Weekly Home Learning - what we expect - 10 x 10 x 10

At St Joseph’s, we set work to be completed at home. Some of this will be parental choice.

‘Homework’ is called Home Learning.  Teachers provide activities which parents can work on with their children at home; in that way parents can be part of the learning journey. It may be that all a child’s answers are therefore correct, and we believe that this is fine and positive. If they have worked with an adult then they are more likely to embed learning. Home learning is not a test.

Parents will decide or not whether to complete Home Learning given to years 3 to 6 (over and above the expected reading, spellings and number work). You know your child best and you know the balance of family life. Teachers do not chase missing or late home learning.

What parents are expected to do with their children at least four times a week is:

• 10 minutes reading to an adult, regardless of age
• 10 minutes mental maths, number bonds or times tables practice
• 10 minutes spelling practice
• a reading comprehension

These areas are the basis of all learning and are the best use of parents’ time. Over and above these core skills, children in years three to six are set exercises in literacy and maths. Children in years one to six all have Power Pages to try to learn (see below). 

Google Classroom

We use Google Classroom both for any extra home learning and for remote teaching and learning during Covid-19 pandemic isolation periods of time. Our children are now well-used to using the platform.

Teachers will often post information on Google Classroom for their class. 

How to access Google Classroom 

Go to www.google.co.uk in the Google Chrome browser.

Click on the blue ‘sign in’ box in the top right-hand corner.  Use your child’s username and password to log in and access your child’s class.  Each child has their own unique details and these can be found in their Reading Record books. 

In the newsletter in September 2022, there were detailed guidelines for parents on how to use Google Classroom. User guides for our new Reception parents can be found below. If you have any problems, please email the school.

What are Power Pages?

Power Pages are attached below for each year group.

In a nutshell, a Power Page is a summary of the key foundational knowledge for each topic studied, that we expect children to embed and retain in their long term memories as they move through the school.

We have Power Pages for each of the History, Geography and Science topics and year group pages for Music and Art. They were developed over a period of two years by the teachers, led by the Subject Leaders.

At school, the children’s Power Pages are A4, and they are kept in a personal folder. Children use them continuously as they work through a topic. They return to them throughout the year to keep embedding those key facts and figures.

When they move on to their next class, they will keep returning to this core knowledge.

Teachers run regular quizzes to check progress and to identify gaps in learning.The end of year judgement as to whether your child has met the age related expectations for the year group are based partly on these quizzes, combined with how well they attain in lessons. This is what you will see on the annual report.

At the end of the year, children who score 98% in the Scholarship Quiz are awarded a Scholar pin badge to wear on their uniform for the next year.

What to do at home

Parents receive a booklet once a term with updated power pages. Parents should help and encourage children to learn the content of the Power Pages. You might read them together, play ‘can you find where it shows…’ or quiz them on the contents once they have committed it to memory.

Remote Learning

Covid 19 led to a very elaborate approach to supporting children with their learning while at home for extended periods. At that time, we used Google Classroom for all learning, with teachers making daily contact with children and families.  Teachers led live lessons.  

Should we ever need to, we are ready to set up remote learning in this way again.