Learning and Teaching

Homework

In 2023, St Mary's engaged in a process to review  homework at our school. Students, families and staff were all consulted to give their thoughts and opinions in regards to how homework should be implemented at St Mary's. 

In summary, the main recommendations from the feedback and research were:

• a focus on English and Mathematics, without excluding the other curriculum areas
• an increase in demand and requirements as the age of the students increase
• adequately preparing students for secondary school and/or employment
• a variety of modes, such as worksheets, games, research, digital and so on
• enabling student choice to cater for individual needs
• flexibility of completion to take into consideration extra-curricular and family commitments

Over this term, we have noticed some behaviours that as a school we would like to share and more importantly providing some suggestions for future growth:

• home reading
  The research shows that reading regularly has a significant impact on performance. Many students may (or may not) be reading at least four times a week and recording this in their table.  Whether it is reading a book from school, a library book, an on-line text, newspaper article - the focus is on regular reading. In order to align to best practice, the school has subscribed to sunshine online - to enable families to have access to the most current publications. Many of these texts are written using a synthetic phonics and evidenced based approach. As previously communicated, parents can ask their classroom teacher for hard copy texts. 
• time allocation and best effort
  Research suggests that short, sharp consolidation tasks taking no more than 20 minutes are most effective when it comes to homework. Although this time allocation may seem very short, it does not mean that students should not put in their best effort. This includes ensuring the students has edited for spelling and grammar and also taken pride in the organisation and presentation of their work.  Some students may choose to work longer and this is at the discretion of the student/family.
• parent partnerships
  Building home school relationships is a key contributor to student success. Playing some of the interactive games and activities, listening to your child read or looking over their work before submission are some great ways to be involved in your child's homework routine. 

Like all teaching models and modes, some children or households liked the digital platform, Mathletics to practice mathematics. There are a number of other digital platforms (both free and those that encounter a cost) that parents may like to consider for their child, including, but not limited to Khan Academy (Free), Maths Oxford Owl (UK curriculum) or iPad applications such as Zero, Our Hero.