Throughout their five-years at MEA Central we teach our scholars revision strategies which help them to secure excellent progress in their Year 11 courses and that they can continue to use when they access Further and Higher Education.
Our approach to homework is underpinned by the following principles:
‘Memory is the residue of thought’ (Willingham, 2009)
‘Using your memory shapes your memory’ (Bjork, 2005)
In Year 7, 8 and 9 students are set retrieval practice which is to be completed using their knowledge organisers in their red homework books. They should complete approximately 30 minutes of retrieval practice per day. Students are taught how to complete retrieval practice during form time sessions. Each half-term we run a Know-It-All Quiz where students are rewarded for being able to recall information from their knowledge organisers.
For maths students are set a weekly homework on the Sparx Maths online platform. This should take approximately 1 hour.
In addition, all students should read independently for 20 minutes at least three times per week.
In Year 10 and 11 students are set a weekly 1-hour long homework for each subject that they study. This may include retrieval practice, may be on an online platform such as Sparx or may be something specific to the course that they are studying.
They should continue to complete at least 30 minutes of retrieval practice per day in their red book.
Students also have access to GCSE Pod where they can access revision specific to their GCSE courses. They should spend 1- 2 hours per week completing this.
To support students with their independence and self-discipline, students in Year 7 and 8 are set a project to complete over the half-term holiday. Students in Year 9 and 10 complete academic reading to expand their knowledge around a subject to encourage wider reading.
The project briefs can be found here:
Further information about our five-year homework strategy can be found here:
Students can access their knowledge organisers through 'Central Online' by logging on with their student Office 365 account.
Knowledge organisers can also be found here:
A guide for parents about Knowledge Organisers can be found here:
Knowledge Organisers: A Guide for Parents