Homework

Why does your child get homework?

Homework is a valuable boost and supplement to your child’s learning in school.  We set homework for a number of reasons:

• To develop their independent learning skills e.g. thinking and researching
• To prepare them for the kind of work they will do higher up the school and later in their life
• To prepare them for lessons and tests that are coming up
• To help fix what they have learned in lessons in their mind

Homework must be completed on time or a detention will be given.

What kinds of tasks will they be given?

 Homework at Copleston is based on three strands

• Recall and Organise – This involves learning and retrieving information to embed it into long term memory
• Practise – This is where students practise subject specific skills and techniques.
• Extend – This is where we can push students to stretch and challenge themselves, beyond the lesson content

These strands can be delivered in a large number of ways, including:

• Multiple choice quizzes
• Spelling tests
• Research tasks
• Revision for assessments
• Extension tasks that deepen learning from the lesson
• Writing assignments/drafting
• Reading
• Exam style questions

We try to set a variety of different types and styles of task because students learn in a variety of different ways, and they find variety more interesting and motivating. 

If a set home learning task requires the use of ICT to complete, and you do not have access to a computer at home, your child can use the school’s ICT facilities at lunch time or after school.

How much homework will my child get, and how often?

Because teachers need to respond to the learning going on in the classroom, it is quite hard to say how much homework will be set, but the amount of homework set does also depend upon your age.

• In years 7 -9, you should expect your child to spend around 30 minutes on each homework task.  Home learning will be set every three to four lessons of subject time.
• In years 10 and 11 your child should expect home learning tasks to last up to 45 minutes every week in each subject.  Some subjects, e.g. Art, might well be more time consuming than that!
• In years 12 and 13 students should expect home learning tasks of at least three hours per subject per week, but are also expected to supplement work in lessons and for home learning with self-directed study (e.g. background research and reading around the subject).  This work may be done at home or during non-contact lessons. 

How is homework set?

Everyone at Copleston, as well as parents, will have access to an online home learning portal called Satchel One and the Satchel One app.  This can be accessed via a dedicated app that can be downloaded onto phones, or on any internet enabled device via the Satchel One website.  Teachers will be setting homework as normal, but will now be entering it onto Satchel, and your child will then be able to access it easily at any time. 

Clear instructions will be given by the teacher including:

• Details of the task (on a separate assignment sheet if appropriate)
• Date it is due in.  We do not generally set homework for the next lesson unless this allows a reasonable timescale for completion of the work.
• Guide time (how long the task is expected to take)
• Success criteria
• Any materials needed to complete the task, or where they can be found.

If your child is unsure about a homework task that has been set, make sure they ask the teacher for help!
Students should check Satchel when they get home every day and keep to deadlines.  They should not leave home learning to the last minute.  This rarely results in high quality work!

How can parents help at home?

As parents we ask you to check homework regularly via Satchel and to encourage your child to complete homework tasks. Parents can have their own satchel account that allows them to keep track of all their children’s homework, and notifications can be personalised to make sure you get the information you need.

Ideally, progress will be monitored by both teachers and parents so that an open dialogue can take place about your child’s progress. Please keep a close eye on Satchel and get in touch if you have any concerns.

Logging a child into Satchel One - a helpful guide

/i/video/Logging_a_child_into_Satchel_One.mp4

/docs/Homework/Satchel_Login_Instructions.pdf

Using a PowerPoint from Satchel without having the application on your computer