Old Clee Primary Academy Homework Policy

A Parent/Carers Guide KS1-KS2

The Purpose of Homework

At Old Clee Primary Academy, we believe that homework will:

• Encourage students to develop the confidence and self-discipline to work on their own.
• Encourage and develop a pattern of learning behaviours essential for Secondary School and beyond.
• Consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding.
• Extend school learning, for example through additional reading and the acquisition of basic number skills.
• Enable children to devote time and develop resilience for particular demands such as project work.
• Encourage and develop the foundations of organisation and accountability through meeting deadlines – life skills.
• Support the home/school relationship.
• Inform parents about the type of work and learning children engage in during their Primary Education.
• Build the foundations for lifelong learning.

‘Trying our Best’ – (Standards/Expectations)

At Old Clee Primary Academy, we strive to ensure that our children take pride in what they do, both at school and at home.   We feel that ‘taking pride’ and ‘trying our best’ are life skills that children need to acquire early on.  Therefore, when children are completing their homework, it would be really useful if they had access to a pen or pencil and a ruler if possible.  Children need to develop the skill of maintaining a standard across a number of different environments and completing homework is great place to transfer this from school to home and vice versa.

Reading

Here at Old Clee Primary Academy, we understand that reading unpins all aspects of learning. The more children can read at home, the more they will be exposed to a wide range of language, develop an understand of a  range of book genres and develop their imagination. We do encourage children to read at home 5 times per week. However, we also understand that this is not always manageable which is why we allocate time within class for children to independently read each day. 

Spellings

Our spellings scheme ‘Sphonics’ links phonics (the teaching of sounds or phonemes) with spelling choices (graphemes). The scheme teaches children sets of words with a particular sound focus. A sound can be spelt in several different ways. By grouping these same sounds together children can visually see the different spelling choices and make links to previous phonic knowledge. Through identifying the sound and it’s spelling choice children are able to make links, discuss rules, patterns or types of words that the particular spelling choice is found in.

The national curriculum sets out a list of words (and/or spelling rules) that children should know by the end of each academic year. Children will be sent home with a list of 10 spellings to learn each week. These words are relevant to their year group statutory word list. Children may discuss additional words with you that we have ‘exposed’ them to under that weeks sound focus. The aim is that children see the words several times during the academic year strengthening their spelling knowledge.

We recommend a short daily practise to help familiarise and embed the weekly spellings. Activities such as grouping words under particular spelling choices, sounding out and blending words, putting words verbally into sentences, segmenting words for spelling along with completing the look, cover, write, check sheet will support your child in recalling these spellings ready for their weekly Friday spelling test. 

Times Tables (Year 2 – Year 6)

In 2020 schools and parents will see the DfE/Government introduction of a new National Statutory Assessment Test (SAT) which tests children’s Times Tables’ knowledge up to 12 times tables.  This test will be given to all Year 4 pupils.  These children are currently in Y3, and it is expected that children know all the tables and the associated division facts ALL ‘off by heart’ by the middle of Year 4.

However, it is already a National expectation that children in Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, know their tables up to 12s off by heart and can easily recall and manipulate the number facts to find further facts.  They need this knowledge in order to access the higher level maths now required by the children in the National Curriculum.  What we do know is that children who do not know them off by heart already struggle with the maths they are being taught and so it is really important that these are learned, known and easily recalled.  So help from home is crucial.

Please see the table below for a breakdown of weekly times table to focus on. Children will take part in a daily test where they will be asked to recite both multiplication and division facts at speed. It is up to the children how they learn their times tables, but every child does have access to the Times Table Rock Star website, which they can use to practise.   The daily test will indicate how much they have practised and show how much progress they are making towards internalising the facts for quick recall.  Login details and passwords can be found in your child’s home school contact book along with their weekly test scores every Friday.  The web address is  https://ttrockstars.com/login  (it’s the student login you are looking for).  We will help by asking children to recite tables’ knowledge daily too.

Children simply cannot afford not to know them.  The gap in mathematical knowledge will grow wider and wider and they will get left behind in maths.   Help and support from home will make a huge difference to your child and we thank you in advance for your support here.

Number Bonds (Year 1)

It is important that children know their number bonds (pairs of number that total amounts up to 20), as well as counting forwards and backwards in tens by the end of Year 1. This includes all numbers between 0 – 20 e.g. pairs of numbers that make 5, 7, 13, 15, 19 etc. Children in Year 1 will receive regular homework on this in preparation for the weekly number bonds challenge. The weekly challenge will indicate how much children have practised at home, how much they have retained and progressed.   Parents will be advised in the Home/School Contact book when this will start.

Maths Homework –  KIRFs ( Key Instant Recall Facts) 

KIRFs are designed to support the development of the mental skills that underpin much of the maths work in school. Practising KIRFs as maths homework will consist of short, snappy, practical activities ideally to be done daily. Children will be tested fortnightly. KS1 will have 4 facts to learn and KS2 will have 5 facts to learn over the two week period. Key facts include conversions (cm/m), time, percentages, decimals, fractions. Recalling these facts instantly develops children's mathematical problem solving skills.