Home Learning
Why is home learning set?
Home Learning is an essential part of the learning process and will look different from subject to subject. Further details of this can be found in the drop down menus below. We look for parental support in helping to make sure that home learning and assignments are completed when required, in addition to the 30 minutes to one hour of revision or independent learning per week, which is expected of all students.
Frequency: Fortnightly
Type of home learning: KS3: Reading based learning that builds on work that is being completed in class. This could include research or reading around a topic/artist or designer. This may include spelling and vocabulary checks. Home learning reading tasks will be set termly and reflected upon in class through a series of starter tasks, discussions, and vocabulary checks.
Dialogue will be supplied and appropriate for all learners
KS4: weekly tasks that link specifically to class tasks. This could include research, revision for exams, design work, preparation for practical tasks in class and vocabulary checks. Tasks will be linked to portfolio work for art and photography and will include practise of skills in Design Technology and Hospitality and Catering.
Benefits to Learning: Pupils will have the opportunity to use home learning time to complete tasks that build into classroom learning and extend their knowledge.
Assessment: Pupils will be assessed in class through ongoing verbal assessment, discussion, recall and self and peer assessment using success criteria.
Feedback: Instant feedback will be given via quizzes, spelling check, and formal written marking will happen at the end of each project or twice half termly for key stage 4.
KS3
Frequency: Weekly
Type of home learning: Students are set five tier 3 keywords from the current unit they are studying. Student are asked to learn the meaning of the words. They are expected to create flashcards, learn and test themselves on the words every week, At the end of each half term the students are tested on the meaning of the words in a written assessment in class.
Benefits to Learning: Having a solid understanding of tier 3 Computer Science vocabulary will help student to develop a solid foundation in Computer Science to allow them to progress through the curriculum.
KS4
Frequency: Weekly
Type of home learning: Smart Revise Online set for a minimum of 30 minutes per week to allow students to consolidate classroom learning and self-assess through both quiz and long answer advanced questions. Automatic feedback is given to students and performance is then analysed by staff to identify gaps in learning and common misconceptions.
Benefits to Learning: This homework is designed to interleave learning from previous unit to reduce the ‘forgetting curve’. It involves both knowledge recall and application of knowledge in the advance section of exam style questions.
Frequency: KS3 Termly/KS4 Fortnightly
Type of home learning: Project based learning with a variety of flipped tasks that build towards a final performance or written task.
KS3 – students may be asked to complete quizzes, spelling tests or small research projects. They could also be asked to rehearse or prepare for an upcoming practical assessment or bring in relevant props or costume.
KS4 – students may be asked to complete written responses or research for C1 or C2 exam preparation. They may also be asked to attend rehearsals after school in the run up to a practical exam.
Benefits to Learning: Allows students to build on prior knowledge or help immerse students in a theatrical world.
Assessment: Students will be assessed in class through ongoing verbal communication and practical demonstration.
Feedback: Feedback will be given via quizzes, spelling check, and formal written marking will happen at the end of each scheme of work during the practical assessment. Students will also receive weekly verbal feedback as well as peer feedback.
Frequency : Weekly
Type of Home Learning
Home Learning is set weekly for students in KS3 and KS4. Home Learning includes a variety of activities to strengthen students' comprehension of in-class learning, develop their key skills, and support their long-term memory.
For KS3 students, recall comprehension quizzes are linked to our schemes of work, and skills-based quizzes are set via Educake. Educake quizzes are also used, where applicable, in following starter activities to address any misconceptions and reteach key skills.
For KS4 students, recall quizzes are set via Educake to support students' knowledge development with set GCSE texts. Furthermore, revision activities will encourage students to plan essay responses and practice writing sections of these, and revise for Rigid Assessment Tests (RATs) which occur at regular intervals throughout the academic year.
Benefits to learning
All home learning activities are designed to support students' development of key knowledge and skills. Home learning activities recall and build on prior knowledge, stretch students to develop enthusiasm for English, and encourage their independence.
