‘Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.’ Proverb 19:20 

We understand parents have different views regarding learning at home so we have strived to ensure home learning is manageable, meaningful and supportive. Home learning is flexible to ensure different views can be accommodated however, for those that want to engage with home learning tasks the following guidance will help you to understand how and why homework works the way it does here at The John Wesley CEMP School.

We want home learning to consolidate, reinforce and extend skills and understanding, particularly in English and Mathematics. We want to provide opportunities for parents and children to work together and to allow parents to gain an understanding of what children are learning in school. It will also allow children to progress towards becoming more independent learners.

At The John Wesley CEM Primary School, we are very keen for parents to support and help their children with home learning. We take the view that children are likely to get more out of an activity if parents get involved as long as they do not take over too much. However, there are times when we will want to see what children can do on their own. It is particularly important, as they get older, for children to become increasingly independent in their learning. If you are unsure about what your role should be, please discuss it with your child's teacher.

Reading:

We expect all pupils from EYFS to Year 6 to read daily for 15 to 20 minutes to an adult. We would expect parents to record reading in the child’s reading record, which should be brought to school daily, as directed by the class teacher. We would recommend that the person who reads with the child asks questions before and after the reading to ensure the child understands what they are reading. You could recap/summarise the story so far, talk about different characters and word choice and compare the story to other stories.

Home Learning in Early Years:

All children in EYFS will be provided with a ‘Golden Moment’ book. These books will be keep in children’s book bags. This is an opportunity for parents/carers to contribute to their child’s development, promoting quality talk and out of school learning experiences.

Termly Independent Learning Project for Year 1 to Year 6:

All children in Year 1 - 6 will be provided with a Home Learning Project each term which will be linked to their curriculum topic. Class teachers will outline the skills which should be demonstrated in each project. The children will have at least 6 weeks to work on this project and to produce good quality work.  Teachers will give feedback on them. Children will be given the opportunity to reflect upon their learning and will use the teacher’s feedback to develop their learning in their next project.

Presentation Week will be the first week of every term and then the new Home Learning Project will be sent out on the Monday of the second week of each term.

Spelling:

Class teachers in Years 1 - 6 will provide children with termly spelling lists to be practised at home. These spellings will be linked to the curriculum spelling requirements for each year group and key topic words relating to the curriculum.  Children must practise reading, spelling and using these words.

Maths:

Counting and Number bonds: We expect all children in EYFS to practise counting from 1 to at least 20 and to practise recognising and writing these numbers. We expect all children in Year 1 to practise their number bonds for ten minutes every day. This can include using objects or counters, pictures and number bond cards.

Times Tables: We expect all children in Years 2 to 6 to practise their times tables for ten minutes every day. This can include chanting, singing, copying out and practising on online games and apps (Search for: BBC Times Table Grid Game or Hit The Button).  The children also have access to Times Tables Rockstar.

If you have any questions after reading the tasks and information, please contact your child’s class teacher directly. It is our understanding that this way of completing home learning provides everyone involved with a better, more manageable experience. We hope that the home learning policy will have a positive impact on our children, parents and school. Most importantly, the children have fun!