Homework

Homework is defined as ‘any work or activities which students are asked to do outside lesson time’. Students should be set appropriate homework for their age that is relevant and has a clear purpose. At Harlington Upper School, applicable homework is set to:

• Reinforce and consolidate knowledge gained during the school day.
• Support revision or the practice of skills.
• Prepare for examination, controlled assessment, or internal tests.
• Extend and challenge knowledge, understanding and skills taught in class.
• Foster independent learning and resilience.

Homework Timetable: Year 9

Students should aim to complete homework on the days allocated to support their workload. This is a ‘doing’ timetable; work will be available for subjects on days allocated.

Things to note:

• Languages is spread more evenly across the cycle as will comprise shorter vocabulary tasks on Memrise
• Tasks set should take around 30-45 minutes to provide preparation for effective Key Stage 4 study behaviours, though a stepped approach should be taken at the start of the year.

Year 9 Regular Reads

As part of homework provision and to promote literacy skills, subjects also set homework based on high quality texts including tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary to support their academic reading skills.

Homework Timetable: Years 10/11

Things to note:

• Languages tasks may be shorter to allow more frequent vocabulary tasks on Memrise.
• Tasks set should take around 45 minutes to 1 hour, though this will vary at different times with different tasks.

Homework at Key Stage 5

At KS5 there is no formal timetable as students only follow a limited number of subjects.

Students will be set explicit homework tasks at appropriate points. In addition, students are directed to engage in significant private, independent study to consolidate work done in lessons, with students signposted to appropriate work after each lesson. This should be done in a stepped manner, to enable students to develop their workload management and study skills.

It is therefore expected that at Key Stage 5, students will receive between 4 and 9 explicit homework tasks set per fortnight per subject.

Super Curriculum

In addition to the regular homework set for students, all students have access to the Super Curriculum in a full range of subjects.

In Year 9, students are expected to engage with Super Curricular tasks in their subjects across each term year. These tasks are made available to all students via Google Classroom.

In Key Stage 4 and 5, students can access the Super Curriculum in all their subjects through the dedicated Google Classroom. Students who are identified as More Able, Gifted and/or Talented (MAGT) are identified by teachers and supported by the MAGT lead to develop their abilities in their designated subjects.

Super Curriculum tasks are to be made available by class teachers to their groups; engagement with Super Curriculum tasks is compulsory for students in the MAGT cohort in order for them to benefit from mentoring and further extension and enrichment opportunities.