Our approach to home learning is through a system called Learning Conversations. This is a tried and tested approach, which we feel meets the needs of all – children, parents and teachers. Here is some more information about this approach:
Learning Conversations
Step 1
When a teacher plans their lessons, they will identify key themes for the week ahead, e.g. life cycle stages in science, 2D shapes and their properties in maths, famous poems in English, what the Romans did for us in history.
Step 2
The teacher then reviews their planning and decides which day each area will be covered. They produce some sentence prompts for children to continue their learning at home with their families. These prompts are sent home on a Monday ready for the week ahead.
Guidelines
- All activities should be entirely verbal or practical
- The emphasis should be on extending or consolidating learning through thinking, not being reliant on writing, recording, making or producing.
- Activities should take no longer than 10 minutes but could be extended for longer if a child takes a particular interest
- Nothing should need marking or require teachers to review content; this emphasises the fact that learning also takes place at home and is not only valid when reported to school
- Activities will be sent home on a Monday to show what should take place that week
- It avoids the answer to the question ‘What have you done at school today?’ being answered with ‘Nothing’
- Further development of important memory and recall skills is developed
The Benefits
- For children: they don’t see it as homework and are pleased to engage in conversation about what they have learnt that day
- For families: they have specific prompts to open up dialogue with their children and find out more about their learning
- For teachers: less preparation and marking
- Schools using this approach have reported improved dialogue between school and families about learning
Reading, spelling and maths
- Please continue to listen to your child read at least 5 times per week
- Spellings will continue to be sent home on a weekly basis; each child will receive 5 spellings
- Every child will have a log in for Time Tables Rockstars which they should be encouraged to access regularly