Homework 

Our intent is for homework to embed, extend and enrich students' learning over time. It will play a central role in our students’ journey to independence.

Our approach is informed by research which shows that effective homework can lead to five months’ additional progress (even up to eight months in some cases). Studies found that the scores of students who received homework, compared to those who did not, were on average 62% higher. 

The Purpose of Homework

• To consolidate knowledge
• To practise and apply skills and techniques 
• To enrich the curriculum through depth, breadth or engagement
• To develop confidence in learning independently
• To support GCSE and A-Level NEA (non examined content i.e. coursework)

The most frequent homework task set will be the consolidation of knowledge, to support students’ review of the curriculum with Knowledge Organisers and PLCs (personal learning checklists). Twenty four examples of consolidation of learning homework tasks can be found here. Students can complete any of these tasks with their books/Knowledge Organisers, even when they have not been set by their teacher. They are effective because they interrupt the natural forgetting that happens to us all after we first learn something new. These tasks are divided into those which help us:

• Reflect on and reinforce learning very soon after the lesson
• Build strong memories by going over knowledge at a few spaced out times after the lesson
• Retrieve learning from memory at an increasingly long time after the lesson.

Much of this work will not be given feedback by teachers. The majority of homework will be assessed through low stakes tests of the knowledge and skills that students have revised, learned or practised. This will provide students with feedback on how effectively they are working. Where it is given feedback this might be verbal or whole-class feedback which students then act on to check and correct their work.

Students can expect to be given homework on a regular basis. Students at KS3 will be set homework less regularly than at KS4 and KS5 to reflect the timings below. Maths, English and Science will set more homework at KS3 than non-core subjects, with greater equity at KS4, to reflect curriculum time weighting. Homework will be recorded on the homework website.

We recommend students spend the following amounts of time on homework:

• Years 7 and 8 - 50 - 60 minutes a day. 
• Years 9, 10 and 11 - 1½ to 2 hours a day.  Nearer the former in Year 9, the latter in Year 11.
• ‘Independent Study Time’ for Years 12 and 13 - A minimum of 4 hours per subject per week in Year 12, rising to 5 hours per subject in Year 13. There is an expectation that some of this work will be completed in school time during study periods.

In some holidays in years 10, 11, 12 and 13 homework will be set to support students with preparing for examinations or NEA.

Revision and Review Strategies

At The Weald teachers use a framework which we call the 6Rs to inform how we teach. The 6Rs are a set of research informed teaching methods which are underpinned by what we know about how students learn.

 

If you have the My Child at School app, you will no doubt have seen lots of homework referring to KOs or Knowledge Organisers and perhaps also RED Review. RED Review is one of the 6Rs.

 

Key word	What it is
Knowledge Organiser	A summary sheet of the key content for a topic  They can include text and images.
RED Review	A set of techniques to know and remember more They are proven by learning scientists to be effective (compared to less effective techniques which students more commonly choose)
R = Retrieval Practice	This is when you practise remembering things without looking It takes many forms, but the most common is flashcards
E = Elaboration	This is when you put learning into your own words Explaining why or how something works Also explaining how things connect and compare
D = Dual Coding	This is when you combine words (written or spoken) with images  This can be symbols or diagrams which complement the text
PLC	A personal learning checklist - lists all the topics to be learnt and can be checked off once complete They often allow students to RAG (red, amber, green) rate each topic based on their familiarity with it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why do we use RED Review techniques?

We use them because they are proven to work! They work because:

• They are hard, but effective - having to think hard makes us build stronger memories

• Having to remember things more frequently helps us get knowledge out of our memories more quickly and easily

• Checking lots has a ‘testing effect’ which makes us more comfortable in tests. This boosts confidence and lowers stress in exams (as stress, annoyingly, blocks your memory!)

• Thinking about how knowledge works and is connected helps to store it securely in our memory

We all like to see the fruits of our labours and often students are keen to revise for their assessments and exams but just don't know where to start. In fact, research shows that students are most likely to choose strategies which are the least effective. For example, re-reading information, summarising and making notes or highlighting are all commonly chosen revision strategies. Whilst they can feel satisfying, as they help us feel familiar with the content, they don’t really make us think hard about it, from memory, without looking; which is what is needed to really make learning stick and stop the natural forgetting process. 

We call them review, rather than revision strategies because we don’t want our students to only revise once they get to the end of a course or prepare for an exam or assessment. We need students to review things little and often so they can store them securely in their long term memory where they can remember and use them. 

We know that many students say they are not sure how to revise, especially using our RED Review techniques. Therefore, this How2 Red Review Guide lays out five simple steps to success and strategies to use.

Each year group has two assessments each year, which will assess content from parts of the curriculum in that key stage (e.g. in Year 8 content from Year 7 and Year 8 will be assessed or Year 10 assessments will assess content from Year 9 as well). Preparing for these assessments will be the key to performance as they will need to review knowledge they initially encountered some time ago. Your child's Head of Year will send a pre-assessment letter at least four weeks prior to the assessment which will guide you on what to review for each subject. Your child's teachers will set them Red Review tasks, usually using Knowledge Organisers to prepare. 

Please speak to your child’s subject teachers about how to use them in each subject or the relevant Head of Year if you would like further guidance.