South Wonston Primary School

Home Learning Policy

Introduction

Home Learning is anything that children do outside the normal school day that contributes to their learning in response to guidance from the school.  Home Learning encompasses a whole variety of activities instigated by teachers and parents to support children’s learning. For example, a parent who spends time reading a story with their child before bedtime is helping with homework.

Aims and objectives

The aims and objectives of home learning are:

• to consolidate and reinforce learning done in school and to allow children to practice skills taught in lessons.
• to help pupils develop the skills of an independent learner;
• to promote a partnership between home and school in supporting each child’s learning;
• to help children develop good work habits for the future.

Amount of Home Learning

Children across the school are expected to:

• Read every day. As they move through the school this changes from reading to an adult to a balance of reading to an adult and reading independently. Children will earn House points for reading regularly each week. 
• Practise phonics, spellings or spelling rules every day as appropriate to the year group they are in.
• Practise arithmetic skills eg number bonds, times tables to help them develop mathematical fluency.
• Regularly use online subscriptions e.g. Times Table Rockstars, Ed Shed and Sumdog.

Children in Y1-6

Each half term, children will focus on a Key Instant Recall Fact (KIRF) to practise and learn at home for the half term.  KIRFs are designed to support the development of mental maths skills that underpin much of the maths work in our school. They are particularly useful when calculating, adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. They contain number facts such as number bonds and times tables that need constant practise and rehearsal, so children can recall them quickly and accurately.

Instant recall of facts helps enormously with mental agility in maths lessons. When children move onto written calculations, knowing these key facts is very beneficial. For children to become more efficient in recalling them easily, they need to be practised frequently and for short periods of time.

Children will be set a weekly maths task linked to the KIRF for that half term.  This will be sent home on a Thursday to be handed in the following Tuesday.  Homework will be marked and kept in school.  A house point will be awarded for homework handed in on time. 

Pupils with special educational needs

For children with SEND, ways in which Home Learning tasks can be adapted or supported will be discussed during Pupil Support Plan Meetings (PSP’s) at the beginning of each term.

The role of parents

Parents have an integral role to play in their child’s education, and home learning is an important part of this process. We ask parents to encourage their child to complete the home learning tasks that are set. We invite them to help their children, as they feel necessary and provide them with the sort of environment that allows children to do their best. Parents can support their child by providing a good working space at home, by enabling their child to visit the library regularly, and by discussing the work that their child is doing.

We give all the children a Home School Planner where parents and teachers make any relevant comments.

We ask parents to check the Home School Planner at least once a week and to sign it as requested.

If parents have any problems or questions about home learning, they should, in the first instance, contact the child’s class teacher. If their questions are of a more general nature, they should contact the Headteacher.

Procedures

At the beginning of the school year, parents will be given an outline of the   expectations for work to be done at home and how checks will be made in school that the work has been completed.  If permanent changes are made to this pattern during the year, parents will be informed.

The Home School Planner also records the books a child has read, both at    home and at school. All reading should be recorded eg reading scheme books, library books, comics, newspapers, non-fiction etc.

The Home School Planner is an important record; we appreciate parents co-operation in ensuring it does not get lost and that it is brought to school every day.

When a child’s home learning is not done and there is no reasonable explanation, time will be set aside in school for its completion and a note will be made in the Home School Planner.