Home LearningPolicy

St Martin’s RC Primary School

After a whole community consultation and collaborative work with parents, staff and pupils, the following findings are presented and inform the new home learning policy for the school.

Educational researcher John Hattie’s findings about homework:

“Five toten minutes has the same effect of one hour to two hours. The worst thing you can dowith homework is give kids projects. The best thing you can do is to reinforcesomething you’ve already learnt.”

John Hattie’s key factors for successful home learning in the Primary School are thathome learning should be:

  • Short
  • Marked in a timely manner
  • Built on learning that day

Home Learning should aim to:

  • meet the needs of all pupils to reinforce and consolidate key learning
  • encourage an inquisitive mind to find out about and understand the world around us
  • promote independent thinking and skills practice
  • provide opportunities for pupils to use their thinking routines
  • be a positive experience for parents, pupils and staff
  • provide a communication link between parents and pupils’ learning
  • instil values of success, ambition, responsibility
  • develop regular work habits
  • be manageable for staff, parents and pupils

Practice

  1. Recommended time spent on homework activities.

This has to be managed positively and constructively around the pupil’s other extra-curricular activities during the week. We recognise the learning opportunities and development of skills for life, learning and work that extra-curricular activities provide and we encourage this. The home learning team want to ensure that the home learning teachers provide add value to family time rather than take away from it.

Therefore the recommendations set out below are made following our extensive consultation:

  • Teachers will set homework on a Monday that is to be handed in on a Friday. If an extension is needed due to family circumstances then a phone call or letter to the teacher is all that is required and the extension will be granted.
  • Teachers will work with pupils on setting home learning that is short and sharp and targets their learning needs in a way that reinforces and consolidates ongoing class teaching and learning.

As a guide to specific durations, some parents find it helpful to know how long pupils are expected to spend on homework activities. Research indicates that for younger pupils (P1 – P2) no more that 5-10 minutes per evening and for P3 pupils no more than 10-15 minutes and for older pupils (P4 – P7) no more than 15 - 20 minutes per evening. This is the expectation of St. Martin’s RCPS pupils.

The teacher will provide a weekly homework log that requires the parent/carer and pupil to provide a signature for the home learning log to be handed in on the Friday morning. The signature confirms that the tasks have been completed. The day on which the tasks have been completed need to be highlighted or circled as the week progresses.

Content of Homework P1 and P2

The consultation found that parents, teachers and pupils are satisfied with the level and content of the homework provided in P1 and P2. This consists of learning key words, key sounds and reading book homework every week. It is now an expectation that every P1 and P2 pupil spends up to a maximum of 10 minutes on their core home learning.

It is the choice of the individual pupil which aspect of their core learning they would like to focus on that evening. They may decide to do 5 minutes reading and 5 minutes spelling one evening then choose to do 10 minutes maths activity the following evening.

P1 Core home learning –

  • 3 new sounds per week (Read, Write, Inc) and blending CVC words
  • Spelling elephants – 3 words per week with flashcards
  • Numeracy and Maths grid with fun activities

P2 Core home learning –

  • Reading –RWInc book activities including reinforcement of speed sounds, green/red words plus Accelerated Reader if applicable.
  • Spelling elephants – given amount of words per week to be learned and practiced using flashcards
  • Numeracy and Maths worksheet or game based learning task to reinforce teachings of that week

Content of Homework P3

It is an expectation of all P3 pupils that a maximum of 15 minutes should be spent on home learning every evening. It is the choice of the individual pupil what they do of an evening. They will have a weekly overview of their core home learning tasks and a parent/carer is expected to highlight and sign the weekly overview to state that the tasks have been completed. P3 pupils will also have some weekly learning tasks that they must complete. The BIG TALK must be completed prior to the writing session on a Thursday but the numeracy/maths activity can be completed at any point in the week.

