Homework Policy 2023-24

Overview 

Our vision is to cultivate a learning environment in which students are given frequent and purposeful home learning opportunities to consolidate their knowledge and enrich their broader understanding of the topics covered in class.

At Birchwood Community High School, we recognise that regular, well-planned homework can:

• Elevate learning and ensure that students make maximum progress in their academic and social development.
• Help students to develop strategies for transferring key information to their long-term memory.
• Develop good work habits and self-discipline for the future.
• Help parents/carers gain insight into their child’s schoolwork and promote a partnership between home and school.

All subjects have a homework schedule. This schedule includes retrieval tasks that will aim to consolidate the knowledge covered within lessons. The schedule also includes intermittent tasks on knowledge acquired earlier in the year.

The schedule is based around the information on the knowledge organiser, vocabulary list and accompanying documents.

This knowledge is then tested in class and peer-marked by students (where possible, this will take place at the same time each week to help students to organise their retrieval practice). Where applicable, students write the correct answers in a different coloured pen to help them to easily identify gaps in their knowledge. This also helps teachers to easily identify and plan for any topics that might need to be revisited.

For KS4, retrieval is the minimum requirement for homework- teachers will use their judgement about any additional tasks their students would benefit from receiving. Any further tasks that are set are acknowledged in some way either through self, peer or teacher assessment.

Students who engage with this process and seek out further opportunities for their learning will be rewarded with homework points via ClassCharts.

Frequency

At KS3, the expectation is that students complete 30 minutes of homework per day. Maths, English and science will be set one homework per week, whilst EPR, history, geography, computing and MFL will be set one homework every two weeks. Students are also expected to complete 30 minutes of reading for pleasure, per day.

At KS4, the expectation is that students complete at least 1 hour of homework/ revision per day. With the exception of core PE, all subjects will set weekly homework. EPR homework will be issued once every two weeks.

From January 2023, KS3 homework will be issued around a subject timetable to ensure that deadlines are as equally spread, as possible. Please see these timetables here: