1. Home learning Dukhan English School Commencing January 2019
Aims for the session:
Discuss why we are changing home learning
Introduce the new home learning format

2. DES Vision
Our vision is for our students to be high achieving, healthy and happy individuals, well prepared to take their place as global citizens and leaders of the future.
Our mission is to achieve this by inspirational teaching that places high
value on learning, enjoyment and the wellbeing of all our students.

3. Why change? There is no perfect system for home learning or every school would be following it! 
We are aware that homework can be challenging to manage
Feedback suggested concerns over the nature, quantity and organisation of tasks
As a result of this, we have been researching, discussing and developing a new way of setting homework for children in Years 1-6

4. Why change?
In the 2010 article Five Hall Marks of Good Homework Vatterott highlighted 5 characteristics of effective homework
FIQ
Purpose
Homework has to be meaningful to the child
Efficiency
Homework should not take an inordinate amount of time to complete and should require hard work
Ownership
Children should feel connected to the leaning and are motivated
Competence
They should feel competent in completing the homework and there shouldn’t be a 1 size fits all model & they should be able to complete most tasks with little support
Inspiring
Tasks should be well considered and clearly designed to motivate children

5. Why change?
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) found that the quality of the tasks set are more important than the quantity required
The research also found that effective homework is associated with greater parental involvement; we have designed tasks that will give more opportunities for children to work with their parents/carers
The H.L tasks we have created also encourage the use of Metacognition and self regulation; research has consistently found that these approaches have high levels of impact, with pupils making additional 7 months’ progress (EEF)

6. Metacognition and self regulation Are ways in which learners direct their own learning and monitor it
Research from Psychology and education consistently demonstrates importance of these approaches to effective learning- The EEF Research highlighted additional 7 months’ progress
These approaches help pupils to think about their own learning, planning, monitoring and evaluating it
They also require pupils to take greater responsibility for their own learning and develop understanding of what is required
Helps pupils to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and the strategies they use to learn and how they motivate themselves

7. Example of using metacognition- Freya’s spellings
Freya was given some spellings to learn
When she looked at the spellings she knew some were a bit tricky for her, one of the tricky words was surprise. Here Fareya is thinking about her learning and is motivated to do something about it.
She said the ‘r’ sound repeatedly when she practised the word ‘surprise’. Here Freya has found a way of practising her words; she has taken responsibility for her learning and planned a strategy to learn her words.
As the teacher began the spelling test, Freya listened hard. She knew that sometimes she would feel a little pressure when her teacher moved quickly onto the next spelling, but that this week she would listen carefully and remember what she had practised. Again she has thought about her learning and what she struggles with and found a way to overcome the problems.

8. Addressing Parental Concerns
The new approach should address concerns of those who perceive children get too much homework, as the minimum is to complete one task each week from the Home Learning Grid.
It should also address concerns of those parents who believe their children do not get enough, as pupils can complete additional tasks. This approach allows for children to really push themselves through the use of Blooms
Maths Homework is discrete and will be provided by the set teacher

9. Maths Homework Examples

10. The 2014 curriculum places a greater emphasis on depth of knowledge and not just working through the objectives as quickly as possible! We do not just want to dip our toe, but instead we want to deepen understanding through a variety of activities. 

11. Learning is a persistent change in knowledge.
(Mccrea, P. June 2018)​ ​
With this in mind, we have applied Blooms Taxonomy to our homework scheme. This is a hierachical system that looks at
how we can demonstrate knowledge. 
At the base we have the skill of finding or remembering facts.
As you work up the image the skills become more complex. ​
Being able to apply these skills by solving problems or 
drawing a diagram is a harder skill than recalling facts. At
the top we have higher order thinking skills: the ability to
create, critcally evaluate or analyse. The homework tasks designed by the teachers that require these skills will, 
therefore, gain more points. 
Bloom's Taxonomy was created in 1956 under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr Benjamin Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures, and principles, rather than just remembering facts (rote learning).
What does this mean for us? We want to avoid just repeating the same tasks over and over again – for knowledge to be truly embedded we need to challenge children to demonstrate this in a series of ways; being able to analyse a text and create something independently will allow for a greater depth of understanding and create a greater opportunity for knowledge to be embedded.

12. Create a timetable for a healthy day (including meals).
Write down what you have eaten today and evaluate if it is healthy.
Select 20 foods you enjoy and categorize them as healthy or unhealthy.
Sketch two plates: one healthy, one unhealthy.
Write down five foods and explain if they are healthy or unhealthy.
List five healthy and five unhealthy foods.

13. Our Home Learning Grids
Homework will always be based on skills and areas the children will be studying in the current half term; the tasks will allow them to apply the knowledge they are learning in the class
As you will see from the examples there are a number of different curriculum areas covered, with opportunities for children to select tasks that interest them
Children will need to complete at least one activity per week for the particular week's homework activities 
They can choose from any area but will need to ensure that the following weeks they are working on a different area e.g. 2 topic tasks or 2 computing tasks within any half term. This is in addition to the key skills tasks ​

15. The sheet is broken down into subject areas
The sheet is broken down into subject areas. This will look to build on current knowledge or for children to research facts which can help them in their learning.
Points are distributed depending on the higher order thinking skills mentioned earlier. A skill considered to be easier - fact finding for example - will result in less points but can still be valuable as a pre-teach or consolidation task. 
Reading is an essential skill in all lessons. As such, we would like the children to attempt the reading task weekly. In addition to this, It is also  a school expectation that children read daily

17. Points mean prizes
Points will be allocated to reflect the challenge of the task the child has attempted. These points will be recorded and count towards a child-initiated prize at the end of the half term. A film afternoon for example.
It is important to note that the quality of the completed work will be considered when points are allocated: a task of higher points value but completed to a low standard may not receive full marks; likewise a task of lower points value but completed to an excellent standard for that child may
receive more points.

18. Teachers will give children the opportunity to share their favourite piece of home learning. In addition, we will post some examples of children's home learning via our social media outlets, in a celebration area and via the school magazine. 

19. To review: