Home Learning

One of the best ways to support your child's learning is to know what they are learning about in school. This can be found on the Curriculum Maps section of our website.

The best way to support your children's learning is to encourage them to read daily, learn number facts and their spellings. Encourage them to be curious learners by taking them on trips out and about - to the park, a local walk, museums, sporting events - anything that interests them - and to talk to them about what they see and experience. You can help your child's learning every day, by supporting and encouraging them and being excited by their learning.

Please also take a look at our Home Learning Policy.

Helping your child with reading.
Reading with your child is vital. Research shows that it's the single most important thing you can do to help your child's education. It's best to read little and often, so try to put aside some time for it every day.
Think of ways to make reading fun. Books aren't just about reading the words on the page, they can also present new ideas and topics for you and your child to discuss.
Tips for helping your child to enjoy books:

• Encourage your child to hold a book and look through the pictures, sharing it together, even before they are able to read themselves
• Visit the library as often as possible 
• Schedule a regular time for reading - perhaps when you get home from school or just before bed.
• Look for books on topics that you know your child is interested in.
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Helping your child with maths
Maths should be as much fun as possible - games, puzzles and jigsaws are a great way to start. It's also important to show how we use maths skills in our everyday lives and to involve your child in this.
Identifying problems and solving them can also help your child develop maths skills. If you see him or her puzzling over something, talk about the problem and try to work out the solution together.
Tips for helping your child to enjoy maths:

• Point out the different shapes to be found around your home.
• Take your child shopping and talk about the quantities of anything you buy.
• Let your child handle money and work out how much things cost.
• Look together for numbers on street signs and car registration plates.

How can I help my child with home learning?

• Do let them have a bit of time to unwind after school they will have been working all day give them a snack and drink - their brains work better with fuel
• Make sure they have a suitable environment to work in. Let them choose a comfortable space, clear away any distractions and keep siblings away from them
• Do be aware of how children are learnt particular strategies in school
• Do discuss any homework tasks with your child and how it connects with what they are studying at school.
• Do turn off the TV - but you could have music on if they find it helpful.
• Don't give your child the answer in order to get a task finished. Instead, explain how to look up information or find a word in a dictionary.
• Don't let home learning become a chore. Keep it fun and make it a special time that you both look forward to.

What if they get stuck?
Help your child problem-solve by explaining or showing them the steps to complete a task. Let them do the steps though.

• Make up a similar question or task as an example. Show them how to work through it and then get them to have a go at their homework task
• Try giving clues rather than the answer, but be aware of frustration levels - both theirs and yours
• Keep the clues simple - remind them of all the other times they have been able to work things out
• Ideally homework will be connected to something they’ve already learned, so encourage them to think back and start from what they can do.
• Don't help them too much, for example, explain where and how to find information, rather than giving it to them.

What if I don’t understand their home learning?
If you’re confused by your child’s homework, talk to their teacher - you won’t be the first parent to do this. Or it may be that your child is happy to ask for help and then they can explain things to you. They may also be able to find answers by using the internet or the local library, or by asking an older sister or brother.

These are the home learning expectations for the classes:

Foxes

Years 5 and 6 Daily reading – please hear your child read as often as you can and write this in their reading record book.

Spelling and timestables – this will be put on Teams on a Thursday, to be completed by the following Wednesday. Spellings are tested at an age appropriate level.

Weekly Maths or English – this will alternate each week for terms 1 and 2. It will be put on Teams on a Thursday, to be completed by the following Wednesday. A topic menu will also be put on Teams at the beginning of each term. This will give the children a range of choices of activity. The aim is for them to complete 3 of their choice by the end of term. This can be uploaded to Teams in the last week of term, or when the children complete the tasks throughout the term.

Hedgehogs

For Hedgehogs home learning, the children will have a piece of 'practise' (a skill we have been working on in school) for home learning each week. This will be a mixture of English, Maths and topic, put on Teams on a Thursday, due in the following Wednesday. There will also be spellings and timestables given weekly, again put on Teams on a Thursday, to be completed by the following Wednesday. The final piece of each term will be a 'prime' piece. This will be something to get the children ready for their next step in their learning. Again, these will also be uploaded to Teams every Thursday and due in the following Wednesday.

Butterflies

For Butterflies home learning, the children will be given a piece of work each week to practise something we have been learning that week. This will be a mixture of English, Maths and Topic and will be put on Teams on a Thursday, due in the following Wednesday. We will also be sending out weekly spellings to be practiced which will be made up of tricky words learnt in phonics that week.

Alongside all of this, please do hear your child read, whatever their age as often as possible, ideally at least 3 times a week. All of the children have got reading record books; we ask that parents sign in their book whenever you hear your child read, or they read to you. We will do the same in school. Thank you for doing this.