Homework
Principle
Purposes of homework
These include:
- encouraging students to develop the skills, confidence and motivation needed to study effectively on their own;
- consolidating and reinforcing skills and understanding developed at school;
- extending school learning and encouraging broad and original thinking;
- encouraging reading for information and for pleasure;
- sustaining the involvement of parents and carers in the management of students’ learning and keeping them informed about the work students are doing;
- managing particular demands such as GCSE coursework.
Setting, Recording and Quantity of homework
The general expectation is that staff will set at least one piece of homework per subject per week. However, extended tasks may be set, particularly at GCSE level, which may take several weeks.
Homework tasks for each subject should take an average of 30 minutes in Years 6 & 7 increasing to an average of an hour per subject by Year 11.
Homework tasks are recorded by students in their diaries which are checked and signed weekly by parents / carers and form tutors. Tasks are also displayed by staff on the noticeboards for each year group on the ground floor for the benefit of students who were absent when the work was set.
In addition to homework tasks, students who have been absent due to professional work, or other reasons, have to catch up with missed classwork. The school has a clear procedure and proforma in place for setting of such work which is known as ‘CW1 work’.
Failure to submit homework on time without a reasonable explanation results in a letter home and may also generate a detention.
Appropriate tasks for homework
Homework time should not regularly be used simply for “finishing off” work carried out in class as this can place too heavy a burden on some students and too light a demand on others. However, there are occasions on which this type of homework may be necessary / appropriate.
- asks to consolidate classwork;
- extension tasks;
- reading;
- research;
- preparation for forthcoming work;
- learning tasks / revision
Feedback for students
Homework should be handed in / completed by the agreed time and feedback should generally be given to students by the following week. Extended tasks such as GCSE coursework obviously take a lot longer to assess and feedback should be given as soon as is practical and possible after the work has been submitted.
Feedback is given through written and verbal comments and, where appropriate, by marks, grades or National Curriculum Levels. Comments are used to recognise good work / effort / progress and also to give suggestions and targets for improvement.