Homework – How Much is Enough?

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Download the first draft of our homework policy here!

I’d like to share with you the first draft of our new homework policy.

You’ll find the policy looks at a range of things – including the sort of homework kids should get, an outline of how we’re ensuring deadlines are fair, and how we’re making sure that students know how long a task should take (so they don’t spend too little – or too much! – time on it)

However, there is one area of the policy that I think needs more work – an area that I think we need to agree on.  That is how much homework should children get?

There is government guidance on this – you can hear about it on the video above or by reading the policy – but this is only a suggestion. Schools are permitted to make their own decision on this – and I’d like to get your say.  I want us to agree on how much homework is “enough”.

That way, we can solve any problems – such as concerns about students having too much or too little homework – very quickly because the expectations on both sides will be very clear.

So let the debate commence!  How much homework is too much?  Either comment below or send me an e-mail.

Download the policy here and join the discussion.

g.davies@millthorpeschool.co.uk

How are Year 11 doing?

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Happy New Year to you all!

Year 11 are entering their last two terms at Millthorpe, so I thought that Year 11 parents in particular might like an update on how they are doing.

Progress

We have just had the tracking from before Christmas analysed.  It suggests that 80% of students are likely to get 5Cs or better and 66% are heading for 5Cs or better including English and Maths.  Some students have performed really well, but I’m not satisfied that this represents the best that all can do.  Last Monday I sat down with our pastoral leaders and senior leadership team to identify those who might benefit from help or simply being told to buck up, and we’ll be contacting parents shortly.

If you haven’t sat down with your child and gone through their tracking report yet, please do so.  It’s a good chance to say “well done” when your child has performed well.  If they haven’t done well, they will most likely be upset.  Talk to them about what changes they need to make to do better.  I always find it best to discuss where they want to be in September, and how they will make sure they get there.

Behaviour

You’ll know we brought in a new behaviour management policy in September called PAS (Positive Achievement System).  This was in response to staff and students wanting to make sure that those who followed the rules were rewarded and those who regularly broke them were more consistently dealt with.

Year 11 behaviour was generally very good during the Autumn term.  Through the stamp system, 92% of students gained their Autumn Pass allowing them out of school at lunchtimes (in fact 74% already have their Spring Pass and 33% their Summer Pass).  I have had just one complaint about lunchtime behaviour in the whole term and no student has had their pass withdrawn, which shows that Year 11 have been responsible with their privilege of leaving school.

As well as rewards for positive behaviour, there are negative comments for poor behaviour leading to sanctions.  Last term Year 11 got an average of ten negative comments per student over the term.  However, over half of the negative comments came from just 27 students: the vast majority of Year 11 got very few negative comments.

In Year 11, it is lateness to school that explains most of the Year 11 negative comments (31%) with lack of equipment (rulers, pen, pencil, planner, calculator) accounting for another 12%.  While these may seem minor things, students can’t learn as well if they are not equipped and disturb the beginning of a lesson if the arrive late.  As a parent, if you can make sure they set off for school on time with full equipment, you will be helping us make a difference.

What can you do as a parent?

Please talk to your child about their tracking grades from before Christmas and their targets.  It’s better to ask them about what they want to achieve and how it will affect them in the future, than to tell them what you’d like them to achieve.

Second, please look at your child’s planner.  You can check on the homework set, challenge them if they haven’t written it in, or even challenge us if you think we’re not setting enough or suitable homework.  You can also see where teachers may have written positive or negative comments in.  I’ve asked teachers always to write in any negative comments so you are aware – please let school know if this isn’t happening.

Finally, please help us to instill good habits of punctuality and being prepared.  Make sure they leave on time with their full equipment.  It will help them at school, as well as in further study at Sixth Form or University and in employment.

St Patrick’s Charity Academy

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St. Patrick’s Charity Academy is a school in Ghana with which Millthorpe has formed a link.  Mr. Sladen in the Geography department has been developing this for some time, and last week showed me some letters the children from St. Patrick’s had sent to us.

