Homework
Home learning helps to reinforce a child’s knowledge and helps parents stay up-to-date with their child’s learning.
We believe that a child’s education should be a joint responsibility between the school, the parents/carers and the child. Therefore, it is vital that parents understand the important role they have in supporting their child with their learning.
At Portfield, we have identified a few key areas of learning that benefit from regular practice at home so that they become fluent and accurate.
They key areas of learning are:
Independent reading
Maths number sense (Times Table Rockstars/Numbots)
Spelling/Phonics
We expect all of our pupils to complete their homework every week day. Those that do so are rewarded with prizes and house points. Those that find this difficult, for whatever reason, are supported by our staff team in a variety of different ways so that they are not disadvantaged compared to their peers. Examples of our support initiatives include: one-to-one tutoring, a free after-school homework club and daily catch-up sessions.
How can you help your child?
Below are some tips on how to help your child with their home learning and the expectations that we have for each area of learning:
Independent Reading
It is expected that you will read with or encourage your child to read every week day.
Remind your child to bring their reading record into school every day.
Use the space provided in the reading record to write a comment about your child’s reading progress.
Numbots / Times Table Rockstars
Encourage your child to play either Numbots or Times Table Rockstars every day for 5 minutes.
The activities on Numbots / TTRS are deliberately repetitive. They help your child remember key mathematical facts so that they can recall them quickly and easily.
These games can be accessed via a smart phone, tablet or computer.
Spelling / Phonics
Use the spelling / phonics sheet to help your child practise their spellings for 5 minutes every day.
Encourage your child to sound out the words before writing them down. The instructions on the spelling sheet will give you more instructions on how to help your child remember their spellings.
Your child will regularly revisit spellings they have learnt previously to make sure that they don't forget them.
Reading books, reading records and spelling sheets should be kept safely in a school book bag that may be purchased from the school office. Rucksacks are not appropriate for carrying home learning activities as they often cause pieces of paper and school reading books to get scruffy and ripped.
It is important that, if possible, your child has a calm, quiet space to complete their home learning. Distractions of phones, tablets and TVs make it extremely hard for children to focus fully on their learning.
Year 5 and 6 may have additional home learning to help them prepare for the increased demands of secondary school.
If you need any additional resources or activities to help support your child with their home learning, please ask your child’s class teacher.
EYFS Guide to Phonics