Homework Information

Adult Role

Parents/Carer have a vital role to play in their child’s education, and homework is an important part of this process.  It enables you to gain an insight into some of the learning taking place in the Key Stage and enables you to reinforce these skills through the homework activities set, you may even decide to extend these skills/activities by providing other activities involving the same skills.  We ask you to encourage the child to complete the homework tasks they are set. We invite you to help the child as you feel necessary and provide them with the sort of environment that allows the children to do their best. You can support the child by providing a good working space at home and by enabling the child to visit the library or websites regularly. A hugely important role of an adult in a child’s learning is to encourage them to talk and discuss the work they are undertaking.

Timing of homework

KS1 Homework is set on a Wednesday and should be returned completed to the school by the following Monday. This enables time for a teacher to mark the work and set new homework.

Amount and Type of Homework

Children are expected to undertake one hour of homework each week for ten weeks not including reading, which should be a daily home activity. This homework includes;
1.Reading - Should be undertaken on a daily basis and books will be changed three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). During the end of Year 1, children are encouraged to start to choose their own reading books up to a given level. This enables children to take ownership of their learning and will also help to motivate children. This means that sometimes children may bring a book home from an earlier level. Just as adults sometimes enjoy reading children’s books such as Harry Potter or the Tolkien books children also enjoy an easier read, However this will be monitored to ensure that children choose a range of types of levels over a period.

Adult’s hearing a child read need to ensure they fill in the yellow reading record book including signing to say they have heard a child read. When they have finished the book, or what page they are up to and also how well the child read.

Staff monitors these record books and a record is kept of how regularly a child is heard read. Comments are used to help inform assessment alongside the class teacher’s own assessments of a child’s level in order to ensure child is on the correct stage.

It is vital that when an adult is listening to a child read that they encourage a child to use various reading strategies as evident on back of the reading record book. However this is only one aspect of reading the most important aspect of reading is the enjoyment and understanding of what they are reading. Your role is to encourage children to think about what they have read by asking a range of questions about text such as to recall information, to say what they think parts mean and to give an opinion about text.
2. Spelling – Children will be given up to five key word spellings a week although they may also be given additional spellings relating to the classes current phonic (sound) focus . However some weeks they may be given none this is so that children can spend time consolidating previous spellings. On Monday’s children will be tested on a random selection of spellings from any of the spellings they have received during the year. The theory for this is to ensure spellings become embedded in the child ‘s practice in both reading and written work and not just learnt for a test, forgotten and not applied.
3. A weekly rota of either literacy, numeracy, topic or Personnel, Social and Emotional Development. Over the ten weeks children will be set three pieces of literacy and numeracy, two pieces of topic based work, one PSHE and one other.

Expectations and Standards

In the front of the homework book there is a copy of the handwriting formation if your child is undertaking some writing can you please encourage children to form letters correctly. Year 1 children should be encouraged to orient their letters correctly and moving towards using lead out (flicks at the end of each letter). Once they can use lead outs or if they are a year 2 aged child they need to be encouraged to use joined up writing and then practice writing to make handwriting neater.

Year 2 aged children will also have a copy of the I can statements for numeracy and literacy that they are working towards. This should be referred to when undertaking numeracy or literacy based work.

Rewards and Sanctions

Children who have completed their homework to a high standard will be rewarded with team points, stickers or certificates etc. All children are expected to return completed homework by the following Monday and a record is kept of all work handed in. In the summer term Year Two aged children who do not bring their homework in by the Monday will receive a warning slip and if it is not in by the Tuesday will receive a disciplinary mark. This is to enable Year Two children to ready themselves for KS2 certificate system.

Many thanks for your support.