At Durrington we want the very best in terms of education for all our students so that when they leave school they have the widest range of possibilities open to them. As an evidence informed school we do not leave the success of our students/your children to chance and therefore explore all avenues to promote their progress – one of these is setting high quality homework and having high expectations of students in regards to completing this.
Why do we set homework?
Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation when reviewing a huge body of research into the impact of homework has shown that at secondary school high quality homework setting and completion can lead to up to 5 months of additional student progress. In addition to this homework:
- Provides students with an opportunity to practice what they have learned
- Provides students with an opportunity to develop study skills and build resilience that will benefit them when sitting formal exams and further into the future
- Provides teachers with further opportunities to check student understanding and the extent to which they have retained knowledge.
Where can students/parents see the homework that has been set?
All homework at Durrington is set via Arbor. Students can see any “Assignments” they have due through their log in portal. Parents can also see what “Assignments” their child has been set via the parent portal.
Link to Arbor: https://login.arbor.sc/
Should you experience an issue logging into Arbor, please contact the DMAT IT Services team on support@itservices.dmat.education for further guidance.
Some subject areas will use other learning platforms for their homework such as Sparxs Maths and Educake in Science. If this is the case the homework will still be set on Arbor with a link to the necessary website or platform that students will need to use to complete their homework.
When or how often will homework be set?
The evidence basis behind homework setting suggest that the amount of homework set is not directly linked to positive outcomes. The benefits of homework are dependent on the quality of homework set, feedback students receive on this and the quality of homework completion by students.
Year 7 and 8:
- Students will receive homework in core subjects (Mathematic, English and Science) once per fortnight (equating to approximately to 45 minutes of work per piece)
- To support students in developing strong study routines core homework will be set on a fortnightly timetable as outlined below:
| Week A | Tuesday Week A | Wednesday Week A | Thursday Week A | Friday Week A |
| Maths Year 8 Set and Due | Science Year 7 Set and Due | English Year 8 Due | English year 7 set and due | |
| Monday Week B | Tuesday Week B | Wednesday Week B | Thursday Week B | Friday Week B |
Maths Year 7 set and due
|
Science Year 8 set and due English Year 7 due |
Year 8 Set and due |
- Other subjects (not including Drama and PE) will set homework twice per half term.
Year 9:
- Students will receive homework in core subjects (Mathematic, English and Science) once per fortnight (equating to approximately to 45 minutes of work per piece)
- To support students in developing strong study routines core homework will be set on a fortnightly timetable as outlined below:
| Week A | Tuesday Week A | Wednesday Week A | Thursday Week A | Friday Week A |
| Science Year 9 set and due | Maths Year 9 Set and Due | English 9 Set and Due | ||
| Monday Week B | Tuesday Week B | Wednesday Week B | Thursday Week B | Friday Week B |
- Other subjects (not including Drama and PE) will set homework three times per half term.
Key Stage 4 (Year 10 and 11)
- All examined subjects will set homework once per week.
How can you support your child with their homework?
Parental/carer engagement with homework has been proven to positively impact student homework completion, and therefore benefit their outcomes and avoid sanctions. Please note that if a student fails to complete a piece of homework on time or to an acceptable standard without valid reason they will be set a detention at the discretion of their class teacher.
You can support your child in completing their homework by:
- Providing them with a calm work space
- Helping them establish routine/set time after school for completing homework
- Checking with your child after each school day what homework they have been set
- Asking your child questions about their homework such as “How did you work out question 1?” etc
- Ensuring your child has a folder or other resource in which to store completed homework documents so that they do not lose these prior to handing them in.
What to do if your child is “stuck” with their homework?
If your child becomes “stuck” when completing their homework it is important that they persevere with the task. However if they are still stuck there are several options available to them, that you as parents/carers can support them with:
- Encourage your child to speak to their class teacher prior to the due date of the homework
- Visit websites such as BBC Bitesize and Oak Academy which will have a range of instructional videos on a range of topics that students can access.
