Homework

Homework at Hillside

At Hillside we are determined to raise achievement and expectations among all our pupils. High quality teaching and learning is critical to pupil’s progress, and appropriately challenging and purposeful homework is a key support to the learning carried out in the classroom. Homework refers to any work or activities which pupils are asked or encouraged to do outside lesson time, either independently or with other adults or pupils. It is important in raising pupil achievement. Not all homework is done at home; in fact, for some pupils who find it hard to work at home, or for some tasks which may require resources (books, software, equipment) more readily available at school, it is necessary or desirable to carry out the task at school. Homework enhances pupil learning, improves achievement and develops pupils study skills and as such is an integral part of the curriculum.

Why is Home Learning so important?

Evidence from the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) shows that, on average, home learning adds five months' additional progress over five years of secondary school. Therefore, to ensure that our pupils make as much progress as possible, it is essential that the homework we set is well planned and purposeful. Learning is a long-term change in memory. When we learn a piece of information, we instantly begin to forget it. We know that over time, the amount of the original information we will retain will be significantly reduced, unless it is revisited often. Our Home learning strategy is designed to allow pupils to frequently revisit powerful knowledge in order to interrupt the forgetting process.

Here are some of the ways we look to do that:

• Read Cover Write Check (RCWC) - This is a paper-based task.
• Bedrock (English) - Online - Click Here
• Sparx (Maths) – Online - Click Here
• Seneca Learning – Online - Click Here
• Language Gym(Spanish) – Online - Click Here
• GCSE POD - Online - Click Here

Read, Cover, Write, Check homework

All read, cover, write, check (RCWC) homework is revision and should cover work previously studied in class. The content pupils learn for homework should never be new knowledge. Homeworks are planned such that the material is interleaved appropriately so that the pupils are interrupting the process of forgetting. This will then be tested through a variety of low stakes quizzing and retrieval-based tasks. By using this process, we are ensuring that pupils revisit knowledge and concepts at least three times over the year, which maximises their chances of our pupils retaining the information.

Homework will be set via online learning platforms and communicated to pupils and parents via Class Charts or for pupils to be directed to learn specific parts of their Journeys of Knowledge to “Read, Cover, Write, Check.” in preparation for weekly retrieval activities.

How to complete Read, Cover. Write, Check homework?

Read – Pupils read and study a section of their Journeys of Knowledge. Class teachers will tell pupils which section they should be studying each week;

Cover - Pupils cover up the section of the Journeys of Knowledge that they have been studying;

Write – Pupils write down what they can remember from the section of the Journeys of Knowledge they have been studying;

Check – Pupils check how much they can remember and write down anything they don’t in a different colour. The process is then repeated until the content can be recalled.

How do pupils access online Home Learning?

All links to online learning platforms can be accesses through a pupil's Class Charts account.

Bedrock - English

All pupils will receive two Bedrock Learning homework to complete each week. This is a programme designed to teach pupils a range of new vocabulary through a variety of non-fiction lessons and tasks. Through learning and acquiring new words, pupils will be able to unlock a wider range of texts. Not only will this help to improve their achievements in KS3 and at GCSE, but help them throughout life as they continue to grow.

Sparx - Maths

All pupils will receive two Sparx Maths homework to complete each week which must be completed by the deadline given to them each week.

Sparx assignments are generated using intelligent algorithm which will match the content to the Mathematical abilities of each pupil individually, with some challenge to allow them to progress. Pupils must carefully record their workings out in their Sparx books.

Seneca Learning

Pupils will be assigned online homework through a website called 'SenecaLearning.com'. Assignments are set by a range of subjects which are designed to prepare pupils for learning in the near future, or reinforce learning which has taken place recently.

Parents are encouraged to create their own Seneca account in order to monitor the completion of work and provide encouragement to their child. Seneca will automatically sync parent email accounts with their children's Seneca account upon registration.

Language Gym - Spanish

This is an interactive website with Spanish content, which enables pupils to practise their language manipulation and comprehension skills. Content comes at all levels from novice to advanced. In the Games Room there are four types of activity called Verb Trainer, Workouts, Boxing Game and Rock Climbing.

GCSE POD

GCSE POD is an online revision software that we use at KS4. For English, maths and science, pupils should be set a minimum of three pods per week. All other subjects should set two pods per week. GCSE POD is proven to help pupils achieve one grade higher on average than non-users, across 30+ GCSE subjects and all exam boards. Providing the highest-quality content and assessment, to help pupils achieve more.

Homework Timetables

Our homework timetable can be accessed through Class Charts by clicking here.