Homework is anything children do outside the normal school day that contributes to their learning. It is not the same as remote learning as this is designed to replicate school day learning virtually and support children and their families when they cannot attend.

Homework encompasses a whole variety of activities instigated by teachers to support the children's learning. Homework is a very important part of a child's education, and can add greatly to a child's attitude to learning and development. We believe children can benefit greatly from the complementary learning that they do at home; it is an important part of the learning partnership between pupils, teachers and parents. One of the aims of our teaching is for children to develop as independent learners, and we believe that taking part in Homework enables our pupils to further develop their independence and organisational skills.

Staff and pupils regard Homework as an important part of the curriculum; it is planned and prepared alongside all other programmes of learning and developed in conjunction with all staff and in response to the children’s varying needs. The Homework we set is designed to reinforce or extend the learning taking place at school. This work should be both stimulating and challenging. Parents can be reassured that any issues around misconception or understanding arising, will be followed up by staff in school time and that we do not expect parents to teach the Homework – however, we know you offer valuable support and prompting at home.

We acknowledge the important role of play and free time in a child's growth and development. Whilst we value Homework, it is important that it should not prevent children from taking part in a wide variety of extended schools opportunities both at and beyond school.

From the first week of term, all children are sent home with a reading book and reading record. In Reception, this will start off with picture books and move through the phonics stages of different sounds the children are learning. Please read with them daily, discuss the story and ask them questions about the book. We look forward to working in partnership with parents and reading your comments so we can gain a full picture of each child. Please ensure you fill in and send your child’s reading book in daily. See https://www.wantageprimaryacademy.org.uk/english-1/ for more info.

From the start, children will be set homework. At WPA, all homework is accessed via Google Classroom. This will usually include an explanation of the task and/or a video from the class teacher to demonstrate and support. We expect all children to have a go at each task weekly. In Reception, parents will also be sent tricky words home to help their child learn and in Year 1, 2 and 3, children will be sent additional spellings, number bonds and times table tasks to learn.   

When you join WPA, you will receive your child’s Google Classroom login. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88idNZxeZbo to support you to support your child.

Please send handwritten work in where appropriate and upload photos, tasks and completed homework to Google Classroom each week. Homework will be sent out on a Wednesday and needs to be returned to school by Monday for feedback and next steps. The weekly homework tasks usually include: English, Maths and creative/ topic homework.   

Thank you for taking the time to read this through. I appreciate it’s a lot of information but will hopefully answer most of your questions. We look forward to welcoming you all back.

Aims

The aims of Homework are:

• to help pupils develop the skills of an independent and curious learner;
• to share learning with parents and to empower
• to consolidate skills and understanding and extend school learning;
• to promote cooperation between home and school in supporting each child's learning.

Types of Homework

In Reception we give children books to take home and read with their parents. We also send phonic work to complete when a child is ready. We give guidance to parents on achieving the maximum benefit from the time spent reading with their child. Phonics training will be held termly and shared on the website.

In KS1 and KS2, children will have a homework book with weekly tasks to complete: spellings, Maths, English. They will also have termly creative tasks.

The table below outlines homework for Reception, Key stage 1 and Key stage 2. Creative, Topic homework is not sent out weekly but may be linked to a topic theme or sent out as one piece per half term.