Homework
Please see below some detailed key points around the organisation and structure of homework at CWS:
- We want HW to be purposeful and not just ‘set for the sake of it.’ HW at CWS will predominantly be set for the following reasons – reinforcement of learning in class, preparation for upcoming topics, isolated revisit of topics learnt in previous half-term to keep knowledge ‘fresh’ and revision to prepare for assessments.
- To avoid HW being set ‘for the sake of it’ or ‘because it says so on the HW timetable,’ there will be no set HW timetable and no suggested length of HW but it is likely each piece will last 30 minutes - 60 minutes. Ideally students will have some HW each night, a right balance - we will monitor this and liaise with staff to reduce / increase as appropriate.
- HW will be differentiated (just like lessons) to provide appropriate challenge to all students.
- Length of time to complete HW will be at least 48 hours. We will avoid ‘next day HW deadlines.’
- All HW will be set on Google Classroom. This is an online platform that we are buying into as a school. Students will use their Google Suite individual login details so that they can go on and see details about the tasks that have been set. Parents / Carers will also be invited to join the Google Classrooms for each subject that their child studies.
- Brief details of subject + task + due date should also go in the correct row of the weekly page in student diaries. Students will be asked to write this in when the HW is set in lessons so that they are physically taking ownership of the HW from the outset and have a personal record of it in their diaries, as well as on Google Classroom.
- We will set a one hour after school detention in student diaries for HW that is not fully complete and handed in by the deadline. If there is a really genuine reason for HW not being completed, we would ask that parents contact the school in advance of the deadline, but in general we must as a school take a zero tolerance approach to incomplete HW and the setting of the HW detention will remain at the school’s discretion. From experience we know that HW fails in schools where zero tolerance approaches do not exist and we thank you in advance for your support of this approach. The HW detention hour will consist partly of the student sitting with the relevant teacher to complete the HW and ensure they understand it. It is possible that if the HW is completed in less than the hour, the rest of the time will be spent either with the teacher or in the after school work zone in the ICT room, doing other tasks from the curriculum booklet or working on purple pen targets in exercise books for this or other subjects. Students will be kept for the full hour for the HW detention.
- The curriculum booklets are designed to support learning in school by providing suggestions of tasks and activities that students can do at home. We encourage students to use the curriculum booklets on our school website in addition to any homework set so that they can develop independent learning habits.