At Parkside School we strongly believe that homework is vital in ensuring students become expert learners. It is designed to provide students with the opportunity to consolidate what they have been learning in the classroom, to practise new skills which are needed for progress in a curriculum area and to build confidence in their ability to retrieve and apply key information. Research from the Education Endowment Foundation shows ‘the impact of homework on learning is consistently positive, leading on average, to an additional five months’ progress’.
We strongly believe that homework should be purposeful yet manageable for students and their families at home and therefore, in the first instance, our homework tasks will take one of two forms:
- An application of what is being learnt in class e.g., a practice exam question
- Recap and Revise – these tasks will require students to recall information previously learnt, this could have been recently, or in the past e.g., last term, last year. Some of these tasks will be set via Seneca to support students, their families, and our teaching staff in identifying topics where the young person is excelling and areas where they may have misconceptions and need further support.
We know that our students will rise to the challenge of becoming expert learners. All homework due dates and instructions will be uploaded to Class Charts which can be accessed at any time. There is an option to attend Homework Club which runs every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the Library from 3.15pm to 4.15pm. Here, students will have access to computers, internet, printer, and a quiet workspace in which they can complete their homework. If your child requires further support with their homework, we encourage them to talk to their subject teacher, coach, or Head of Year.
Where necessary, homework will be adapted to meet the needs of individual students. Students who encounter difficulties with homework may be considered for exemption from homework tasks. This would be discussed with the young person and their families through Learning Support review meetings with our Special Educational Needs team and included in their individual education plan (IEP).
Should Class Charts be a barrier to engaging students with homework students can discuss this with their Head of Year who can highlight to relevant staff that they will instead use their paper-based planner. Students will be expected to log their homework in their paper-based planner and, where necessary, teaching staff and our learning coach team may write down the homework for them where difficulties have been encountered.
Families / Carers support with homework is very much appreciated and makes a huge difference to our students. You can help them by:
- Providing a quiet and suitable workspace or encourage them to attend homework club
- Support them to establish a routine for completing homework
- Encouraging them to be organised and meet deadlines
- Praise, encourage and support their work
- Enable them to be independent and seek help if needed Logging in to your Class Charts & Seneca parent accounts to review your child’s homework tasks and assignments.