Why is home learning important?

At The Earls we believe that self-regulation and independence in learning are important skills for our students to develop, and this underpins our approach to home learning. The ability to think and work independently is vital for any young person entering the workplace, and by setting homework, we support our students in learning how to organise themselves to meet deadlines, to be resourceful in finding information and to complete work without adult supervision.

How will homework be set?

We use Class Charts to set homework. This allows students and parents to see a list of the tasks set, when they are due and any additional resources provided. Parents will be able to monitor the completion of tasks and support students in managing their homework.

How much homework will be set?

Most subjects set homework once a week or once a fortnight, proportionate to their curriculum time. Students in Key Stage 3 should expect each task to take between 15 and 30 minutes, and students at Key Stage 4 should expect tasks take 30-60 minutes (although there will be some exceptions due to the nature of some GCSE courses). As a general rule, students will be given at least a week to complete their homework but at KS4 it may be necessary to give a shorter deadline (at least 2 days).

In addition, students are encouraged to read regularly at home, and particularly at KS4, should revisit topics studied in school, revising key knowledge and skills.

What sort of tasks will be set?

Students will be given homework that is linked to the learning they are doing in class and often requires them to practice a key skill or recall key knowledge. This will look different across different subjects but might include tasks such as an online programme of practice questions, learning vocabulary, memorising knowledge for a recall test.

How will students receive feedback?

When students bring their homework to their lesson, we often use a ‘homework check’ task which requires students to use their homework to move their learning forwards in lessons. Teachers will use a variety of methods to support this and give students feedback on their work. This could include:

• Self-assessment
• Peer-assessment
• Whole-class verbal feedback / discussion
• The use of rubrics / success criteria
• Self-marking learning platforms / quizzes
• Achievement points

What support is available for students?

Homework Club is available after school to all students, where they can receive support from staff and access computers and printers. Anyone can attend Homework Club, regularly or as a one-off.

Homework Club runs Monday to Thursday until 4pm and staff are on hand to support students with their homework if needed. For Year 7, 8 and 9 Homework Club will be in A28 and for Year 10 and 11 it will be in B15. It is available to all students on a drop-in basis.

Students can also speak to their subject teacher about a particular task, or their form tutor or Year Co-Ordinator for support in organising and managing homework schedules.

To help our students develop excellent habits around homework, we ask that parents:

• • Ensure that students have a quiet place to work and appropriate resources.
  • Support students with organisation – keeping school books and equipment in one place, with a copy of their timetable on the wall.
  • Provide students with encouragement to do homework even when the going gets tough and the homework is challenging. You could suggest that they check through books, ask a friend, look at Class Chars or search for help online.
  • Avoid doing the homework for students, so that teachers can see what they can do independently.
  • Monitor stress levels. Reassure students that they might not get everything right first time, but that they are expected to try their best.
  • Support the school in requiring students to ‘catch up’ any incomplete / missed homework in their own time, or working with staff after school.

  This article from BBC Bitesize gives some more tips.

We expect our students to:

• Look at Class Charts every day.
• Get into a routine for completing homework, that fits alongside family and other commitments.
• Complete homework to the best of their ability and keep going even when the work is challenging. 
• Submit homework via Class Charts or bring it to school (as required by their teacher) on or before the deadline day.
• Catch up on homework if they have been absent.  
• Discuss with their teachers any problems they encounter before the deadline.

ICT Support

Password and login reset information will be sent to the primary parental email address we have on file.