Homework

In March 2021, we ran a parent survey to establish their views on homework tasks because in January 2021, 12% of parents thought that our approach to setting homework could be better!

Those responses were useful as part of our review of our current approach and how we want to move forward. In summary, using the feedback from parents, staff agreed that homework should:

• Consolidate learning from the current week
• Practise basic key skills such as reading, spelling and arithmetic
• Be achievable with limited support
• Be time limited
• Create opportunities to develop life skills
• Engage children in learning and not become a burden
• Be clearly communicated so that expectations are very clear
• Be a manageable task for staff without taking too much time away from the main teaching

It was also recognised that, having recently introduced Microsoft Teams (MST) across the school and children adapting to this really well, that we should utilise this facility for the ease of turning in homework and children receiving feedback.

Taking all of this into account, we have set our expectations as follows:

Year Group	Weekly Time to Complete	Weekly Set Work	How and When Set
R	20 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	One activity linked to theme (often a practical task) Handed in through Tapestry in the main	Tapestry Set on a Thursday
1	30 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	Numbots practise One activity to complete (phonics, maths or theme)	Set on a Thursday through MST
2	30 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	Numbots practise Spellings One activity to complete (reading, maths, writing or theme)	Set on a Thursday through MST
3	30 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	TT Rockstars practise Spellings One activity to complete (reading, maths, writing, theme or science)	Set on a Thursday through MST or CENTURY Tech
4	45 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	TT Rockstars practise Spellings One activity to complete (reading, maths, writing, theme or science)	Set on a Thursday through MST or CENTURY Tech
5	45 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	TT Rockstars practise Spellings One activity to complete (reading, maths, writing, theme or science)	Set on a Thursday through MST or CENTURY Tech
6	60 mins + 10 mins daily reading time	TT Rockstars practise Spellings Two activities to complete (reading, maths, writing, theme or science)	Set on a Thursday through MST or CENTURY Tech

As you can see, we have set our expectations so that they are progressive throughout the year groups but have stripped it back to basics – short weekly tasks to consolidate learning and prioritise the fundamental skills. The timings given are the total time we expect children to spend on homework each week and your child’s class teacher will keep this in mind when setting the tasks. If you find that your children regularly need longer to complete the tasks set, please speak to your child’s class teacher in order to discuss.

All homework will be set on MST weekly (Tapestry for Reception) although some tasks may not require MST to complete, such as tasks set on CENTURY Tech. This will ensure the expectation is always communicated consistently and there is an opportunity to submit electronically. Children have begun to use CENTURY Tech in school and will be able to use this site competently before being set home tasks.

CENTURY Tech is an online system that uses artificial intelligence to set an individualised learning pathway for each child. After completing a diagnostic assessment, the system will analyse the child’s performance and set them relevant activities to support their development. Teachers are able to interrupt this pathway of learning by setting ‘nuggets’ (modules of learning) to complete from their assessments of children in class. However, children do not need this to have happened to use the system so can do more if they wanted to, being confident that work they are completing will be set to their level. We will be increasing the use of this system in school in order to provide children with extra opportunities to consolidate learning in class.