Home Learning Policy

Policy details

• Date created - 14/02/2025
• Next review date - 02/09/2025
• Policy owner - Mrs Suleman

At Co-op Academy Glebe,  Home Learning is designed to develop further the home/school partnership by providing opportunities for children, parents and school to learn together to support and enhance children’s learning.  Most recent research shows that parental involvement, and particularly talking about home learning, is vital to maximise children’s progress.

Aims

Through this policy we aim to:

• Ensure that parents are clear about what their child is expected to do.
• Ensure consistency of approach throughout the school.
• To use homework as a tool to help continue to raise standards of attainment.
• Improve the quality of the learning experience offered to pupils and to extend it beyond the classroom environment.
• Provide opportunities for parents, children and the school to work together in partnership in relation to children’s learning.
• Encourage pupils and their parents to share and enjoy learning experiences.
• Reinforce work covered in class by providing further opportunities for individual learning.
• To practise or consolidate basic skills and knowledge, especially in Maths and English.
• Encourage children to develop the responsibility, confidence and self-discipline needed to study independently.
• To prepare Year 6 pupils for the transfer to secondary school.

The Nature of Homework

It should be noted that home learning can be set in many different forms with many different expectations and outcomes. It is important to remember that when expecting and setting home learning there are a number of points to consider:

• The nature and type of home learning changes throughout a pupils school career.
• Amount and frequency of home learning should increase as a pupil gets older but this may also vary through the school year and be appropriate to the ability of the child.
• Homework should not cause undue stress on the pupil, family or the teacher.
• It will not necessarily come in the form of a written task.
• Homework should be set regularly from the Foundation Stage to Year 6.

Recommended Time Allocation

Homework should never be too onerous nor should it ever create stress within the pupil’s family. If parents have any concerns they should not hesitate to contact the school. Normally, six days will be allowed for the completion of a homework task, except where daily practice is to be encouraged e.g. reading, spelling and times tables. Homework will be set on a half termly basis with a focus for each week of the half term with an overall project to be brought into school on the last week of the half term so pupils can share with the class.

There is no statutory guidance on homework however below are recommendations as appropriate time allocations.

Years 1 and 2 - 1 hour per week

Years 3 and 4 - 1.5 hours per week

Years 5 and 6 - 30 minutes per day

Homework Tasks

Listed below, for each Key Stage are a number of example tasks and activities that might be given as homework. This is by no means an exhaustive list and is open to constant change, although many of these tasks and activities will be used on a regular basis. Homework activities will change to meet the needs of the pupils involved and activities that might be occurring in class. All homework tasks and activities will have a clear purpose and assist pupils in the process of their academic development.We do expect pupils to read at least four times a week at home and for parents to record this on their child record sheet.

Foundation Stage

• Reading books and key words
• Phonic activities and letter formation
• Counting up and down stairs, number of jumps, number of tins etc. etc.
• Reciting nursery and counting rhymes.
• Identification of shapes in the environment.
• Fastening and unfastening buttons and zips and tying shoelaces – getting dressed and undressed etc. etc
• Activities to support their personal, social and emotional development whilst promoting independence

Key Stage 1 - Year 1 and Year 2

• Reading books and key words
• Learning spellings
• Learning number facts and times tables
• Reading/Writing activities
• Handwriting activities
• Phonics activities
• Maths activities including real life numeracy related problems e.g. shopping, car, bus and house numbers, use of T.V. remote control.

Key Stage 2 - Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6

• Reading books and key words
• Learning spellings
• Learning number facts and times tables
• Reading/Writing activities
• Maths activities including real life numeracy related problems e.g. shopping, car, bus and house numbers, use of T.V. remote control.
• Grammar, punctuation and spelling activities
• Handwriting practise
• Reading comprehension activities
• Planning pieces of writing
• Planning presentations
• Researching topics
• Practising calculation strategies

Role of the Class Teacher

• To provide an explanation of home learning tasks to children and, when necessary, to parents and give guidance of how they might assist their child.
• To set up regular home learning in an easily followed routine which will be emailed via Arbor on a half termly basis during the first week of each half term
• To set home learning that takes equal and racial opportunities into account.
• To ensure any home learning is purposeful and links directly to the curriculum being taught.
• To reward and praise children who regularly complete home learning tasks.
• To give feedback to pupils.

Role of Parents/Carers

• To support the school by ensuring that their child attempts the home learning.
• To provide a suitable place for their child to carry out their home learning.
• To encourage and praise their child when they have completed their home learning.
• To become actively involved and support their child with home learning activities.
• To make it clear that they value home learning and they support the school by explaining how it can help learning. 
• At Co-op Academy Glebe we are very keen for parents to support and help their children with homework. We take the view that children are likely to get more out of an activity if parents get involved as long as they do not take over too much. However, there are times when we will want to see what children can do on their own. It is particularly important, as they get older, for children to become increasingly independent in their learning. If a parent is unsure about what their role should be, they should discuss it with their child's teacher.