Homework

As such, most homework will link to past, current or future learning in lessons.

Sometimes teachers will set ‘flipped homework’, and this means that material will be set for the student to learn new content or knowledge ahead of the next lesson. We may do this to allow more time in lessons to develop and deploy knowledge beyond the basics, practising skills like exam technique or allowing the setting of tasks that require the students to master the content by going ‘broader’ or ‘deeper’.

With new GCSEs requiring a much higher need for memory and recall of facts and information, some homework will be revision tasks or memory boosting exercises.

We do not publish or expect teachers to abide by a homework timetable because homework should have an impact and we are clear with teachers that it should only be set if it is going to develop students’ skills or knowledge.

Teachers will sometimes mark homework, sometimes it will peer/self-assessed in class, and students can expect to receive developmental feedback. However, in some cases, the act of completing the homework will be the valuable activity in itself and, in this case, there may not be any benefit to the student in receiving feedback from the teacher. Where this is the case, it will be flagged to students, so they are clear on the intended impact of their homework. Homework is sometimes merely about developing academic habits, resilience and about learning how to manage workflow.

Students are expected to organise their time and prioritise according to given deadlines; they will not be given specific homework each day, according to a timetable but, instead, teachers will ensure that adequate timescales are available so students can plan their workload over the week. All homework is set on Firefly and students also have a personal planner to record what has been set and when it is due in.

Each department has its own homework policy that sets out the type, regularity and length of homework it sets at various points of the year. In practice, this will mean that the quantity and regularity of homework set in some subjects will vary over the course of the year. Please be assured that this is by design and based on the needs of students across the learning cycle for each subject.

TRACKING YOUR CHILD’S HOMEWORK TASKS

We use an excellent online system called, Firefly, which all teachers use to post lesson plans, guidance, example work and homework tasks. You can find out more here.