Homework Policy

Rationale:

Homework benefits students by complementing classroom learning, fostering good study habits and providing an opportunity for students to be responsible for their own learning.
By the time the students are in years 5 & 6, homework tasks are designed to assist students to develop the skills of time management and perseverance in readiness for secondary school.

Aims:

To support and extend classroom learning.
To develop positive study habits.
To develop a responsibility for self-learning.

Implementation:

The school’s homework policy will be distributed to parents at the commencement of each school year.
All students will be allocated homework diaries.
Classroom teachers will set homework appropriate to each child’s skill level and age.
Homework activities should be interesting, challenging and where appropriate, open-ended.
Each set task must be purposeful, meaningful and relevant to the current classroom curriculum.
All homework activities must be assessed with feedback and support provided by teachers.
Northcote Primary School homework guidelines comply with the guidelines set out by DE&T.
Incomplete homework will be dealt with as per the guidelines.

Early Years (Prep – Year 4)

Homework will consist mainly of:

reading activities to, with and by parents.
simple extension tasks associated with classroom activities.
gathering of additional information or materials

Homework will generally not exceed 30 minutes per day and will not be set on weekends or during vacation periods.

Middle Years (Years 5 – 6)

Homework will consist mainly of:

independent reading on a daily basis
tasks such as continuation of classroom work, projects and assignments, essays and research

Homework will generally not exceed 45 minutes per day, must be coordinated between teachers to avoid excessive workload, and may be set during weekends and school vacations.

It is acceptable for teachers to assign unfinished classroom activities as homework tasks.

Evaluation:

This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s three-year review cycle.

This policy was last ratified by School Council in.... December 2004