Home Learning

Home Learning

At Ormiston Denes Academy, we believe that home learning has a huge impact on supporting students’ attainment; through allowing students to take responsibility over reinforcing what is being taught in the classroom. Our aspiration is for all students to have regular opportunities to practice, rehearse and overlearn the knowledge and skills that they are given in lessons. We want to instil in students a determination to succeed. As a result of this, our home learning approach is twofold:

Independent Study

Students are provided with Knowledge Organisers for their subjects and are given sections to revise or learn in preparation for regular knowledge recall tests. This allows students to regularly practice recalling information from their long term memory into their working memory – making it more readily available to them when they need it. Teachers will direct students to areas of the Knowledge Organisers to study, using our Denes Desirables. Knowledge recall tests may be sat in a variety of ways either, on mini-whiteboards, in exercise books or on test sheets. These will also be assessed in a variety of ways including, potentially, teacher, peer or self. The focus of this home learning is on the study and on the recall practice, which allows students to deep learn the knowledge they need for their age and stage.

Rehearsal Activities

In addition to independent study, some teachers will set students rehearsal activities. These may be in the form of practice tasks which supplement those given in class, timed writing activities to give students rehearsal of longer written responses, or creative tasks which reinforce knowledge and skills. The amount, frequency and nature of these tasks will be based on teacher’s professional judgement – as will the assessment of these. Teacher’s judgement will be based on students’ levels of attainment, areas for development and the nature of the subject area.

All home learning set will be made visible to you through the student planner, where students will record the tasks and any deadlines set. Below you can access a variety of Knowledge Organisers. If students regularly miss deadlines, they may be requested to attend our after-school Period 6 Study Hall, to catch up in a supportive and focussed environment.

Please support us in encouraging our young people to become independent, resilient and determined learners.

Setting home learning

• To enable parental support, teachers will ensure that students record homework and a deadline clearly in the student planner.
• Teachers will help students programme independent revision (using their knowledge organiser) in the student planner in between homework being set.

All home learning will be validated, and rewards given in line with the school policy – students should feel proud of work completed independently at home.

Online learning

Please see the student guide below to help you access online learning with Microsoft 365.

Knowledge organisers

All students are provided with half-termly knowledge organisers. These booklets contain the key information students need to know to be successful in the scheme of learning they are following in lessons. Students will be taught in assemblies, tutor time and lessons how to best use the knowledge organisers and build an understanding of the revision and memory techniques which underpin them.

Checks will be conducted to ensure students have their knowledge organiser in school, they keep them in an appropriate condition and are completing the tasks set out to help learn the knowledge on the back page of each document.

Click here for a parental guide to support your child use their knowledge organiser effectively at home.

Follow these links to the spring term knowledge organisers:

Year 7Download

Year 8Download

Year 9Download

Year 10Download

Year 11Download

Parent involvement

Parents have a considerable contribution to make to students’ success at school. At the academy, we encourage parents to support their children with home learning by creating an environment and routine at home to enable home learning to be completed. Parents should check the student planner on a daily basis to see what homework has been set for their child.

If there is no homework to complete, parents should ensure that their child engages with the information and tasks in their knowledge organiser. The table that follows sets out the minimum required home learning that students should complete to support their learning in school.

When independent revision is completed by their child, parents should sign the planner to confirm they have witnessed them complete the revision and sign their reading logs, where appropriate.

Homework and independent revision frequency