Home Study at Martin High School

Why Home Study?

Home study is an essential part of learning, offering students the chance to practice what they’ve learned in class and develop independent study skills and traits like perseverance.

Home study is posted on Beehive, with deadlines usually allowing one week for completion. Missing deadlines results in a C1, and if it’s still incomplete by the extended deadline, a C2 is issued.

How to support your child?

Creating a suitable study environment is key. Ensure your child has a quiet, well-lit, distraction-free space with all necessary supplies like paper, pencils, and a calculator. While some kids prefer to work in private, check in regularly to ensure they stay on task. If a computer is required, keep it in a common area to minimise distractions, and consider parental controls. Bookmark reliable websites recommended by teachers to streamline research.

Parents should play a supportive role by offering guidance, answering questions, and reviewing completed work without providing the correct answers or doing the assignments. Encourage problem-solving and planning ahead, especially when your child has a heavy workload. Regularly sit down to review assignments, adjust schedules if necessary, and reinforce that schoolwork is a priority. Teaching organisational skills, like using a calendar to track assignments, is also crucial.

If home study becomes overwhelming, particularly at KS4, be present to offer help when needed, and maintain communication with your child's teachers. This can provide insights into potential struggles and help identify solutions like tutoring. Encourage your child to reach out for extra help when needed, and don’t wait for problems to worsen before intervening. Also, help them develop good study habits by using strategies like flashcards or underlining key points when reading.

Home study can be a positive experience that teaches life skills beyond the classroom. With parental support, it helps students build determination and independence, essential for success in school and beyond.

What if my child claims they have no work to do at home

All learners have access to a range of knowledge organisers and reading materials which are excellent methods of consolidating learner knowledge and strengthening schema. Leaving timed spaces between learning the material and revisiting it, has shown to improve retention and can be done at home using the knowledge organisers.

Reading is essential in increasing learner vocabulary and every learner at the Martin High School has access to a range of reading materials. Encouraging your child to read for twenty minutes a night can be incredibly beneficial to their progress in school.

Complete Maths Tutor and SENECA learning are online resources that learners can use to re-visit material delivered in recent lessons. Access is available to these resources 7 days a week and all learners have been given an orientation of these systems by their teachers.

How much Home Study should my child expect?

English

• One piece a week, set on a Monday and is due the following Monday.
• The department uses 'Educake' which is a low-stakes quizzing website and follows the GCSE English curriculum.
• At KS3 we set skills-based tasks such as reading extracts and vocabulary focus.
• At KS4 we set tasks based on the Literature texts as part of revision.

Maths

• KS3 (Year 7-9)
  Students are set a weekly homework on Complete Maths Tutor. This will require students to watch the LEARN video and complete the DO stage. Pupils will complete a minimum of 3 goals per week depending on their Maths set. Questions will be marked automatically and personalised goals through the Maths curriculum depending on the pupils progress in lessons. Some learners may use an additional platform called Doodle Maths and are expected to gain an average of 70 stars per week, the idea is to do little but regularly to build those key skills. It takes less than 5 minutes to achieve 10 stars.
• KS4 (Year 10-11)
  Students are set a weekly homework using Complete Maths TUTOR. his will require students to watch the LEARN video and complete the DO stage. Pupils will complete a minimum of 3 goals per week depending on their Maths set.  This may vary from time to time to printed worksheets for HIGHER and FOUNDATION GCSE with questions coming from Skills Builders, Exam Style / Problem Solving Questions. This should be approximately 1 hour per week.

Science

• At KS3 (Years 7-9) learners are assigned a homework booklet for each topic. A topic is covered over 2/3 weeks. The Science teacher will assign tasks over this period. It will be assigned and available on Beehive as well as a hard copy.
• At KS4 (Years 10-11) learners are given exam style questions to complete. The Science teacher will set these periodically. They will be assigned and available on Beehive as well as a hard copy.
• Seneca learning is used for some learners at KS3 and KS4. This will also be assigned on Beehive.

Humanities

• Seneca learning is used for all subjects at KS3

• 1 piece set per two weeks (History/Geography)
• 1 piece set per 4 weeks (RE)

• Additional homework set for KS4 dependant on subject although this is often bi weekly. This additional work will consist of specific exam questions and revision exercises.
• Health and Social care students are unable to complete coursework outside school although they will have homework tasks to complete bi weekly in relation to the exam element.

French

• Homework is set approximately weekly, and learners have around 1 week to complete the homework.
• Homework is predominantly a mixture of vocabulary revision through the use of Quizlet, quizzes on the Trust MFL VLE then occasionally a written piece of work.
• We complete Vocab tests in class following a learning homework, based on the set of vocabulary they have been allocated that week.
• This supports their learning in class, vocab is usually that we have been covering in the previous 1-2 weeks plus a range of high frequency phrases. The overall aim to be building up their confidence and knowledge with key topic vocabulary to support their overall achievement.

Design Technology

• Students at KS3 are sometimes asked to complete a formal written homework or design task. They may also be given research to complete that will aid their design work in the classroom. The frequency of these homework tasks will reflect the demands and needs of the learning in class.
• In Design and Technology, sourcing and bringing in materials or ingredients is considered an essential part of home learning. For example, in Food Technology learners are expected to bring ingredients, an apron and anything else needed for their practical lessons.
• At KS4, in preparation for the written exams, homework tasks are sometimes theory based. Research tasks in support of the NEA (coursework) may be set too where appropriate.

Creative Arts: Music Art, Drama

• Students at KS3 do not have to complete a formal written homework; however, you may ask them to practice their lines, music or refine their art work. They may also be given research to complete that will aid their development in the classroom. The frequency of these homework tasks should reflect the demands and needs of the learning in class.
• At KS4 homework should be to complete regular tasks in preparation for their final GCSE piece or written exam. At least one hour a week is recommended for GCSE students.

• In Music: Final preparation for final piece (rehearsal) or written exam.
• In Art: Preparation, development and research for their final pieces.
• In Drama: Final preparation for their final piece (rehearsal) or written exam

Media

• Media set one piece of homework a week.
• Y10 - set on Friday and due the following Friday.
• Y11 - set on Thursday and due the following Thursday.
• The department 'Seneca' which focuses on knowledge and quizzing of key media concepts and then the Close study products.

P.E.

• All students in KS3 and KS4 CORE PE have a multiple choice VLE quiz to complete each half term, which forms part of their overall assessment grade. Students are encouraged to repeat the quiz to improve their grade and aim to achieve over 16/20.
• At KS4, students taking CNAT Sports Studies will have a series of coursework tasks to complete and will be directed by their teacher each week as to what they will need to complete.