HOMEWORK

1. AIMS

To encourage pupils to develop the ability to work on their own and take responsibility for their learning;

to encourage pupils to reinforce the day's work;

to encourage pupils to extend and broaden the amount of curriculum time, (eg learning, writing up notes);

to encourage pupils to fulfil the requirements of the coursework component of GCSE;

to encourage pupils to provide the teacher with evidence of individual response for assessment;

to encourage pupils to enrich the curricular experience through such activities as fieldwork, surveys, research, interviews, data gathering, etc;

to encourage pupils to reinforce organisational skills such as working to deadlines and revision;

to provide an opportunity for pupils to work at their own pace and level.


2. PREAMBLE

At present pupils in Years 7 and 8 are usually required to hand in homework on the following day in order to establish good habits of punctuality and organisation. However, this may have limitations in encouraging pupils to develop research and investigative skills which often require several days in order to complete a specific assignment.

In Years 9, 10 and 11, homework is sometimes set over a longer period of time, which requires careful monitoring by the subject to ensure progression and organisation.

3. OBLIGATIONS REQUIRED BY POLICY

i Assistant Heads of School (Academic) should

make a positive contribution (with the heads of school) to year assemblies, etc, to help pupils value the function and purpose of homework;

monitor, with the subject teacher and the form tutor, those students whose homework is inadequate on not produced;

inform parents through academic assessment procedure (ie through the journal or by letter) where a pupil's homework is inadequate or not produced;

assist pupils to develop appropriate organisational skills concerning independent learning and on-going revision.

iii SMT should

assist in the monitoring of individual pupils' homework;

monitor standards of homework across departments and year groups.

iv Heads of School should

ensure that form tutors regularly monitor both the recording of homework by pupils in their tutor groups and the standard of homework completed by them;

draw up an annual homework timetable in consultation with heads of department to ensure a balance and relevant programme;

advise pupils on the general approaches to revision.

v Heads of Department should

ensure that homework is an integral part of the programmes of study etc;

monitor, across groups and sets, the setting of homework and the standard of the work set to ensure comparability;

encourage the compilation of resource banks as appropriate homework sheets/ assignments (which could be particularly useful,too, in the case of teacher absence);

support staff through providing subject detentions if appropriate to ensure homework is completed;

encourage subject teachers to give opportunity for parents to sign completed homework and to comment where appropriate.

vii Teachers should

ensure that homework tasks are meaningful, relevant and appropriate;

set homework clearly and regularly (according to the published timetable);

ensure that homework is properly completed;

mark and return homeworks promptly;

stress the value of non-written homeworks, particularly, for example, learning work and independent reading;

ensure that they can check whether non-written homework has been completed;

set homework which encourages independent learning and individual responsibility and response;

check journals at the end of the day to ensure that homework set has been properly recorded there;

request that pupils ask parents to sign completed homework and comment if appropriate.

Form tutors should

encourage prompt presentation of homework particularly in years 7 and 8;

check journals weekly to ensure that homework is recorded and that parents have signed journal confirming that homework has been completed;

monitor closely (with the assistance of the Assistant Head of School (Academic) ) those members of their tutor group whose teachers have recorded dissatisfaction with the completion of homework.


4. The execution of this policy shall be monitored by SMT.