Assessment
Quizzes are marked by students and staff, depending on the scheme of work. Educake quizzes are marked automatically by the software, and these results are used to inform activities in following lessons.
Feedback
Educake provides students with an immediate score and provides them with the opportunity to self-review, improve, and reattempt. Students are expected to revise their incorrect answers and reattempt their Educake to achieve the minimum expectation of 70%.
Frequency: Fortnightly (roughly three activities in a topic)
Type of home learning: Each half term students will complete a range of activites via the platform Educake. All tasks set will be explicitly linked to KS3 schemes of work and the KS4 AQA GCSE curriculum.
Benefits to Learning: This resource is specifically tailored to the GCSE exam board (AQA) and aligns closely with the curriculum, ensuring that students engage with relevant content. One of the key benefits of Educake is its ability to identify areas of weakness in students' understanding, allowing for targeted interventions to address gaps in knowledge. By regularly using this platform, we aim to enhance our students' learning experiences and improve their performance in geography.
Assessment: Educake is a formative assessment tool by nature.
Feedback: Students are given feedback on their progress via the Educake platform. Students are also given the option to challenge any of the feedback given, contacting their teacher directly, which will then be responded to.
Frequency : A variety of activities will be set Half termly and/or in line with current topic.
Type of home learning:
For KS3 - Home Learning will be set once a topic to focus on a principal of “meanwhile/elsewhere” on subjects, stories and individuals that will give greater insight and knowledge to the current topic being studied in class.
Activities will consist of some reading and/or a video and a self-marking knowledge checker to be completed at home. Students are expected to achieve 75% in the quiz or retake until achieved. This will be monitored and celebrated by the classroom teacher.
Students will be expected to be able to discuss the homework topic in lesson and how this links to their current topic.
History projects linked to each topic. Students will research & create a piece of work to support and extend their learning in class.
Topic research linked to each topic. Students will research a key topic & use it to develop their deeper understanding and wider knowledge
For KS3 & KS4 - Targeted revision of topics studied to prepare for assessments/exams. This is modelled in lessons and students are set the challenge to complete further thinking at home, using guidance to support them.
Extended writing tasks to model and encourage students to write like Historians.
Benefits to Learning:
“Meanwhile/Elsewhere” activities will give opportunities for students to further their Historical knowledge of wide ranging and diverse subjects, stories and individuals.
History projects – Projects will be reviewed with feedback in lessons, this may be peer assessed, verbal whole class feedback or individual comments.
Topic research - Research will be reviewed in lesson and used for flip learning activities.
Revision- The questions in exams help to highlight understanding of topics already covered and can support teachers in planning for individuals.
Extended writing tasks will be reviewed with feedback in lessons, this may be peer assessed, verbal whole class feedback or individual comments.
Assessment: Depending on the Home learning task; will consist of peer assessment, verbal whole class feedback, individual comments, low stakes quizzing or flipped learning.
Feedback: Depending on the Home learning task; will consist of peer assessment, verbal whole class feedback or individual comments with opportunities to reflect and/ or develop skills and knowledge.
Home learning in Maths is an independent study activity for students.
Students will be issued with a list of the topics that will be taught at the start of each ‘block’ of new learning on our scheme of work. We will also provide the relevant clip number on Mathswatch to make it easier for students to access video resources. Throughout the block of learning, students will be encouraged to independently use the video clips and embedded questions to do some prior learning or to revisit learning from the classroom.
At the end of each ‘block’ of learning we regularly review the learning, sometimes in the form of an assessment, and allow the students time to identify personalised areas for improvement. We will again provide the correct clip number for the topics that they have identified so that students can independently make improvements.
MFL Home Learning
Frequency: Weekly
Type of home learning: MFL home learning is based around learning vocabulary. It is paper-based, sometimes with an online option. Students are given a knowledge organiser of vocabulary every half term, divided into sections to learn each week. The vocabulary is often available on a website called Quizlet and if so, links are provided. KS4 home learning also includes longer written tasks and preparation for GCSE.
Students are also expected to complete a copy, cover, write, check of their vocabulary every week at home and bring in to class on the day of their vocabulary test.
Benefits to learning: It is vital that students spend time outside of lessons learning vocabulary in order to make progress. Students need to learn vocabulary little and often in order to learn effectively and we advise learning in sessions of about 10 – 15 minutes 2 or 3 times a week at KS3, increasing in time and frequency at KS4.
Towards the end of each half term, revision of the entire module helps to consolidate vocabulary knowledge.
Assessment: Regular vocabulary tests help students to identify the words they still need to work on. At the end of each half term there is an end-of-topic assessment which takes different formats and will also include a vocabulary assessment based on the entire unit.
Feedback: Students self-mark their vocabulary tests and are expected to fill in their corrections. Whole class feedback helps to address misunderstandings. Written paragraphs and essays are marked by the teacher, using a feedback sheet, and students are given time in class to correct their work. Students are given a reflection sheet at regular intervals in which they look back at their prior learning, reflect on areas for improvement and set themselves words to learn or areas to develop.
Frequency: Every 2 - 3 weeks
Type of home learning: Retrieval practice tasks – small tasks that prepare students for future learning or that build upon knowledge assimilated in the lesson. The goal of home learning at Key Stage 3 is to demystify basic music theory, terminology and how to decipher a musical score.
Benefits to Learning: Low stakes tests allow staff to gage progress over time without increasing levels of anxiety. This will allow staff to judge what needs to be followed up in the future.
Assessment: In class testing based on revision of resources.
Feedback: Peer marked with common misunderstandings explored in class. Students that repeatedly score low and do not demonstrate understanding will be supported in after school sessions.
KS3
Pupils are advised to attend extra-curricular clubs to enhance their exposure to competitive sport and dance choreography to prepare for the practical element of GCSE PE and GCSE Dance.
KS4
Home learning tasks aim to enhance long-term memory and retention through retrieval practice. Teachers may use the homework tasks to adapt starter tasks for the following lesson to address common misconceptions or gaps in learning.
Home learning tasks will be used as revision for mid and end of unit assessments throughout the learning journey. Pupils will be guided to answer short, medium and extended exam questions, utilise self-assessment, reading or creating knowledge organisers, creating brain dumps or watching video content of historical, current or future content for flipped learning.
Home Learning in Religious Education KS4
Frequency: Fortnightly (roughly three points in a topic)
Type of home learning:
Students will complete home learning to compliment and add to their current learning within lesson. This can range from:
· Exam style questions
· Research tasks to support lesson learning.
· Knowledge Tests
· Revision tasks to support up and coming assessments.
Benefits to Learning: Home learning for students studying GCSE Religious Education offers unique benefits. It allows them to explore topics like ethics, beliefs, and world religions at their own pace, encouraging deeper reflection and understanding. The flexibility of home learning lets students engage with religious texts and resources in a focused environment, free from classroom distractions. Additionally, home learning fosters self-discipline and independence, essential for managing the broad range of topics covered in the GCSE syllabus. Family involvement can also enhance discussions, making the learning experience more meaningful.
Assessment: Depending on the Home learning task; will consist of peer assessment, verbal whole class feedback, individual comments, low stakes quizzing or flipped learning.
Feedback: Feedback to learning checks and assessments are given half termly. Within this feedback students are given strengths and targets in their work to encourage students to see their strengths and areas that need improved. The purpose of feedback is to ensure students are effectively feeding forward on feedback given.
Frequency: Topic dependant
KS3: A Carousel quiz for the keywords within the topic that are studying. This is to aid their revision for the in-class assessment.
Year 10: Weekly Carousel revision and quiz to help re-visit learning. The classes areas for development with be addressed in class as part of a lesson starter. Separates will have a weekly homework from their Biology, Chemistry and Physics teacher.
Year 11: Weekly Carousel revision and quiz to help re-visit learning. The classes areas for development with be addressed in class as part of a lesson starter. Separates will have a weekly homework from their Biology, Chemistry and Physics teacher.