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Beaconsfield Primary School

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Home Learning

Educational research and longitudinal studies have shown that ‘homework’ has little impact for pupils in primary school, unless it requires them to rehearse and practice skills which they have already been taught at school. Furthermore, the regular school day demands high levels of work and engagement upon pupils and there is a need for them to enjoy their childhood and have a break from formal learning when at home.

Our ‘Home Learning’ expectations are based upon this research and therefore we will only be encouraging pupils to practice key skills that need consolidating within their age group. What has the most potential impact is talking to others, sharing ideas and explaining concepts. These activities cannot be shown or demonstrated through completion of worksheets. We are also mindful that family life is busy and there are many competing demands on family time outside of school hours.

Principles:

The principles which underpin our home learning approach are:

  • An understanding that learning can and does continue beyond the school.
  • Home learning is an opportunity for families to become active partners in supporting their child’s learning
  • Opportunities to repeat, explain, share and explain concepts and skills helps these to ‘stick’
  • Reading regularly and widely should be the most important part of home learning
  • Basic maths skills, such as number bonds/ times tables should be regularly practiced
  • Spelling patterns (including phonics sounds) and key words should be regularly practiced
  • Wider activities such as parks/ museums/ outings/ libraries are valuable parts of home learning

Expectations for Home Learning in EYFS (Nursery and Reception)

  1. Reading: Children should aim to read for 15 minutes daily for at least 5 days a week. They can read either a ‘Ready Steady Read’ book (read to them by an adult and talking about the pictures/what is happening) or a decodable text which they can read for themselves.
  2. a) Ready Steady Read Books (Nursery and Reception): These books are chosen to develop pupils’ love of reading and are closely matched to the wider curriculum. Children should talk about their thoughts and opinions of the book with an adult and then the adult should write down what the child has said. Children are awarded certificates once they have read 10, 20, 30 or 40 books.
  3. b) ‘Decodable’ Books (Reception only): These books are carefully matched to a child’s phonic-stage so that they can practise the sounds they know and build fluency. ‘Decodable’ books that are taken home by EYFS pupils will be recorded in a Home Reading Record. This provides a record of books that have been read and has space for parents/carers to comment on their child’s reading should they wish to. Your child’s Home Reading Record will also contain comments by adults that the children have read to at school.
  4. Weekly phonics/spelling activities: Your child will be receiving a ‘Phonics Pack’ in which new sounds and ‘tricky word’ cards will be added as they are learnt. These cards should be used to practise reading letter sounds, decoding simple words (by blending letter sounds together) and spelling simple words (by segmenting/splitting up words into their separate sounds). Full instructions on how to use the cards are inside the packs.
  5. Oracy Home Learning Task: Children will be provided with a weekly Oracy Home Learning task every Friday which they should aim to complete with family and friends over the weekend. There is no requirement for pupils to record their answers however they will be expected to participate in a class discussion about the task they have completed every Monday morning. This task will be sent online to parents every Friday.
  6. Practical Learning: At the beginning of each half term, parents/carers will be sent a link to a ‘Knowledge Web’ that contains information on what the children will be learning. The ‘Knowledge Web’ will also suggest ideas for practical activities that can be carried out at home to consolidate what has been learnt in class (E. g. Looking for numerals in the environment for Maths or practising doing up buttons for ‘Health and Self-Care’).

 

