Children will be expected to carry out daily reading and other tasks. Reading refers to more than the decoding of the text, it includes: talking about the pictures, characters, setting and plot etc. to develop understanding of concrete and inferred meaning.

Government guidelines advise that these may take the following lengths of time, though we would consider them suggestions as there is a need to be flexible in order to take into account children's needs, abilities and circumstances.

Should parents feel their child needs more than they are given, they could be directed to additional reading and the various publications and CD ROMs commercially available for curriculum support. 

Other tasks may include:

For Key Stage 2 

Learning words

Letter/Number recognition and formation

Puzzles              

Cut and stick activities

Counting activities

Number bonds

Subject related research

For Key Stages 3/4

Spelling activities

Learning Mathematical processes

Puzzles

Extension work - all subject areas

Subject related research

This list is not exhaustive, there may be many other activities children will be asked to do, it is simply a guide.

It may be, especially with older children, that work will not be set daily but will be intended to take a number of days.

Tasks set will have a completion date clearly indicated.

Parents who have any concerns regarding their child's homework need to be made aware that they should, in the first instance, contact the class teacher.

Completion of Homework

Children will be expected to complete homework on time. However, there will be those who do not, for a variety of reasons. Here we rely on the support of parents to ensure their children attempt the set homework regularly, referring to the recommended time expectations.

We do not believe it is beneficial to engage in fruitless disciplinary measures with children who repeatedly do not do homework, however it is at the teacher's discretion as to whether spending time with pupils during break times would be beneficial or not.

We encourage homework through positive reinforcement; praising and rewarding good work produced on time. Records of children who regularly fail to complete homework will be kept to inform parents.

Final Statement

At Applebee Wood Community Specialist School we appreciate the importance of family centred activities, and homework should not necessarily be seen as more important than these. It is important to try to reach a balance between the time spent on homework and that spent on other valuable family and social commitments. This balance is not always easy to achieve and families are the best judges of where that balance should be struck. If any problems have arisen or children have done particularly well, written comments by parents are valued by staff to plan the next steps forward.