We know and the research tells us, that traditional ‘homework’ at primary age is not the most effective way to help children make progress. We also know that it is vital for primary aged children to play, enjoy social time with their friends and have hobbies outside of school. For this reason, we have redesigned our expectations to make things clearer for families and more helpful for children.
The children receive excellent teaching in school. However, what we do know from looking at lots of research is that the children who regularly practice key skills in small chunks make better progress than those who do not. It seems obvious, for example, a child who is learning a musical instrument and practices at home will make better progress than a child who does not practice at home, even if they both receive the same amount of teaching time. The same applies to reading and maths.
At Staple Hill, we have decided to change the way we set homework to support all children to know more and remember more. Research shows us that children are more likely to remember something if they practice it often. We call this retrieval practice (the act of recalling previously taught information to mind without rereading it or hearing it).
With lots of retrieval practice, learning from the classroom will go from children’s short-term memory into their long-term memory and support them to learn new knowledge in later lessons. Therefore, we would like all of the children to retrieve knowledge, which has already been taught in the classroom, to support long-term learning.
Every large term (three times a year) your child will be sent home with a sheet detailing that term’s home practice.
Reading:
Our expectation is that children read at home at least 5 x per week. For younger children or those that need a bit more support, they may read to an adult/other family member/older sibling.
For those older children or children who are fluent readers and can read confidently on their own then that is fine too.
Please can you record that your child has read at home in their home planner and we will reward them for effort. The main thing is that 5 x during the week they practice reading for between 5 – 15 minutes depending on their age. We will leave that to your judgment and how much time is available to your child.
Maths
There are many ways you can practice the number work the children cover in school. This may be through Times Table Rock Stars or could be as simple as counting in the car on the way home from school. We will give you many ideas and you can fit these into your already busy schedules.
Again, the younger children may need an adult to count with them but older children may be quite happy to sit down on Times Table Rock Stars and practice on their own. The teachers will set this up. Again, we ask that you record in your child’s planner so that we can reward your child’s effort. The time spent on practice may range from 5 – 15mins depending on your child and the time available to you.
Subject | Homepractice
Maths | Fact of the term 5x a week Numbots or Times table Rockstars
Spelling | A list of common exception words to learn
Reading | Five times a week and recorded in planners
Curriculum | Talk homework with questions of the term to discuss at home.
Learn It, Grow It, Achieve It!
Children with Special Educational Needs
If your child has specific educational needs, the home practice set will be at the appropriate level for them. That way effort for everyone is celebrated and no one is left out.
After school club children
We know that some children are still at school at 5:30pm, reducing the time available. Where we can, we will listen to the children read or provide them with opportunities to read and record this in the planner. This will count as their ‘home practice’ we may not be able to get through everyone every night, so best to check the planner after the session.
What about spelling?
Spelling lists will come home at the beginning of each term on the home practice sheet. The home planners also contain spelling lists. These can be practiced at home, if you wish, but this is additional and not compulsory.
The home practice sheet will be posted on Dojo and your children will receive a small exercise book with a sheet stuck in detailing the tasks. If your child would like to complete their weekly homework in the exercise book, they are more than welcome to do so. However, there is no expectation to and the teachers will not check this. Instead, the teachers will talk to the children about what they have practiced at home. If you have any questions, please contact your class teacher via Dojo.