Home Learning Policy

Policy details

• Date created - 2025/26
• Policy owner - R.Fox

1. The importance of homework to support learning
2. Why should students receive homework?
3. Types of homework tasks
4. Homework setting practice
5. How to log homework completion

The importance of homework to support learning

Research has shown that the setting of homework for Secondary School students is a benefit to their learning. However, there is a wide variation in potential impact, suggesting that how homework is set is likely to be very important. There is some evidence that homework is most effective when used as a short and focused intervention (e.g. in the form of a project or specific target connected with a particular element of learning) with some studies showing a very strong positive impact on attainment.

Why should students receive homework?

• Research evidence shows that students make better progress by completing homework;
• Students develop the correct habits for study, including the Learner Profile characteristics;
• Teachers are able to set a wider range of tasks through setting homework and, therefore, have a greater range of evidence of the students’ progress and achievement;
• Teachers are able to devote more lesson time to collaborative study, practical work and discussion, if independent work can be completed outside the classroom;
• Students are able to prepare for future learning in the classroom;
• Students can be encouraged to enrich their classroom learning;
• Students and parents can share the learning experience in greater partnership.

Types of homework tasks

The list below is not an exhaustive list of tasks that could be set for homework, but rather an indication of the type of tasks that are appropriate. There is an expectation that students would receive a variety of tasks over time.

• Preparation for future learning (such as reading ahead and summarising or planning tasks for future tasks)
• Wider reading tasks for enrichment or consolidation
• Structured short-answer questions to consolidate learning in lessons
• Choice of tasks with varying levels of challenge
• Vocabulary or key-facts learning
• Extended project work – either completed as individuals or collaboratively
• Guided research with appropriate support at the start of the work, such as key websites or printed references
• Timed essays or extended pieces of writing
• Creative responses to the learning – such as pamphlets
• Online homework tasks
•  Revision
• Write-up of experiments or practical work
• Rehearsal

Current research suggests that the most effective homework tends to be preparation for future learning and completion of specific tasks with clear criteria for success.

Research also suggests that it is effective to give students some autonomy with the task, such as giving them choices or license to be creative.

Many students at our school are involved in many extra-curricular activities and indeed this is encouraged. This means that students can struggle to find time to do both their activities and spend sufficient time on their homework which leads to extra stress, especially on the highly committed students. It is important that both parents and teachers encourage the students to seek support if they are finding it difficult to balance everything. It is important to note that there is no expectation that homework will be set every lesson; if there is nothing appropriate to set at that time, then the teacher is not required to set work. However, a creative teacher should be using the full range of homework tasks and, therefore, it would be rare for them to not set homework for a number of lessons.

Homework setting practice

Regularity

The tables below set out a guide for the homework time per week in each year group. This is a guide for subject staff, although it is clearly difficult to judge how long it will take every member of the class to complete the work; teachers should inform their students how long they believe the task should take and encourage their students to give feedback to them at the end of the task. This is also a guide to students and parents; if the task is taking significantly longer than the allotted time then they should give feedback to the teacher. Parents should write a note in the student’s planner if they have decided that the task is taking too long and cannot be completed by the deadline. If the teacher knows that a task will take longer than their allocated time, then they should make this clear to the students and inform them that the homework will count for the appropriate number of weeks. The students should write this in the appropriate dates in their planners as evidence and as a reminder.

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10- GCSE

Year 11- GCSE

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

How to log homework completion

How to log homework.docx