At Fearnhill, we value the role that homework plays in encouraging student independence and knowledge consolidation. Homework tasks give students the opportunity to check they understand their learning in class and practise new skills.
Last year, we launched the new Homework Club and this has been a huge success. Thanks to Mrs Cottenden, who runs the club, we have seen increased numbers of students using this as a support for completing homework and as a result, an improvement in the amount of homework completed by students across the school. Homework club continues to run every day from 3-4pm and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday lunch times.
At Fearnhill, we are keen to ensure that students are supported to complete their homework without stress or difficulty and with this in mind, KS3 students will be set compulsory homework tasks for English, Maths and Science only. Any homework tasks set by teachers of other subjects is not compulsory but will offer students the opportunity to further challenge and expand their learning.
The evidence on home learning is clear: short focused tasks that revise content taught in class are the most helpful to students’ learning, and at Fearnhill, we are keen to support students’ independence skills whilst ensuring that each task they are set is going to make a real difference to their progress. This is why we have invested in three online homework packages that have been launched successfully at lots of schools across the country. The tasks set for KS3 students are centred on essential skills and knowledge needed to support the curriculum but also in preparation for KS4. Each homework task is set for 30 minutes; whilst this is a reduction in the compulsory homework, we do expect all students to complete each task every week.
For students who are keen to expand their learning and challenge themselves, there are opportunities to engage with the Fearnhill Super Curriculum. The tasks on the Super Curriculum are both fun and informative and designed to support students who would like to explore a particular subject in more detail. All tasks are linked to our reward system and students are encouraged to log their completed Super Curriculum tasks on their Fearnhill Student Portfolio during form time. The Fearnhill Super Curriculum is led by Miss Cotter and can be found here: https://fearnhill.herts.sch.uk/learning/fearnhill-flyers/
We believe that we have a homework system that provides the necessary ingredients for our students to build those all important independence skills, learn key knowledge and practise essential reading and maths skills. It is, therefore, essential that all homework is completed and we ask for your support with this.
If a student fails to complete their homework, their teacher will refer them to a compulsory after-school homework club session where they will have support to complete the task. If a student fails to attend their homework club session, they will be set an hour detention where they will need to complete the missed homework task. Failure to attend a homework detention will result in a referral to the Supported Study Room during lesson time to complete any missed tasks – the message being that all homework is important and cannot be missed. There is, however, a lot of support in school and we encourage all of our students to use this support to avoid being sanctioned.
If you would like to know a little more about the English, Maths and Science homework, you can read a brief explanation of how the online platforms work, the type of tasks that are set and how students are given feedback here: KS3 homework information.
If you have any questions about the homework that has been set, you can email Mrs Cottenden at homework@fearnhill.herts.sch.uk. Equally, students can find Mrs Cottenden if they need support with their homework or turn up at homework club.