Homework & Show My Homework

 Homework Guidance for Parents

 Why?

• To support and enhance pupils’ learning in the Academy
• To help consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding developed in lessons
• To extend the learning completed in lessons
• To help develop self-esteem
• To foster independent learning
• To develop effective individual study skills
• To help pupils manage particular demands, developing organisational and time management skills.

How can you as Parents help?

• By taking a positive attitude towards homework
• If you show an interest in your child’s work and ask them about it, the chances are they will be more interested. Talk to them about what they are doing and encourage them to do their best
• Regularly use and check ‘Show My Homework’ to monitor what homework has been set
• By providing somewhere suitable to work in which is well lit, warm and comfortable (but not too comfortable!). Please provide a desk or table for writing on (not in front of the TV). Quiet music can help
• There should be time to do homework and enjoy leisure time, but this takes planning. Don’t let your child leave homework to the last minute. Make use of Show My Homework to help set deadlines
• By checking each day that homework has been done (and done well!)

 How much homework will my child get?

• In Year 7-9 pupils receive one extended homework task in one subject area per week along with a Maths and French homework. Pupils in Year 7 and 8 will also be expected to read daily. The quality of homework activities is far more important than the precise amount of time devoted to them. The following time allocations act as a broad guide for staff, parents and pupils. 
• In Years 9-11 pupils may receive one homework per subject each week of approximately one hour in length. 

 Show My Homework

Show My Homework is an online homework planner which ensures homework is set effectively across the school.  Students have easy access through computers, tablets or smart phones, enabling them to see and prioritise their workload using their personalised calendar.  Some of the benefits are:-

• Pupils - it will allow them to access their homework from both school and home – and will mean never missing a homework deadline again.
• Teachers - it will allow teachers to add additional resources to support independent study, not only worksheets, but video clips, website addresses and exam papers.
• Parents - it will allow parents to access the homework that has been set in order to help and support their children with their homework.
• Environment - it will mean using less paper.

Homework can be a daunting issue for us all. Teachers need to be aware of homework set by other teachers, so pupils don't get overloaded. Pupils need to be clear of their homework requirements and deadlines and parents should be involved in the homework process so they have some idea about what their children are expected to do.

Show My Homework helps with this by storing homework in a simple calendar which can be viewed from the Academy’s Show My Homework page here.

All pupils should have setup a username and password for Show My Homework and should have logged in. This will give them a tailor made homework calendar allowing them to see homework set for just their classes.

Students will still use their planners to record that they have homework in specific subjects but full details, resources and links to helpful websites will be available on Show My Homework.

Parents have access to their own Show My Homework account, allowing them to play a more active role in home learning.  Parents receive their own username and password to enable them to access the site.

If you have any queries, please contact the Academy or pupils can see Ms Baker in the Library for further guidance.

• Show My Homework Parents Leaflet.

How to Use Show My Homework

 The following tutorial link below will explain how to use and log in to Show My Homework 

Parent User Guide