Homework

Homework

Homework is an important part of College life at All Saints Catholic College and all pupils are expected to do it regularly.

Our Mission Statement emphasises our aim to ensure that all pupils fulfil their ambitions and exceed their expectations. The provision of regular, rich, relevant homework tasks, appropriate to their needs and to the demands of the curriculum is considered to be an essential part of the entitlement of all our pupils. The prime purposes of homework must be to enhance the learning opportunities for each pupil, to support their academic progress, to enrich the teaching and learning process, and to foster the development of personal and individual study skills.

• All homework is now set on Satchel One and Class Charts, this enables parents, teachers and pupils to monitor and track homework assignments on an easy to use online system.
• Pupils and parents will be given individual login information and guidance in September.

If problems arise then we would ask you to contact your child’s Form Tutor or Progress Leader (Head of Year) through the school office or on School Comms.

eLarning

The College subscribes to a number of eLearning websites to support our pupils. Sometimes homework is set requiring pupils to use these online sites.

If it is not possible for pupils to use them at home, we can make arrangements for access to ICT suites in College outside task hours so no-one is at a disadvantage.

Learning basic facts (20 questions and answers)

At the start of each topic pupils have access to the basic knowledge they need to know for each subject. This knowledge is presented as 20 questions and answers on their ClassCharts. Homework will be set for pupils to spend time learning this knowledge at home. It is important for pupils to learn this basic knowledge by looking and reading, saying the answers, covering and writing out the answers from their head before checking they are correct.

Parents can help pupils by reading out the questions for them to say the answers out loud before they are ready to write them out from their head. Pupils will be asked these questions in the retrieval tasks at the start of every lesson and in their assessments to help make basic knowledge stick.

By knowing this basic knowledge off by heart, pupils will increase their understanding when their teacher shows them how to use this knowledge in more complex questions. Learning these facts also helps pupils to grow in confidence and reduces the stress of assessments.

The importance of reading

Reading regularly is fundamental to the development of pupils at All Saints Catholic College. When pupils read, their interconnected network of knowledge in their brain grows with more words, images and knowledge that new knowledge can connect to, making learning easier over time.

This is why it is important for pupils to regularly read a variety of texts from magazines to fiction and non-fiction books. The school librarian will suggest new books which will stretch and challenge pupils. Parents can help by talking about what pupils are reading and encouraging them to read a little every day.