Homework at SJCA

Principles:

Homework is an essential part of learning for all students at The Sir John Colfox Academy. Our homework
seeks to support the teaching and learning which takes place in the classroom, but also help our students
to develop the positive learning behaviours needed to flourish both in school and beyond. We believe that
meaningful homework is underpinned by the following principles.

● We value quality rather than quantity, so that a small number of things are done well.
● Homework is regular and specific, so that students know when to expect it and what to do.
● It is time limited, so that students are developing good study habits without being overwhelmed.
● There are clear links to the learning journey/curriculum map, so that students see its relevance.
● It develops independent study habits and metacognitive skills so that students can work with
increasing independence as they move through school and into adult life.
● Homework is accurately recorded, so that students and parents are aware of what needs to be done
and when.

Setting of homework:

Year 7/8/9:

Students are issued with a homework booklet at the start of each half term. This sets out the tasks that
students are expected to complete, along with a timetable of when the tasks are set and due. Homework is
not recorded as an assignment on Arbor, but the homework booklets are available on the school (see
below).

Y7 and Y8 – Weekly homework tasks in Maths, English and Science.

Y9 – Weekly homework tasks in Maths, English, Science, with History, Geography and Spanish on a
rotation.

Students will also occasionally be set revision activities in preparation for assessments which take place in
class. These will be guided with resources and teachers will specify what they need to revise as well as
suggest revision techniques.

Curriculum areas will offer additional enrichment tasks throughout the year which students can pick from.
This is not part of our core learning but provides them with an opportunity to pursue subject areas which
are of interest to them. Students will be rewarded accordingly for the tasks they undertake and participation
in these activities will feed into the inter-house competitions which run throughout the year.

Years 10 and 11

Students will be set homework weekly in core subjects and at least fortnightly in options subjects.

Homework is recorded on the Arbor platform under the “assignments” section. It will clearly state the task
and due date. This is visible for parents and students.

We recognise that at KS4 teachers need flexibility to effectively prepare students for their examinations.
Activities students are set may include, but are not limited to:

● Exam/Essay question practise.
● Creation of revision materials (e.g. flashcards, mind-maps, etc).
● Revision for end of unit tests.

● Online quizzes or use of other online study platforms (e.g. Seneca Learning).

Students will be given at least 3 school days to complete their homework.

In particular for Year 11, they will be directed to a weekly ‘chunk’ of revision for each subject. This revision
is checked/monitored in class. These revision planners can be found on the school website (Curriculum,
Revision 2026-7).

Rewarding the completion of homework:

Students who complete each homework task to the required standard will be issued with a house point
(+1), recorded on Arbor.

Non-completion of homework:

If a student does not complete their homework, the teacher will log a “Homework Not Complete” behaviour
point (-1) on Arbor which will also be visible to parents.

At KS3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) the non-completion of homework will be tracked and parents contacted at regular
intervals to make them aware that their child is not completing homework on a regular basis and support
will be offered to help address this.

At KS4 (Years 10 and 11) two incomplete homework tasks within a five school day period will result in
students receiving a 30-minute after school detention. This will be communicated to parents via SMS
message.

Attitudes to homework will also be communicated on reports which are sent home termly to parents.

Support with homework:

We recognise that not all students will be able to independently manage their time and resources to
complete homework effectively. All students are welcome to complete their homework in the library at
lunchtime or after school (Mon-Thu until 16:30). The SEN department also run a homework club until 16:30
from Monday to Thursday.