Homework

At Melbourn Village College we recognise that completing homework tasks will enable our students to develop as independent learners and to make better progress.  Completing homework tasks will improve ownership and engagement with students’ learning and deepen their knowledge of core skills.  Homework contains elements of independent study – it is not directly supervised by the teacher and takes place outside the timetabled curriculum, yet it is an integral part of it.  

Completing homework tasks should help every student to:

• Develop and improve self-discipline, organisation and time management skills.
• Consolidate and reinforce skills and knowledge introduced during lessons.
• Refine research skills.
• Extend and support learning through reinforcement and revision.
• Involve parents/carers when learning is completed at home.

Teachers will set homework tasks and these will be communicated via our online platform, Go4Schools. Some tasks may be set via Microsoft teams, but the information regarding this will always be set on Go4Schools. Students will always be given a week to complete their homework tasks.

The length and nature of tasks set will vary from subject to subject; homework tasks may include:

• Written tasks – exercises, essays, poems, notes, practice questions.
• Reading – e.g. non-fiction or fiction texts to prepare for the next lesson.
• Flipped learning – preparation for the following lesson – researching information, making notes, preparing for a presentation, and gathering resources such as ingredients.
• Learning or practising skills – spellings, vocabulary, formulae.
• Revision – for class tests or assessments.
• Completing assignments or projects.
• Watching a television programme or video clips – making notes on these.
• Listening to music, a podcast, an audiobook, a foreign language being spoken.
• Recording an interview with a friend, relative or fellow student.
• Drawing tasks or design work.
• Online learning such as Sparx (for English, maths and science) and Seneca.

Students should expect to receive homework from each subject other than core practical subjects.  Practical subjects will not set formal homework tasks for students; instead, students are to be encouraged to participate in extra-curricular clubs for subjects such as PE, Drama and Music.

We anticipate students to spend the following amount of time on homework tasks each day:

• Year 7: 30 - 60 minutes
• Year 8 : 45 - 60 minutes
• Year 9: 60 minutes
• Year 10: 70 minutes
• Year 11: 70 minutes

Please note for exam year groups (Years 10 and 11) this does not include preparation or revision time leading up to any examinations.

The following tables are indications of how often homework will be set for each subject area:

Key Stage 3

Subject	Homework set per fortnight
English	2
Maths	2
Science	2
History	1
Geography	1
RE	1
Music	1
DT / Food	1
Spanish (where studied)	1
Mandarin	1
Art	1 per half term

Key Stage 4

Subject	Homework set per fortnight
English	2
Maths	2
Science	2
Options subjects	1

Reading

In addition to homework tasks set by class teachers, it is recommended that students across all year groups complete at least 20 minutes of reading for pleasure every day.  Reading for pleasure means any reading that is primarily for enjoyment.  It includes both fiction and non-fiction texts and can be printed or accessed via electronic media.  Like anything else, reading is a skill that becomes better with practice.  It increases the sense of achievement, confidence, self-esteem and widens horizons.  It exposes learners to a richer variety of vocabulary and makes them more articulate and better able to access curriculum content across the school. Children who read for pleasure do significantly better at school.  Children who read for pleasure make more progress in mathematics, vocabulary and spelling, as well as reading (Institute of Education, University of London 2013).

 

 

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