Research over a number of years in this and other countries has shown that homework can make an important contribution to children's progress at school. In this country there is evidence that pupils in the highest achieving schools spend more time on learning activities at home than pupils in other schools.

Therefore, we seek to foster an active educational partnership between home and school. To enable parents/carers to support their child's learning at home, we have prepared the following policy to guide teachers and parents to working together. In this policy, homework is defined as any work or activities which pupils are asked to do outside lesson time, either on their own or with parents/carers. It is hoped that families will support the work of the school by familiarising themselves with the type of tasks set and helping their children to develop routines.

Homework Policy

The purpose of homework:

• to provide opportunities for parents, pupils and the school to work in partnership,
• to help parents gain insight into their child's schoolwork,
• to consolidate, revise or extend skills and understanding ~ particularly in Numeracy and Literacy,
• to encourage pupils as they get older, to develop the independent study skills and self discipline required of them at secondary school,
• to make use of resources for learning at home.

What is homework?

The main focus for homework across the school will be Literacy and Numeracy, with additional subjects being added to the programme as children progress through the year groups. Despite the formal sounding labels of "Literacy" and "Numeracy", homework will not always appear in the traditional style of written tasks. The term "homework" encompasses a wide variety of activities, for example:

• reading with an adult,
• reading independently and discussing content / plot / vocabulary with an adult,
• visiting the library or using ICT to find information,
• finishing work from class,
• learning spellings,
• practising phonics,
• practising number facts or multiplication tables,
• memorising a poem,
• practising a musical instrument,
• preparing oral presentations,
• written work.

How much homework will be set?

The following plan offers a guide as to how much homework each year group ought to set per week. It is based on the recommendations set out in the DFEE publication "Homework : Guidelines for Primary and Secondary Schools" Nov 1998).

Weekly homework allocation

Teachers may ask children to do additional homework tasks under the following circumstances.

• when a pupil needs to finish off classwork, having failed to do so at school having had a reasonable amount of time,
• when children need to conduct independent research for a specific project or topic,
• children with special educational needs may have a individual education programme (I.E.P.) devised for them. This may involve doing some special tasks outside the usual homework schedule. Parents of such pupils will be informed of what is required by class teachers.
• If a pupil produces unsatisfactory work in class, they may be asked to repeat it at home.

Time allocation of homework

Each task will have a 'completion date', which might be followed by an activity or test to show that children have been learning at home.

• Some tasks might best be achieved through 'little and often' working time through the evening (for example, learning and reciting tables).
• Other activities might benefit from an uninterrupted study time (for example, finishing class work or a written activity).

However, we do not anticipate the maximum time spent on homework in an evening to be longer than 20 minutes in years 3 and 4, 30 minutes in year 5 and 40 minutes in Year 6. If your child becomes frustrated, anxious, etc., please contact the teacher. Some children who work hard in class may have less "finishing off" type homework than others. We do not wish to penalise these children by giving them extra to compensate.
Time spent working with your child should be Quality Time. Try and develop your relationship regarding homework into a positive thing.

When homework will not be set

At some times of the school year, it will be inappropriate to set homework and these would be the start and end of terms, during parents interviews, during test weeks, during concert weeks and other evening events such as athletics, carol singing and camp out. Supply teachers are unlikely to set homework during teacher absence.

Organising their homework

The support of parents would be greatly appreciated for some tasks and ways in which they can help are outlined below. Teachers can present further guidance of 'methods' or 'needs' to help children to achieve their full potential with homework. However, there may be some tasks that necessitate independent completion and the task or diary will indicate this.

Parents can support their child by:

• asking the child to explain the task, which will indicate correct interpretation of the criteria and helping the child to organise their approach.
• presenting encouragement for their child to complete the task to the best of his/her ability and, for older children, independently.
• establish a routine to help the child to plan their time and organise themselves to complete the task and return it to school at the correct time.
• praising their child for effort and where necessary independence with completing the task, even if errors were made.
• providing relevant information to the teacher through a visit, telephone call or communication book.
• provide a calm, suitable place in which pupils can do their homework with minimum distraction.
• make it clear to their children that homework is important and explain how it can help their learning.
• to respect children's methods of working.
• sign the reading record / homework diary to show that you have seen the homework and you consider it to be satisfactory.

Teachers will implement the policy by:

• setting the homework programme in accordance with the school policy.
• ensuring that homework is consistent across maths groups
• making tasks and deadlines clear to children.
• using praise and reward where appropriate.
• marking written assignments as promptly as possible.
• providing feedback in whatever form is most appropriate (oral / written / test scores etc.).

Pupils are expected to:

• to complete work to a standard of which they are proud.
• to approach homework positively and co-operate with parents and teachers.
• to complete and hand-in tasks on time.
• to care for any homework related books, diaries or equipment.
• to seek help when faced with difficulties.

Special Educational Needs

Children with special educational needs will follow the same content and expectations as other children wherever possible. Some tasks might reflect the personal targets that the child has been set in their Individual Education Programme. Parents receive copies of these and can discuss with the teacher and/or Special Education Needs Co-ordinator ways to reinforce and help their learning and achievement with homework. IEP work would take priority over class homework.

Monitoring homework

Each year group will send out a termly curriculum letter outlining the study areas the children will be covering. The letter should also expand upon the information on the homework allocation grid by providing more specific information about homework tasks.

Pupils at upper KS2 (Years 5 and 6) will be given a homework diary. This will be used for recording the work which pupils are expected to carry out. It will also provide the means for parents to keep themselves informed of what is expected and record their comments. From Reception to Y4 reading diaries can be used for such communication purposes.

Class teachers will maintain appropriate records to indicate that tasks or activities have been completed on time and to a satisfactory level of understanding and standard. If it is felt that children are not achieving their full potential with homework, parents will be informed and we will endeavour to address this to everyone's satisfaction.

If homework is not done regularly, you will be informed in writing, using a standard letter, that you are asked to sign and return. If this fails, you will be notified by telephone by the class teacher.

Monitoring and reviewing the policy

We aim to review this policy document regularly. Members of the management team will collect a sample of KS2 homework diaries and evaluate the written comments of parents.

We will also consider:

• to what extent the homework programme contributes to pupil progress,
• whether effective home ~ school communication is occurring,
• whether the homework programme is manageable for teachers.