Homework
We believe that homework should be another way to support our vision that every child will become a ‘lifelong learner’. It should therefore be fun, engaging and enhance the children’s independence, confidence and resilience as well as consolidate previous learning and/or support new learning.
From Year One onwards, the children receive homework on Google Classroom.
What homework looks like in our school:
EYFS: (homework on Tapestry)
Reading: Each child is expected to read every day to encourage a love of reading and fuel their imagination. Parents are encouraged to listen to their child read, read with and to their child and to discuss what has been read with them.
Optional Activity: Each week, staff set a suggested activity for Reception children which will either reinforce and build upon learning from the previous week, or help to prepare children for the following week. These activities will be practical and fun, and are not compulsory.
Phonics: Parents will be informed each week of the new sounds and Tricky Words learned in Phonics, and should help their child to learn them at home.
KS1:
Reading: Each child is expected to read every day to encourage a love of reading, develop a broad vocabulary and fuel their imagination. Parents are encouraged to listen to their child read, read with and to their child and to discuss what has been read with them. Books from the reading scheme (until they become a ‘free reader’) are sent home weekly plus children have access to library books. We try to encourage children to select from a range of genres, authors and themes and include fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Phonics/Spelling: High frequency word lists and sound mats are sent home at the start of the year. Parents will also be informed each week of the new sounds and Tricky Words learned in Phonics, and should help their child to learn them at home.
Over the term the focus spellings for each week are sent home to practise.
NB If a longer piece of English work, such as a reading comprehension, is set, spellings may not be sent that week to ensure there is no overload.
English: On occasion, the children are given an English activity instead of spelling that will help them with their current learning in class or will be a help with learning the following week. This may link to the topic that they are learning about. We strongly encourage these to be completed.
Maths: Yr 1 - Children are set one piece of maths homework per week to consolidate and extend learning. We strongly encourage these to be completed.
Yr 2 - Children are set one piece of maths homework per week to consolidate and extend learning. We strongly encourage these to be completed.
Part way through the year, Yr 2 also have access to Times Table Rockstars which they are recommended to play for 15 min a week to develop their multiplication and division facts recall.
Topic: The children may on occasion be given a task for one of the foundation subjects e.g. collecting resources for Art/DT.
KS2:
Reading: Each child is expected to read every day to encourage a love of reading, develop a broad vocabulary and inspire their imagination. Parents are encouraged to listen to their child read, read with and to their child and to discuss what has been read with them. Books are selected from a range of genres and themes and should include fiction, non fiction and poetry. Some children will be issued books weekly if they are on the reading scheme.
Spelling: At the beginning of each half term children will be given age-related vocabulary lists to learn over the half term. The expectation is that the children will learn and use these words within their work. The children will receive the same spellings weekly. So that the children learn to use and spell these words in context they will be assessed on their learning through different means eg online quizzes, dictation.
NB If children are using a spelling programme, they will be given the spelling overview for their year group for their information and vocabulary enrichment.
Maths: Children are expected to complete mental maths activities (30 minutes a week) to embed their knowledge of the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) through the use of Times Tables Rockstars. This will be included as part of half termly homework (see below).
There will also be a weekly maths homework set that supports the learning in class that week; this may be in the form of online activities or questions sent home. This is expected to take no more than 30min. Whilst completion of this is strongly encouraged in all year groups, it is only compulsory in Year 5 and 6.
Year 3/4 Half-term Homework: Weekly, Year 3/4 are set a piece of work to either consolidate learning from the week, to prepare for upcoming work or linking to the various events throughout the year such as World Book Day, Anti-Bullying Week, E-Safety Day etc In the Summer Term, the 3/4s in the Summer Term of each academic year.
Year 5/6 Half-term Homework: The topics that we choose at Foulds are designed to engage and inspire our children and we know that, with their interests piqued, they want to go on to find out more. We love this curiosity and want to feed it.