submitted online via ClassDojo, it may well be "liked" to acknowledge it has been seen - and collective feedback for the whole class will be given once the homework's submission deadline has passed. The feedback will include what the correct answers were, strategies to arrive at them and indications regarding next steps. In some cases, the Class Teacher will choose to discuss the homework with a child but it will not always be the case.
We recommend that adults or older siblings at home review the work with a child once they have completed it to the best of their abilities. This quick review should look for neatness and quality of presentation (we do not tolerate rushed and poorly presented work in school, so it shouldn't be accepted at home either) as well as a reasonable degree of accuracy. Where children have made mistakes, discuss them but also celebrate them: a child understanding why a mistake has been made and embracing it as a learning opportunity is a far more healthy a positive experience than someone feeling that mistakes are bad and that, as a result, they are also bad.
Want More to Do?
Providing and monitoring the existing homework commitment is a significant burden for teachers and, while we will not be extending that by providing extra homework for those requesting it, parents and carers will find that various publishers have materials that give additional age and ability related practice for children. We also suggest that parents and carers encourage their children to go beyond the academic with what they do outside school. The National Trust and the DfE have both published lists of activities that children should undertake to broaden their life experiences. If pupils want to write up these experiences, their teachers will be delighted to read them. Pupils are also encouraged to use some of their free time by joining a club or society, including those we run in school.
If your family needs a loan device to help your child undertake homework that has been issued electronically, please use this form to contact the School Office. You should be aware that we are unable to assist with providing wi-fi access but can liaise with third party charities that may be able to assist.