Homework

Homework is given great importance at Holly Park. Our approach to homework has changed over the last few years. The current model may seem rather untraditional, but from an educational point of view, is massively successful.

Children tell us that they enjoy learning both in and out of school. In 2011, Ofsted told us that they really liked our homework, and that the children told them how much they enjoyed responding to the open-ended challenges. Our Ofsted inspection in 2018 also found that homework was age-appropriate for the children.

  • In Reception children take home books to read and key words. They also need to access Bug club online books
  • In Year 1 children have a weekly open ended task to do from one subject in the curriculum. This is a broad and balanced range throughout the year. The children also take home weekly phonics words to practice.
  • In Year 2 the children have a weekly open ended task to do from one subject in the curriculum. This is a broad and balanced range throughout the year.
  • In Reception and KS1 children take home books from the book corner and have access to online Bug Club books that are graded in difficulty and support the phonics approach to reading
  • In Years 3, 4 and 5 the children have a  weekly open ended/creative question to answer and present in their own style on Google drive. The questions allow for self differentiation; fit with each individual’s own learning style and are designed to show breadth across all subjects over the year. In addition the children will complete either one maths task or one spelling, punctuation and grammar task each week. These two tasks are alternated each week.
  • Year 6 homework is the same as the other junior years  and in addition there is a weekly comprehension task.​
  • In KS2 children take home spellings every half term. These are a mixture of common words, national curriculum words, non nonsense spelling pattern words and topic words. There is a half termly spelling test.
  • Children in KS1 and KS2 have  access to My Maths which they can also access at home
  • We encourage most homework to be done on Google Classroom as far as possible. For children who do not have easy access to an electronic device to do their homework, we will provide a large homework book.
  • Children in Year 3 and 4 are also encouraged to practice times tables each half term for a half termly tables test. Parents will be informed about which times tables should be practiced each half term.

How much homework should my child get?

The decision on whether to set homework at all – and if so how much – falls to individual Head teachers. At Holly Park, we understand that parents value homework, but we also want children to relax and play at home – they work very hard during the day!  Lots of current research has shown that homework does not necessarily add much value to the learning process in terms of academic attainment.

The most important skills to work on are reading and times tables, and no child can ever read too much!

With the open ended tasks across the school the children will vary with the amount of time that they spend on them. The main questions to consider are – Is my child proud of what they have produced? Is this work a good effort for my child?

There is no precise time guide for these activities

How do I know how to support my child?

During the Meet the Teacher session at the start of the school year parents are advised about the expectations regarding homework such as the time that should be spent on tasks. Throughout the year, we also offer workshops and courses for parents in key areas, with the aim of supporting parents in helping their children.

Reading with your child

When reading with your child there are a range of strategies you can use to help your child read the words.

If he or she is stuck on a word get them to look at the letters and sound them out.  Then get them to blend the sounds together e.g. c-a-t  cat.

The pictures can be used to find clues to the words they may be stuck on; get your child to look at the pictures first and talk about what they can see.  This will make them more confident about the story before they read it.

Look at the words they are stuck on and talk about what it looks like.  Does it have a similar spelling pattern to other words? e.g. ball and call, rough and tough etc.

If they get stuck, read around the word to get an understanding of the story, the tense and what would be the most likely fit; does it sound right and does it fit in with the context of the story?