P3 Core home learning –

  • Reading – Read, Write, Inc / Oxford Reading Tree /Accelerated Reading (as appropriate)
  • High frequency words – learn and be able to read at a flash
  • Spelling elephants – independent challenge to be able to read and spell the first 300 common words in the English language

P3 Weekly Learning –

  • BIG TALK – to prepare for their writing activity in class
  • Numeracy/Maths fun activity/game

Content of Homework P4 – P7

P4 – P7 Core home learning– The consultation found that parents, teachers and pupils are keen to make key changes to the current expectations. Therefore:

  • A core home learning expectation will set in placebasic provision of homework activities for each class which will ensure that pupils are being given the opportunity to reinforce learning that is experienced in class.
  • A maximum of 20 minutes should be spent on home learning every evening.
  • ICT resources and websites will be made available to pupils as a way of reinforcing learning at school
  • A more games-based approach to learning will be used by teachers as a further way to reinforce learning that is happening in the class.
  • Reading homework tasks and activities will aim to re-inforce reading skills taught in class and will come in the form of: a variety of activities linked to class/group novel, shared texts, Accelerated Reader or non-fiction texts.
  • Homework and the correction thereof also need to be managed effectively to meet the needs of pupils and teachers.
  • Home Learning Log will detail the weekly homework overview that will consist of core learning experiences and weekly tasks. These will be based around reading, writing, spelling and numeracy and maths.
  • Spelling home learning will only be given in the form of the spelling jungle (elephants/tigers/bees). Nelson spelling will not be completed as a home learning task.

Role of the teacher

  • Basic provision of home learning will be teacher-assessed, self-assessed (using pupil-friendly success criteria)or peer assessed overseen by the school staff. Teachers will make comments as appropriate to support the pupil in their learning.
  • Home learning instructions for tasks must be made clear using the home learning log.
  • Every Monday the Home learning log must be made available on the school website.
  • Core learning tasks and weekly activities must be provided for the pupils to develop their understanding and practice skills.
  • Skills that the pupils are developing must be made explicit to them.
  • Home learning logs must be collected in and then filed in the pupil’s MAT.
  • Teachers will be responsible for making links with the local Library Services and taking pupils on visits every year to the library to show pupils what is available as support for homework activities

Role of the pupil

  • Pupils will take responsibility for taking tasks home and completing tasks
  • In P3- P7, pupils will be responsible for managing their own time, with some teacher and parent support, so that homework is completed on time
  • Pupils will be responsible for completing their Home Learning logs and returning them to school every Friday.
  • On the teacher’s instruction every pupil has the responsibility to ensure that their Home Learning log is filed in their MAT.
  • One pupil in P3 – P7 will be the home learning monitor for the week. It is their job on a Friday to ensure that everyone has brought their home learning into school and has handed it to the teacher. The monitor has the responsibility of taking a home learning register and then to report to the teacher. When a child fails to complete their home learning on 3 occasionsthroughout a school term without permission then the teacher will phone home to discuss this with the parent/carer.
  • It is the responsibility of the pupils to take good care of their home learning to ensure that it is kept in a condition that it suitable for the MATS. In order to support our pupils St. Martin’s will provide home learning folders for our P6 and P7 pupils, home learning bags for our P4 and P5 pupils, clear zip lock home learning bags for our P3 pupils and our P1 and P2 pupils will have their home learning yellow bags.

Role of the parent

  • At P1 and P2 level it is important that parents take a full and active role in supporting their child to complete home learning. It is the home learning that pupils receive that forms the foundation to their learning to read. Our P1 and P2 pupils need the constant support of parents/carers and family members.
  • At every other stage, pupils should take responsibility to complete their own home learning but teachers welcome the involvement of parents in supporting their child’s work at home to positively reinforce the learning experience. It should be enjoyable and not stressful. Please do not exceed the time limit for Home Learning. If a task is not finished that is not important. It is the quality time spent doing what has been done that is important.
  • Parents should make visits to the library and other places of interest to instil in their child the importance of lifelong learning.
  • It is expected that parents/carers of our P1 – P3 pupils are read to every night before they go to bed.
  • Ensure that the Home Learning log is being handed in when speaking to their child about their home learning.

Feedback

  • Feedback from teachers to pupils on their home learning will be ongoing and verbal feedback will be given to pupils regularly during class-time.
  • Written feedback will take the form of a comment when appropriate.
  • Pupils and parents will be invited to contribute both verbally and in written form to assess the level of challenge in homework.

Conclusion

This policy aims to set out a flexible approach to homework to allow us to meet the needs of our learners and the families of St. Martin’s. It also aims to work with the families of St. Martin’s to do our best to ensure that the time that is spent on home learning is a positive experience for all and that skills are being practiced in a timely manner to allow for a developing understanding of concepts being taught in school.

October 2016