Why do we have homework?
Homework is an important part of school life. Students develop responsibility by learn to work independently and getting it completed on time. Doing homework helps students develop and embed the knowledge and skills they have learnt in class. Homework also allows parents to have an active role in a child’s learning – parents can see what students have been learning at school and they can help, for example, by testing their child. Most importantly, homework is a key review point which prevents students from immediately forgetting and losing what they've learnt in school. “The evidence shows that the impact of homework, on average, is five months additional progress.” (EEF, April 2020)
Setting challenging homework matches our values: “We are ambitious.”
How much homework is there?
KS3 students are set up to 60 mins of homework every night in the core subjects. These homework tasks are made up of online platforms: Sparx, Bedrock and Seneca, or Knowledge Organiser self-quizzing.
KS4 students are set up to 90 mins of homework every night in their core and option subjects. These tasks may be either online tasks set on Sparx, Bedrock, Seneca, Knowledge Organiser self-quizzing tasks or essay questions/exam practise.
Homework is set on Assignments (on Teams) so students know what the homework is each week and when it is due.
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Key Stage 3
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Key Stage 4
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60 mins every night
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Up to 90 mins every night
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Monday
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English
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Bedrock (Literacy)
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English
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Bedrock (Literacy)
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Tuesday
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Maths - Sparx
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Maths - Sparx
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Wednesday
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Science
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Science
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Option A
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Thursday
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English – Sparx
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Bedrock (Literacy)
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Option B
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Bedrock (Literacy)
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Friday
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Geography
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History
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Spanish
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Option C
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Option D
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What is expected?
Teachers set homework on Seneca, Sparx and Bedrock using Microsoft Teams. Students should follow the timetable above as this is the night we suggest you complete your homework for each subject to allow them to manage their work for the week. We also encourage students to attend homework club in the library after school every day to support them in meeting these deadlines.
What if I have a problem?
Talk to your teacher or your tutor who will be able to help you. Talk to your parents too and get them to help you if they can, especially by testing you. If students have issues with logins, they may approach ICT support in the Learning Centre bfore school between 8.15 to 8.25am or during lunchtime.
How do teachers check on homework?
Teachers monitor standards in several ways including retrieval practice, tests and checking for completion rates on Sparx and Seneca. Students will be tested in class following self-quizzing knowledge organiser homeworks. Teachers will set a detention if homework is not completed on time or to a high standard – for example if Sparx homework is not 100% completed.
How can parents support with homework?
Talk to your children about their homework and support them in checking Teams regularly to ensure they are looking at the homework they have been set. You can also support by testing their knowledge using the knowledge organisers or supporting them with their understanding by watching the videos on Sparx with them. Parents can join Seneca classrooms to be able to get updates and messages when work has been set on this platform, further information can be found here. Information on how to access Teams can also be found here.