Home Learning at Swanwick Hall School 

At Swanwick Hall School, we believe that a high-value curriculum extends beyond the classroom. Home learning plays a vital role in reinforcing knowledge, fostering independent study skills, and supporting academic success. Below, you’ll find all the essential information about our approach to home learning, including timetables, expectations, and support for parents/carers and students. Principles of Home Learning 

We aim to provide a consistent and impactful approach to home learning that benefits all students by: 

  • Adopting a whole-school approach for clarity and maximum impact across the curriculum. 
  • Uniting staff around a shared ambition and common purpose. 
  • Empowering middle leaders to secure improvements in their areas. 
  • Reducing cognitive load for students by ensuring clear and uniform expectations. 

Homework Timetable 

To help students organise their time effectively, we provide a structured homework timetable. This ensures clarity for students, parents, and staff, making homework a routine part of the school day. Each student has been provided with a personalised timetable which highlights their deadlines for their individual subjects.  

KS3 Timetable 

  Monday    Tuesday    Wednesday    Thursday    Friday   
Subject   English  

History 

Maths   Geography   Science   Languages  

KS4 Revision Timetable 

Revision TT  Monday    Tuesday    Wednesday    Thursday    Friday   
30 mins  Maths   Languages/independent revision   English   History   Science   
30 mins    RE/Business    Technology/PE   Art/Triple Science   Computing/Music/Drama    Geography/independent revision  

Key Details: 

  • Key Stage 3 (KS3): Students will spend 15 minutes per subject per week on homework. Subjects include English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, and Languages.  
  • Key Stage 4 (KS4): All subjects will assign 30 minutes of homework per week. Art may require additional time for coursework. 
  • Key Stage 5 (KS5): Students are expected to complete 5 hours of work per week per subject, which includes teacher-set tasks, independent study periods (ISP), and independent study. See the KS5 Addendum for further details. 

Each student will receive a personalised homework timetable to follow, helping them manage their workload alongside other commitments. There is a minimum two-day turnaround time for homework. Students should follow their personalised timetable. Students should check Satchel One daily.  

On the days where you are only set one piece ofhomework, we recommend: 

  • Reading for pleasure 
  • Independent revision for KS4 

Setting and Tracking Homework 

We are committed to ensuring consistency and clarity in how homework is set and tracked. Homework is set on Satchel One.  Example Homework Task: 

  • Task: Complete 10 flashcards for the 10 key terms from box 1 of your 100% sheet. 
  • Purpose: This homework helps students learn key terms on the current topic, “Rivers,” ensuring they can recall them automatically. 
  • Feedback: Answers will be checked in class through a quiz. 
  • Submission: Students will show completed flashcards to the teacher. 
  • Deadline: Two days from the task being set, as per the homework timetable. 

Feedback 

All homework tasks receive feedback to help students improve. Feedback methods include: 

  • Low-Stakes Assessment: Learning homework is assessed in class using quizzes or review activities. 
  • Self or Peer Marking: Students may mark their own or each other’s work, supported by whole-class feedback. 
  • Classroom Review: Teachers address key successes and misconceptions. 
  • Individual Feedback: Verbal feedback is provided to students on a one to one basis. 

Homework Activities 

Homework is purposeful and curriculum-linked, either reinforcing current learning or recalling prior knowledge. Most tasks focus on recall, utilising the “100% sheet” approach to strengthen understanding. Activities will be set from our homework toolkit which includes the following tasks: 

  • Look, cover, write check 
  • Flashcards & self-quizzing 
  • Mind maps 
  • Self-quizzing questions 

Each toolkit has success criteria for students to follow to ensure successful completion. Students are responsible for re-stocking their toolkit sheets as and when required. They can do this during tutor time daily. Each toolkit activity has a tutorial to instruct students how to complete each task. These can be found here:  

Parents and carers often ask how they can best support their child’s learning at home. The new style of homework is designed to make it easy for you to get involved. You can support your child by using the provided resources to test their understanding before they complete any evaluation sheets. Additionally, watching the instructional videos can help you become familiar with the techniques used, enabling you to guide your child in applying them effectively for maximum learning. KS5 (Sixth Form)  

For sixth form students, home learning expectations are adapted to reflect their advanced study requirements: 

  • Setting and Tracking: Homework is set by individual teachers. 
  • Activities: Tasks may include recall, exam practice, essay writing, or flipped learning (e.g., reading around the topic). Feedback is provided for all formally set tasks. 
  • Time Commitment: Students should complete 5 hours of work per week per subject, with tasks divided between teacher-set work (2 hours), ISP (1 hour), and independent study (2 hours). Teachers may adjust these proportions as needed. 

By working together, we can ensure that home learning supports each student’s success, helping them develop strong study habits and achieve their full potential. For more information, please contact the school office or your child’s tutor.