ACADEMIC

Homework at Hayesfield

Homework is an important part of your learning journey, helping to reinforce concepts taught in class and develop independent study skills. The amount and type of homework will vary depending on your year group.

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Homework Frequency and Length

	Lower School (Year 7-9)	Upper School (Year 10-11)	Sixth Form
Frequency	Core subjects (Maths, English and Science) should set homework at least once per week. Humanities, Languages, Music and DT should set homework once per fortnight. Art should set 1 homework per short term. PE, Dance and Drama are not required to set homework. During Term 1 of Year 7, homework will only be set by the core subjects. No homework is set for PSHCE or Year 7 Masterclass.	All GCSE subjects should set homework at least once per week, fitting within the length outlined below. Some practical based subjects require specialist school resources or work as a group. Students are expected, in these courses, to make use of school facilities during and after the school day. In the two week cycle before mock/end of year assessments and examination periods, regular homework is suspended to meet revision requirements outlined below, unless there is a specific coursework deadline.	The homework timetable depends on individual curriculums. However, where there are dual teachers for a subject there should be one homework set per member of staff weekly, fitting within the lengths outlined below. Some practical based subjects require specialist school resources or work as a group. Students are expected, in these courses, to make use of school facilities during and after the school day.
Length	Intended length of homework per subject should normally be no more than 30 mins per week in Year 7-9. If a homework set is more extended in length, the deadline should be proportionate to the length of time outlined. For example, a project with a 4 week deadline should take no more than 2 hours to complete.	Intended length of homework per subject should be no more than one hour per week. Subjects may have an extended task (or coursework). If a homework set is more extended in length, the deadline should be proportionate to the length of time outlined. For example, a project with a 4 week deadline should take no more than 4 hours to complete. During mock/end of year assessments and examination periods, homework should be focussed on revision, with two hours per subject per week, directed by teachers.	Intended length of homework per subject is four hours per week, divided amongst dual teachers as appropriate. Subjects may have an extended task (or coursework) which replaces the usual homework timetable for that subject. In addition, students are expected to read and research widely around their subjects.

Lower School (Year 7-9)

Upper School (Year 10-11)

Sixth Form

Frequency

Core subjects (Maths, English and Science) should set homework at least once per week.

Humanities, Languages, Music and DT should set homework once per fortnight.

Art should set 1 homework per short term. PE, Dance and Drama are not required to set homework.

During Term 1 of Year 7, homework will only be set by the core subjects. No homework is set for PSHCE or Year 7 Masterclass.

All GCSE subjects should set homework at least once per week, fitting within the length outlined below.

Some practical based subjects require specialist school resources or work as a group. Students are expected, in these courses, to make use of school facilities during and after the school day.

In the two week cycle before mock/end of year assessments and examination periods, regular homework is suspended to meet revision requirements outlined below, unless there is a specific coursework deadline.

The homework timetable depends on individual curriculums. However, where there are dual teachers for a subject there should be one homework set per member of staff weekly, fitting within the lengths outlined below.

Some practical based subjects require specialist school resources or work as a group. Students are expected, in these courses, to make use of school facilities during and after the school day.

Length

Intended length of homework per subject should normally be no more than 30 mins per week in Year 7-9.

If a homework set is more extended in length, the deadline should be proportionate to the length of time outlined. For example, a project with a 4 week deadline should take no more than 2 hours to complete.

Intended length of homework per subject should be no more than one hour per week.

Subjects may have an extended task (or coursework). If a homework set is more extended in length, the deadline should be proportionate to the length of time outlined. For example, a project with a 4 week deadline should take no more than 4 hours to complete.

During mock/end of year assessments and examination periods, homework should be focussed on revision, with two hours per subject per week, directed by teachers.

Intended length of homework per subject is four hours per week, divided amongst dual teachers as appropriate.

Subjects may have an extended task (or coursework) which replaces the usual homework timetable for that subject.

In addition, students are expected to read and research widely around their subjects.

Homework Setting Procedures

In the lower and upper school the online portal, Arbor, is designed to give parents and carers up to date information about their child’s attendance, academic performance, homework and their latest report. All homework, in years 7-11 is set via Arbor, following explanation in the lesson. Year 7 students will also record their homework in their planners.

We ask staff to ensure that students are provided with the option to submit by Arbor, this enables students to mark homework as complete. This functionality is optional for students and parents, however it may be found useful to support tracking of work in the app.

In the Sixth Form, Google Classrooms are designed to give students access to lesson materials to enable them to catch up missed work in times of absence and provide curriculum materials and links necessary for their study. Homework will be set through google classroom assignments, all of which will be clearly labelled HOMEWORK prior to a title. Staff will not use Arbor to set homework post-16.

At all key stages, all homework should have clear guidance, providing the following format:

Title of Homework (see above note for post-16 entitling)
Estimated Length of Time
Learning Outcome
Instructions
Supporting Resources (through attached documents, links or direction to prior learning/knowledge organisers/Personalised Learning Checklists

Accessibility

Whilst not all homework is set to be completed online, or using online platforms, many high quality online resources are used which provide students with feedback on their learning. Guides for key resources are hyperlinked below:

Students who are unable to access technology to complete homework can request the loan of a chromebook to support their learning. Staff should also provide a paper copy of any worksheets or give the option to complete by hand rather than printing.

Feedback

A variety of feedback methods will be used by teachers to acknowledge homework and ensure that it has successfully supported the learning of students. Online platforms such as Seneca provide instant online feedback which staff will monitor. Note taking to support learning outside of the classroom, sometimes referred to as Flipped Learning, will be reviewed as part of a lesson, assessing understanding and correcting misconceptions. Extended writing, skills practise and creative tasks should be fed back through teacher red pen marking, green pen peer assessment or purple pen self-assessment. At Sixth form, this may also be done through google classroom marking rubrics.

Support, Stretch and Challenge

We expect all our students to be able to advance their learning through homework and steps are put in place to support the needs of all students. All homework should have resources that students may use to help them, such as writing frames and sentence starters for extended writing and direction to revision/support materials. There should also be extension work for students to access. Where there are very specific learning needs, teachers will consult a student’s Student Information Sheet when setting homework and ensure that the nature of the homework is adapted accordingly. Students who require assistance in writing their homework into their planner will be helped by their teacher to do this, or be provided with a pre-printed sticker or note.

All students can attend our after-school daily Homework Club, which is held in BIT1/2 at BH or U6 at UOP, and is run by members of our Learning Support team. Students who live in Southside/Whiteway/Twerton can also attend the Bath City Farm space, more information can be found in the LEAP extra-curricular booklet.

Incentives and Sanction

High quality homework and effort will be sensitively praised in class. House points will be awarded for homework that clearly shows high effort and/or progress. Any student who does not complete homework to a reasonable effort should re-do it. Students will be given one opportunity to submit late homework, after which they will receive a HG2 Faculty detention.

Additional Support

All students can attend our after-school daily Homework Club, which is held in BIT1/2 at BH or U6 at UOP, and is run by members of our Learning Support team. Students who live in Southside/Whiteway/Twerton can also attend our Bath City Farm space, more information can be found in the LEAP extra-curricular booklet.

There are a number of online platforms that are used frequently by subjects. Please see the table below with links to guidance and contact information for staff who oversee their use.

Platform	Guidance	Staff Contact
Bedrock	Guidance	Mrs Trew
Sparx Maths	Guidance	Mrs Lilley (Y7-8), Mrs Stephens (Y9-11)
Seneca	Guidance	Mr Somerton