St Alban’s Homework Policy

Purpose of Homework

Homework plays a key role in consolidating classroom learning, enabling students to secure and apply the knowledge and skills taught as part of the curriculum. It supports long-term retention, builds independence, and develops effective study habits.

Research from the Education Endowment Foundation indicates that homework can contribute to up to five months of additional progress, particularly for students in secondary education.  

At St Alban’s, homework is designed to be purposeful, manageable, and closely aligned with curriculum learning.

 

Forms of Homework

Key Stages Three and Four
In Key Stages Three and Four, homework typically takes the form of reading, revision, and practice activities.

• For Years 7–9, these tasks support the consolidation of core knowledge and skills from the Key Stage Three curriculum.
• For Years 10–11, homework is more sharply focused on effective preparation for GCSE examinations and coursework, helping students to develop confidence, subject mastery, and exam readiness.

Key Stage Five
At Key Stage Five, homework may include reading, revision, practice, and preparatory tasks. These are designed to encourage A level students to deepen their understanding, develop independence, and refine the study skills required for success in further education and beyond St Alban’s.

 

Demonstrable Outcomes

All homework tasks will include a clear and measurable outcome, allowing students to demonstrate both effort and progress. For example, a reading task may require annotated notes, written responses to questions, or preparation for discussion in a subsequent lesson. This ensures that homework is purposeful, and that learning can be reviewed and built upon in subsequent lessons.

Frequency of Homework

To support a healthy balance between school commitments and home life, homework is set with a predictable and manageable frequency. Expectations increase gradually as students move through the school, helping them to establish effective study routines over time.

In some subjects, the frequency of homework is deliberately limited to ensure it remains purposeful and realistic. With the exception of examination year groups, homework is not routinely set during school holidays in order to protect family time.

 

Frequency of homework for Year Seven:

 

Weekly:  Maths

Fortnightly: English
Half termly: Drama, Art, Geography, Computing, Technology, MFL, Music, Science, RE

Termly: History, PE

Never:  PSHE

 

Frequency of homework for Year Eight:

 

Weekly: Maths

Fortnightly: English
Half termly: Drama, Art, Geography, Computing, Technology, MFL, Music, Science, RE

Termly: History, PE

Never: PSHE

 

Frequency of homework for Year Nine:

 

Weekly: Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Fortnightly: English
Half termly: Drama, Art, Geography, Computing, Technology, Music, RE

Termly: MFL, History, PE

Never: PSHE

 

Frequency of homework for Year 10:

 

Weekly: Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Fortnightly: Drama, Art, Geography, Technology, MFL, Business and Economics, Music, RE

Half termly: Computing, PE

Never: PSHE

 

Frequency of homework for Year 11:

 

Weekly: Maths, Drama, Technology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Fortnightly: Art, Geography, MFL, History, Business and, English Economics, Music, RE

Half termly: Computing, PE

Never: PSHE

 

Frequency of homework for Year 12 and 13:

 

At least Weekly: all subjects

Never: PSHE

The timing and frequency of homework may vary at A-Level according to subject and curriculum topic. However, it will be at least weekly and will equate up to an hour of homework for every timetabled lesson.

 

Duration

It is not possible for teachers to accurately predict how long a task will take every individual student. Therefore, we provide recommended time allocations as guidance for students and parents.

Recommended durations:

• Key Stage Three: 20–40 minutes per homework task (not exceeding one hour)
• Key Stage Four: 40–60 minutes per homework task (Only exceeded for essential revision or coursework)
• Key Stage Five: A level students are expected to complete approximately one hour of independent study for every hour of timetabled lesson time. Subjects that include Non-Examined Assessments (NEAs) may require additional study time.

Teachers will regularly seek feedback from students regarding the time taken to complete homework and will use this information to inform future planning. This ensures that homework remains purposeful, manageable, and appropriately challenging.

Homework feedback

Students will receive feedback on all homework tasks; however, this will not always take the form of written marking.

Feedback may be provided through:

• Verbal feedback
• Whole-class feedback
• Self-marked activities
• Online platforms that provide immediate automated feedback

Feedback is designed to help students ecognize strengths, address misconceptions, and improve future work.

Extending study beyond homework

Each subject will provide appropriate curriculum resources to support students who wish to extend their learning and revise independently. These may include:

• Topic-based study booklets
• Revision materials
• Online resources available on subject pages of the school website

Students are encouraged to make use of these materials to deepen their understanding and strengthen subject knowledge and prepare effectively for assessments.

In addition, the school offers a Homework Club to support students who may find it difficult to complete homework at home. Homework Club runs three lunchtimes per week and every day after school, providing a quiet, supported environment where students can:

• Complete homework
• Access resources
• Receive support from staff

Exceptional circumstances

At St Alban’s, we ecognize that some students may experience family circumstances or have individual needs that can make completing homework more challenging at times. The pastoral and SEND teams will provide guidance to teachers where reasonable adjustments or temporary exceptions may be required.

In addition, the school offers a Homework Club to support students who may find it difficult to complete homework at home. Homework Club runs three lunchtimes per week and every day after school, providing a quiet, supported environment where students can complete tasks, access resources, and seek help from staff.

At Sixth Form, students have the opportunity to complete work during supervised study sessions and non-contact periods.

Students are encouraged to make use of these opportunities to deepen their understanding, strengthen their subject knowledge, and develop effective independent study habits.

We are committed to maintaining open and constructive communication with parents and carers in order to understand and support these needs. In exceptional circumstances, parents may contact their child’s teacher or form tutor to explain why their child may be unable to meet an upcoming deadline.

Completion of homework

Rewards for homework completion operate at both departmental and whole-school levels:

Department specific rewards

• Individual departments may offer subject-specific rewards to ecognize outstanding homework, consistent completion, or notable improvement.
• These rewards may include verbal praise, written feedback, certificates, postcards home, display of work, or other department-led incentives.

House points

Pupils may be awarded house points for:

• Completing homework on time
• Producing high-quality or exemplary homework
• Demonstrating sustained effort or significant improvement
• House points awarded for homework contribute to individual, house, and whole-school reward systems

Noncompletion of homework

When homework is not completed and no exceptional circumstances apply, the subject teacher will issue a C1 on the school MIS (Arbor) to record the missed task. 

If homework continues to be missed, on the third occasion a teacher will escalate to a C2, which carries an after-school detention to allow the students to complete the work and address any gaps in learning.

If homework continues to be a concern, the Heads of Department will respond appropriately. This may include contact home, parental meetings, pastoral involvement, and compulsory attendance to homework club.