Letters from St. Patrick's Charity Academy

Selection of letters

The letters show a very different way of life.  Here are some of the things the St. Patrick’s students put in their letters …

  • “In our school there are 500 pupils and 15 teachers” (Millthorpe has about 1000 pupils and 72 teachers)
  • “My favourite meal is: rice and stew; okro stew; kokante; groundnut soup.”
  • “Our teachers teach well and there is a lot of discipline.”
  • Some of the children had nicknames used by friends as well as staff, for example “Blessing Boy” and “White Lady”.

    A letter from Ghana

    A letter from Ghana

  • Many said “I come from … but I stay at …” which made me think that many were lodging near the school as they lived too far to travel daily.
  • “It is important to pass the BECE examinations.”
  • “In September we reported to school early and swept the classrooms and compound.  For the first two weeks we cleared weeds and made the school tidy.”
  • “We have pipes (for water) and we have toilets.”
  • The pupils mention their parents’ professions.  Some are doctors, some are teachers and some are farmers.
  • They describe their appearance.  They tell us their height (although I’m not sure they’ve measured it correctly!) and the shape of their faces and noses, and their complexion. Some are fair, some are dark and several write, “I have a tribal mark on my face”.
  • They say that they are keen to be good and to do well.  One writes, “I want to be a medical doctor in the future.”

Mr. Sladen’s Year 7 students are writing back to our Ghanaian friends, and I will be writing to introduce myself to the principal, who is called Mr. Bismarck Agyepong.  Google Maps suggests the school is here. At 6°N of the equator, there would be virtually no variation in the length of day or night, though there might be seasonal weather. 

Last summer, I spoke to hundreds of parents, students and staff about what our values and outcomes ought to be.  I have been collating and analysing very large amounts of information from those consultations and will bring them to you soon, but two things that came out strongly in that consultation was that you want Millthorpe students to:

  • be open-minded about other ways of being and living
  • become global citizens

I’m really looking foward to our growing partnership with St. Patrick’s as this seems a really good way of meeting both those valuable aims.  Mr. Sladen is trying to secure some funding to allow teacher visits between the schools, and if things go well, student visits in the future.  I’ll ask him to keep parents and students updated on the St. Patrick’s/Millthorpe partnership in future issues of the Millthorpian.

Parents’ Forum – Reports and Communication

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We held a very well attended Parents’ Forum on 12th October – 62 parents turned up, the most we’ve ever had.  I was delighted to see so many parents willing to give up an evening to help us improve our communications about student progress.

Click here to download the comments that were made. Here’s a quick summary of the major items.

  • Some of the information in reports could be better explained, and it helps to know whether the student is making good progress
  • Parents’ Evenings were very useful, but a bit rushed and the queues were too long
  • Parents would like a tutor comment on each (termly) report, with some more detailed subject comments in the final report – this is more than the current system of a subject target each term with one form tutor comment in the final report.
  • Parents generally liked the subject targets, but some weren’t very personal, and some parents thought a progress indicator or an indication of national comparisons were just as important.

We also asked about our strategy to use more electronic methods to communicate with parents.  The response was very positive but parents warned us to be careful not to exclude those without access to email or the internet.  If you haven’t yet given us your email address, please telephone the office – we promise to use it only to contact you about school and we’ll keep it secure.  It will make sure you get all those letters that sometimes end up at the bottom of a sports bag!

We thought about the concerns over queues at parents’ evenings.  Last Thursday was Year 11 Parents’ Evening, and I asked staff to stick to their 5 minute appointment slots and if a discussion was going to overrun, to offer a telephone call back.  So far, my feedback has been that the queues were shorter (although a few staff with several teaching groups did find it hard to meet with all parents).

If you were at the Year 11 Parents’ Evening, did you notice a difference?  Why not add a comment to this post and tell us about your experience? Whether you were at the Parents’ Forum or not, you could also add a comment to let us know your thoughts about our student reports and our communication in general.

To add a comment just click the “comment” link at the bottom right of this post.