Homework

20th January 2014

As year 8 parents will know, we survey all pupils, staff and parents at the end of every school year to help us improve the school even further.

One of the questions we asked last year was about homework. The majority of parents thought that it was helpful having no homework in year 7, but also thought that the amount should increase slightly in each year. Many parents chose to comment after this question, in which most explained that this would prepare pupils for GCSE and A-level study and revision. The majority of staff echoed this position, explaining that homework would allow them to set personalised tasks that appropriately supported or challenged pupils working at different levels.

We have decided that we will continue to have no written homework in year 7. Pupils will still have to learn spellings, vocabulary for French or German, or revise for assessments. In year 8, Maths and English will introduce a small amount of homework - it should take pupils 20-30 minutes per week.

We are very conscious, however, that introducing even this small amount of homework does not put undue pressure on pupils when taken alongside our extended day. We believe strongly that young people need time at home to relax, to play, and to do things with their family and friends - these are all vital for their development, their happiness and their wellbeing. Therefore, we have introduced the following initiatives to allow them to manage their time:

Independent Learning Project Lessons
As you know, pupils currently work on individual projects in ILP lessons. From February half term pupils will have a free choice about how they use this time. They will still be able to work on personal projects, as before, and receive support and guidance in so doing. Any pupils who create a high quality project will be able to enter this for accreditation with the exam board AQA, and receive the Foundation Project Award. However pupils can also choose to use this time to complete homework, or learn spellings or revise for assessments. If pupils misuse this time of course we will restrict their options, and direct them as to how best to use the time, however we anticipate that most will use it productively and conscientiously to benefit their own learning.

Academic Clinic (in Enrichment time)
If pupils are worried that they will not have time to do their homework at home and do not want to do it in ILP they will be able to miss their enrichment on a Tuesday or Wednesday and drop into an Academic Clinic. This will enable pupils to have an extra hour (or two, if they are really keen!) to work on homework or other individual learning each week, in an environment where there is a teacher to help and support them if they need it, and where they have access to things like laptops and other school resources. When we move into the new building, this will happen in the school library. We hope that giving pupils this opportunity will help them develop into independent self-managers, who are able to identify when they need a bit of extra time to do something, or need some support with it; these are vital skills for pupils to develop as they move towards GCSEs and A-levels.