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Homework & Online Learning

At The Lowry Academy we believe that homework is vital to ensuring your child’s success: our homework policy is grounded in reviewing the knowledge students have learnt in their lessons, which makes it more likely this knowledge will be retained in their long-term memory. It also supports revision for assessments and enables students to develop valuable skills in personal organisation. Students who regularly complete homework to a high standard make more progress than students who don’t. They are also rewarded as per the academy rewards system.  

 

Students will be set homework as per the timetable below:  

How is homework set, and where can I see what homework my child needs to complete?   

A homework timetable will be shared in September, and a centralised tracking and monitoring system is in place to track homework completion. All homework is set through Microsoft Teams and students are always provided with clear instructions and deadlines.

At the beginning of each school year, all students are given a Knowledge Organiser and homework book that they will use at home to complete their self-quizzing.

 

 Knowledge Organisers

                

 
One Page Document

 
Homework Self-Quizzing Book

 

We have streamlined the homework that students need to compete with half termly, one-page documents for most subjects. The “one-page homework documents” are designed to signpost students to exactly what homework needs completing each week. You will be able to access these documents from the school website and they will also be centrally uploaded to a whole school year Teams page with all students being given a paper copy to take home.

 

 

What does homework look like? 

A key component of the homework that is set from most subjects is self-quizzing on a key section of their knowledge organiser, as set by their subject teacher. The expectation is that they complete this revision, which is evidenced through their notes in their homework book. Each Monday students will complete a retention quiz of the previous week’s key knowledge, alongside showing evidence of self-quizzing in their homework book.

At Key Stage 3 students will be set three pieces of homework each week. This is for English, Maths and Science. English and Science will be self-quizzing using the one-page documents with Maths homework being set online using Sparx.

At Key Stage 4, students will be set homework from a wider range of subjects studied. In year 10, homework is set for English, Maths (Sparx) and Science on a weekly basis, and MFL and Humanities fortnightly with self-quizzing a key component. When students are in year 11 bespoke homework is set from all the subjects studied and still follows the weekly pattern for Maths, Science and English with fortnightly homework from option subjects.         

Students can contact their form tutor if they are unable to access ‘Teams’ or have any problems with completing their homework.

 

  • What is Self-Quizzing and why is it important?

    First of all, self-quizzing is a skill which needs to be developed. Whereas some students will find the process natural and take to it straight away, others will need to practice and develop the techniques needed to get the most out of self-quizzing.

    Self-quizzing is, as the name suggests, a method of homework where students learn to test themselves on the key knowledge and concepts they need in order to be successful at school. A large amount of research has been done on the subject, concluding that students who master and regularly use self-quizzing make significantly more progress than those who don’t.

    Students who test themselves with a quiz after studying a topic, are shown to be able to retain that knowledge for a much longer time than those students who simply re-study or re-read the material. When students quiz themselves on the knowledge they have learnt, studies suggest that much more of the information is stored in their long-term memory. In a world where students are expected to remember information for years before they sit their GCSE exams, the long-term memory is vital to success.
  • How do students self-quiz?

    One of the other advantages of self-quizzing is its simplicity. All it requires is access to the key knowledge, which, as mentioned earlier, is provided in our Knowledge Organisers.

    1. First students read the key pieces of knowledge that have been identified by their teachers.
    2. After they have done this a few times so that they are comfortable with information, they should cover it and close their Knowledge Organiser.
    3. Next, using their self-quizzing book, they should write down as much of the knowledge as they can, entirely from memory, they should not look at the Knowledge Organiser at this point. The key tactic with self-quizzing is to practise getting the knowledge out of their heads and onto the page, the more they practice, the easier it is to access the information stored in their memory.
    4. Once they have written all they can remember, they should reopen the Knowledge Organiser and check their answers. This will provide the important feedback that they need to judge their accuracy.
    5. The students should correct their mistakes and add any missing information to their answers.

    With more practice the better they will get and the more they will learn.

    Video:
  • How can you help your child?

    Another benefit of self-quizzing and the carefully designed Knowledge Organiser is that it is easy for family to get involved and help our students. Unlike with some other forms of homework, where some form of subject knowledge may be needed to help our students, all of the answers are already provided. So, you could pick up the Knowledge Organiser and ask students to give you key definitions, or spell certain words. You could create questions based on the information or even describe a diagram and ask them to accurately recreate it. Self-quizzing allows others to be part of students’ learning, both at school and at home.
  • Homework – Roles & Responsibilities

    The role of the student 

    • To listen to the homework instruction in class 

    • To make sure they understand the homework instructions and the deadline date. 

    • To ensure the homework is completed and handed in to meet the deadline. 

    • To attempt all work given and give their best 

    • To inform the class teacher of any difficulties prior to the homework deadline date.  

    The role of the class teacher 

    • Set homework so that students are set work at the agreed frequency. 

    • Set homework instructions in MS Teams so it is visible for students and patents. 

    • Set ‘hand in’ deadlines that support curriculum progression by linking to current/previous learning. 

    • Record homework submission in MS Teams so that parents are aware whether their child has completed the work by the given deadline. 

    • Provide help and support for those students seeking it. 

      The role of the guardian 

    • Check MS Teams so that you are aware what homework has been set. 

    • Help your child or children to build the completion of homework into their daily routines. 

    • Contact your child’s teacher if any issues arise so that we can help you to resolve these. 

    • Encourage your child to complete homework and praise them when they do. 
  • What happens if my child does not complete their homework?

    If your child fails to complete homework this will be logged on Arbor as a “no homework”. You child’s teacher may also contact you to discuss this further. This may result in your child not being eligible for rewards trips.  

    Each half term, 10 students from each year group (7-10) will be placed on homework report with their head of year.
  • Using Microsoft Teams

    All homework is now set as an assignment on Microsoft Teams. If you need help to download Teams or are unsure about how to access your assignments, please view the following videos.

Students