Expectations for Home Learning in KS1 and KS2

  1. Reading: Children should aim to read for 20 minutes daily for at least 5 days a week. They can read either a ‘Ready Steady Read’ book (which may be read to them by an adult depending on the age/ability of the child) or a decodable text which they can read for themselves.
  2. a) Ready Steady Read Books: These books are chosen to develop pupils’ love of reading and are closely matched to the wider curriculum. Children should complete a short ‘book review’ after reading each book as evidence. Parents/carers may help children to write this review depending on the age/ability of the child. Children are awarded certificates once they have read 10, 20, 30 or 40 books.
  3. b) ‘Decodable’ Book: In KS1 these books are carefully matched to a child’s phonic-stage so that they can practise the sounds they know and build fluency. In KS2 these books are matched to the child’s reading stage so that they can build reading fluency and practise core comprehension skills. ‘Decodable’ books that are taken home by KS1 and Year 3 pupils will be recorded in a Home Reading Record. This provides a record of books that have been read and has space for parents/carers to comment on their child’s reading should they wish to.
  4. c) Bedrock and First News online learning platforms: Children in KS2 will be given access to these online learning platforms to provide additional reading opportunities. Bedrock has been specifically designed to broaden pupils’ knowledge and understanding of a wide range of vocabulary which has been shown to have a significant impact on academic success. Children are expected to access Bedrock at least once a week at home. First News is an independent weekly newspaper written specifically for children. In addition to developing their reading skills, it will help children to learn about a wide range of other topics and develop their knowledge of important national and global events.

To further support our pupils in developing a love of books, our well-stocked school library is open every morning from 8:30am to 8:50am for pupils to visit with a parent/carer. During this time they can spend time reading together and borrow up to two books at a time which they can take to enjoy reading at home. There are also some PCs available for pupils to use to complete online home learning activities if they wish to do so.

  1. Weekly phonics/spellings activities: Children will be provided with a list of word to learn every Monday. During the course of the week children should learn these words by applying the ‘Look, Say, Write, Cover, Check’ approach in their spelling books. They will be tested on them in class on a Friday. Please note this will start from Autumn 2 in Year 1 (after the October half term).
  2. Oracy Home Learning Task: Children will be provided with a weekly Oracy Home Learning task every Friday which they should aim to complete with family and friends over the weekend. There is no requirement for pupils to record their answers however they will be expected to participate in a class discussion about the task they have completed every Monday morning. This task will be sent online to parents every Friday.
  3. Maths: We provide children with access to a variety of online learning platforms which allow them to practice and consolidate their maths skills. These include: Emile Maths, Busy Things and Purple Mash. Children should aim to access these resources at least once a week. Pupils in Year 4 who are preparing for the national Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) will also be provided with weekly times table homework.

Year 6:

Our oldest pupils in Year 6 who are preparing for national tests (revising learning and skills from Y3 to Y6) along with getting ready for high school will have a different look to their home learning expectations. Year 6 staff will outline expectations and procedures at the initial meeting in early September. We also use revision guide books (provided by the school) to support the revision of key skills and topics across the time in Year 6.

Expectations for Home Learning in the ARP

 

As a school, we maintain high expectations for all children within the Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP). In line with the rest of the school, we expect children to read regularly or be read to by an adult. This can include looking at picture books and going over key vocabulary. Parent and carers may be asked to carry out activities or implement strategies at home which have been identified by school staff or outside agencies as beneficial in helping the child to meet particular targets. Children’s Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy programmes will include recommended activities for parents to carry out at home and should be followed as part of the child’s home learning. If a child accesses integration, the child may be asked to complete the same home learning activities as their peers in the mainstream class as appropriate. Parents can request additional support from class teachers, the SENCo (Ms Tanya Lefort) and/or therapists.

Mainstream pupils with additional needs:

Pupils with additional needs will need to have regular exposure to vocabulary through reading. Please where possible sit and read with your child. If your child is pre-verbal they can still be read to regularly by an adult. For pupils with speech and language targets, you can work on these with your child at home. These are shared with parents via email. If your child is able to access within the range of age-related learning then please refer to their key stage in this document.

Difficulties with home learning:

Families are encouraged to speak to class teachers where pupils are unable to complete home learning activities for any reason, including difficulties with accessing online activities due to a lack of electronic devices. Families are busy places with competing time constraints outside of the school day due to adult work patterns, clubs and other activities and managing multiple children if in larger families so please do inform staff if there are difficulties and try to always prioritise ‘reading activities’.

Home learning activities are primarily for completion at home, but staff will offer support and guidance to try and identify why some pupils may be reluctant to engage in home learning activities. School also runs a regular series of coffee mornings across the school year with many topics covering aspects of supporting reading, maths and IT skills at home along with positive home routines.