Aims

Effective learning continues beyond the classroom through effective high quality ‘Home Learning’. Our continuation of learning at home is the reason we refer to this activity as ‘Home Learning’ rather than home work. The aim of ‘Home Learning’ is to embed positive learning habits by setting regular ‘Home Learning’ for students that is of high impact.

 

Purpose of Home Learning

All students across our five-year curriculum should be provided ‘support and challenge’ through ‘Home Learning’ activities that enhance students ability to recall information or skills. Teachers will explicitly reference which aspect of the learning each piece of home learning refers to:

• Pre- learning
• Post-learning
• Long term memory
• Revision

Student handbook

Students use this to record the subject and the hand-in deadline for their ‘Home Learning’ which is designed to promote independence and manage their time. Since September 2023, Home Learning has been recorded for students in Arbor, and may include links to useful websites or other supportive resources.

 

Guided Home Learning

The school allocates ‘Guided Home Learning Hours’ to reflect the amount of time in each area of the curriculum so that it can lead to an equitable number of hours to spend on ‘Home Learning’.

• This equates to a ‘minimum’ of 10 minutes of ‘Home Learning’ for every 1 hour of curriculum coverage (the full curriculum offer can be found on our school website).
• Each subject will dedicate bespoke activities that match the curriculum aims that also link into our HB² learning ethos. Activities may be in the form of small, chunked tasks or longer tasks broken down with teacher guidance which will be fully explained in ‘Class Charts.’
• Students will be given adequate time, minimum of 3 days, to complete their ‘Home Learning’ and allows a range of subjects to set ‘Home Learning’ that embeds learning or explores pre-learning that fits with their curriculum plans. 

All students are encouraged to access the Home Learning Club in the library available after school each day. Please note there are no late buses on Tuesday and Friday.

If there are any concerns with ‘Home Learning’ these should first be addressed to the subject teacher and if it is not resolved the Academic Leader/ Head of Department should be the next point of contact. All staff email addresses can be found on the website. The school will monitor the setting of home learning in ‘Class Charts’ regularly throughout the year to ensure it continues to meet the aims and outcomes intended.

 

Home Learning Timetable

To support students’ ability to self-regulate there is a generic home learning timetable where students can fill the day that each subject will be set home learning. By October all teachers will advise students of their preferred day for setting Home Learning- students should then fill in the table below.

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A
B

Due to the nature of the school TT each student may have a different set of classes that mean their timetable is different to others. There will be occasions where staff deviate from this such as a PD/CC days or for an upcoming assessment or following a lesson where some post-learning may be beneficial.

 

Year 7&8 Guided Home Learning Hours for each subject per fortnight.

All students are expected to be provided with the minimum number of guided learning hours for home learning.

Year	Core Subjects (English, Maths, Science)	MFL	Tech	PE	Geo/His	Art, Music, Drama	RE	Total
7 plus extra curricular	60mins	60mins	40mins	40mins	30mins	30mins	20mins	8 hours 10 minutes per fortnight/ approx. 4 hours per week
8 plus extra curricular	70mins	60mins	40mins	40mins	30mins	20mins	20mins	8 hours 10 minutes per fortnight/ approx. 4 hours per week

Throughout Year 7 & 8 students will establish routines and build habits to make them lifelong successful learners who have the ability to manage their time effectively. The weekly total ‘Guided Home Learning Hours’ will allow students to take part in our extra-curricular programme to ensure they keep a positive school life balance.

 

Year 9/10/11 Guided Home Learning Hours for each subject per fortnight.

All students are expected to be provided with the minimum number of guided learning hours for home learning.

Year	Core (English, Maths, Science)	Option Subjects x4	RE Core Y9 only	IT Y9 Core RSE Y10 Core	Total
9 plus extra curricular	120mins/ 1 hour per week	60 mins (30 per week)	NA	NA	10 hours per fortnight/ 5 hours per week.
10 plus extra curricular / some clinics	120mins/ 1 hour per week	60 mins (30 per week)	-	NA	10 hours per fortnight/ 5 hours per week.
11 plus clinics	120mins / 1 hour per week	60 mins (30 per week)	-	-	10 hours per fortnight/ 5 hours per week.

GCSE students are encouraged to continue independent study and revision throughout their course. It is also expected that students will attend afterschool clinics and support their continued learning on a weekly basis outside of the formal ‘Home Learning’ expectations. We also encourage students to continue to take part in our extra-curricular programme to ensure they keep a positive school-life balance.