Students' Homework

Home Learning at Leventhorpe – Information for Parents

At Leventhorpe we like to refer to “homework” as home learning because this emphasises the way we see it as an extension of the learning at school, rather than as duty or a workload.  Home learning enables our students to develop their organisation skills, their determination and their independence.  For this reason, we set it regularly because it enables our students to progress faster than if they didn’t spend this time learning at home.  We want our students to work smart and adapt, so we encourage students to do their home learning at breaks or in after school homework club.  If less goes home because of that, we do not mind as long as challenges are met to a high standard.

So that parents and carers can gain an overview of the home learning task their sons and daughters we use a platform called Satchel: One which lists all of the assignments that our students are given.  Students have an account that lets them know what to do and reminds them to submit tasks.  Parents/carers also have an account so they can oversee the young people in their family and what they need to do.  Tasks come in many varieties and some assignments in Satchel: One will take our students to secondary websites such as Teams, Seneca, Educake, Carousel (to name just a few) where the task is presented.  If you can support your child or children by monitoring that they are keeping on top of their home learning tasks, this will enable them to make the most of their educational opportunities.

Satchel: OneSatchel: One - Parents' Help Page

How Can Parents Help?

The answer to this is actually: not too much! Home learning fosters childrens’ independence, and so doing it for them or helping excessively stops it being effective. You can help by taking an interest in what they are doing and praising if you think they are working hard. You can also help by providing equipment and a quiet place for home learning to be done.

We are conscious that our students are very different and that a challenge might take one child a short amount of time, while another might need to spend longer. We tend to set lots of home learning challenges so faster students are challenged, but we are also conscious that this can present problems for students who need more time. As parents or carers supervising your children at home, you will know if they have taken on too much on an evening, so please tell them to stop and give them a note to show their teacher if they haven’t had as long to spend on a piece as they would like. Also, if there are several different home learning challenges, advise them to do a bit for each rather than spending all of their time on one.

Another thing to discuss with your child is the quality of what they do. Most home learning challenges can be done well, but they can also be done fantastically well. If your child is bright and works quickly to the point where home learning doesn’t seem to be a challenge, discuss how they can meet the challenge and exceed it with greater breadth or detail in their response.

We use Office 365 Teams to publish our home learning challenges to students. Every student has their own 365 account which shows them their assignments. Parents take a weekly update outlining work that has been submitted and that which hasn't been.  The sections below give some descriptive detail on the home learning schedule for each year group. The schedule gets increasingly open as students get older to reflect the greater flexibility and independence that is required at GCSE and A Level.

Year 7

  • Art - One task per fortnight
  • Computing – one task per fortnight – about 30 minutes in length (starting after Oct half term)
  • English - One task per week and reading every week
  • French - One task per fortnight – about 30 minutes in length
  • Geography - One ½ hour task per fortnight  
  • History - One ½ hour task per fortnight  
  • Mathematics - Set on "My Maths" platform each half term with student expected to complete a section each week
  • Music - No homework
  • Core PE Extra-curricular Sport is expected for all
  • PSHE - No homework
  • Religious Studies - One task per fortnight 
  • Science - One task per fortnight. Maximum 30 minutes in length
  • Spanish - One task per fortnight
  • Technology - Two tasks per rotation 
  • Drama - No homework

Year 8

  • Art - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length
  • Computing – one task per fortnight – about 45 minutes in length
  • English - One task per week – about 1 hour in length
  • French - One task per week – about 30 minutes in length
  • Geography - One task per fortnight – about 45 minutes in length
  • History - One task per fortnight – about 45 minutes in length
  • Mathematics - Set on "My Maths" platform each half term with student expected to complete a section each week
  • Music - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length
  • Core PE Extra-curricular Sport is expected for all
  • PSHE - No homework
  • Religious Studies - One task per fortnight (approx. 45 mins)
  • Science - One task per fortnight. Maximum 30 minutes in length
  • Spanish - One task per week – about 30 minutes in length
  • Technology - Two tasks per rotation
  • Drama - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length

Year 9

Students in Year 9 have different time tables to one another as a result of our option system. They have some subjects that are common to all and some that are chosen.

Common Subjects

  • English - One task per week – about 1 hour in length and reading every week
  • Mathematics - Set on "My Maths" platform each half term with student expected to complete a section each week
  • Core PE Extra-curricular Sport is expected for all
  • PSHE - No homework
  • Core RS - No homework
  • Science - One task per fortnight. Maximum 45 minutes in length

Option Subjects

  • Art - One task per week – about 1 hour in length
  • Business Studies - One task per week – about 1 hour in length
  • Computer Science – one task per week – about 45 minutes in length
  • French - One task per week – about 1 hour in length
  • Geography - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length
  • History - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length
  • Digital Media – one task per week – about 45 minutes in length 
  • Music - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length
  • PE Theory - One task per week – about 1 hour in length
  • Philosophy and Ethics - One task per fortnight (approx. 1 hour)
  • Spanish - One task per week – about 1 hour in length
  • Technology Subjects - Two tasks per rotation
  • Drama - One task per fortnight – about 1 hour in length

Year 10

In Year 10 students settle on their four optional GCSE subjects in addition to their core subjects. GCSE subjects vary greatly, some are practical and some academic, and so homework is set once each week at the teacher’s discretion. Students need to be aware that the GCSE workload can be high at certain times and that more than an hour of home learning may need to be set sometimes.

Common Subjects

  • English - One task per week 
  • Mathematics - Set on "My Maths" platform each half term with student expected to complete a section each week
  • Core PE - Extra-curricular Sport is encouraged 
  • PSHE - No homework 
  • Science - Biology - One task per fortnight 
  • Science - Chemistry - Oone task per fortnight 
  • Science - Physics - One task per fortnight 
  • Options A-D - One task per week per option

Our Year 10 home learning timetable is relatively simple with the common subjects organised into half-year bands and the option subject arranged into option blocks. The options blocks are indicated by a letter code so that if a class is labelled 10D it will have home learning set on the day option D sets home learning. As Science at GCSE is split into the three disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Science home learning will be based on the subject taken during a particular period. 

Year 11

In Year 11 students have settled on their four optional GCSE subjects in addition to their core subjects. GCSE subjects vary greatly, some are practical and some academic, and so homework is set once each week at the teacher’s discretion. Students need to be aware that the GCSE workload can be high at certain times and that more than an hour of home learning may need to be set sometimes.

Common Subjects

  • English - one task per week 
  • Mathematics - Set on "My Maths" platform each half term with student expected to complete a section each week.  After Christmas, students work from past paper booklet.
  • Core PE - Extra-curricular Sport is encouraged 
  • PSHE - No homework 
  • Science - Biology - one task per fortnight 
  • Science - Chemistry - one task per fortnight 
  • Science - Physics - one task per fortnight
  • Options A-D - one task per week per option

Our Year 11 home learning timetable is very simple with the common subjects organised into year bands and the option subject arranged into option blocks. As science at GCSE is split into the three disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, the home learning set will be based on the subject taken during a particular period. The options blocks are indicated by a letter code, so that if a class is labelled 11D it will have home learning set on the day option D sets home learning. Only option group B is split into bands and only in week two does this affect the day that home learning is set.

Year 12 and 13

Sixth Form students tend to take three or four courses. They usually have two teachers for each subject and can expect a home learning task from each teacher each week. This may lead to six to eight tasks per week. Teachers are free to set home learning on whatever day is most convenient, but they will give students enough completion time so that they can manage their study independently.