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Policy
As a Catholic Christian community, we educate all to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as successful, creative and confident, active and informed learners; empowered to shape and enrich our world. To enact this, St Catherine’s School aims to improve literacy and numeracy standards and provide purposeful and meaningful opportunities for real - life learning in an inclusive and supportive environment.
Introduction
At St Catherine’s School (“the School”), homework may be set by a student’s individual teacher, specialist teacher, or collaboratively by the teachers for a given year level.
Homework may be given to:
- Assist students form effective study habits
- Assist students to develop skills in time management and the meeting of deadlines
- Teach students that learning can occur anywhere, not just in the classroom
- Provide students with an opportunity to review and reinforce learning from within the classroom
- Develop an understanding of how to use technology to access and utilise information
- Allow parents and caregivers the opportunity to participate in the learning process by being directly involved with their child’s education and to demonstrate positive attitudes to learning
Procedures
The School believes that reading and literacy should be a regular part of homework, as independent daily reading has been shown to greatly improve students’ learning outcomes.
The School acknowledges the need for the positive benefits of homework to be balanced with a student’s extracurricular, home and family life.
Homework may be given to be completed overnight, within a week, fortnight or other timeframe that will be communicated to the student.
The following table provides a guide as to the potential nature of a student’s homework and the time it may take:
Prep
| 10 minutes
| Reading a variety of texts |
| Environmental tasks |
Years 1&2
| Up to 20 minutes
| Reading a variety of texts |
| Environmental tasks |
Years 3&4
| Up to 30 minutes
| Reading a variety of texts |
| Drill; Environmental tasks |
Years 5&6
| Up to 45 minutes
| Reading a variety of texts |
| Drill; Environmental tasks |
The School asks that different stakeholders fulfil particular roles and responsibilities so that positive benefits from homework may accrue.
Responsibilities of Students
- To take pride in and submit their best work
- To try to be fully engaged with the homework task
- To use technology responsibly
- To bring completed work to school by the due date
- To ask their teacher or parents if they are having difficulty understanding a task or need assistance
Responsibilities of Teachers
- To ensure that homework expectations are consistent with the school’s homework guidelines
- To communicate homework tasks and expectations clearly to students;
- To communicate homework tasks and expectations clearly to students;
- To ensure that students understand when homework is due to be completed and brought to school
- To affirm positive attitudes to homework
- To affirm positive attitudes to homework
- To provide feedback to parents where required
Responsibilities of Parents and Caregivers
- To affirm positive attitudes towards homework
- To read with or to their children and provide frequent opportunities for independent reading
- To encourage their children to manage their time and meet homework deadlines
- To celebrate their children’s learning successes
- To provide access to technology to support student learning
- To provide feedback to teachers where required
Responsibilities of the Principal
- To ensure that homework expectations are consistent with the school’s homework guidelines
- To facilitate the communication process between school and home and support home/school partnerships in relation to homework
- To facilitate review of the school’s homework guidelines
