At Birley Primary Academy, we want our pupils to develop into well-rounded individuals. It is important that they get time to take part in co-curricular interests both in and out of school and they need time to relax and spend time with family. We believe that homework gives children the opportunity to consolidate what they have been learning at the academy and lets them find out more about the topics they most enjoy.
First and foremost, daily reading is a priority for our children in the Early Years. Parents and carers will be able to access e-books that connect closely to the phonics knowledge children are taught when they are learning to read at the academy. These can be accessed through using your child’s individual log-in details on the Collins E-Book website. In addition to the e-books, children will also be sent home with phonemes that need to be practised regularly.
In addition to daily reading activities, our children will also be sent home with a ‘Pick and Mix’ homework activity grid. The grid is full of activities that we encourage parents and children to work together upon at home and they are designed to support learning that is happening at the academy. They include individualised reading and phonics activities, maths games and activities that link to the different areas of learning – all activities should take no longer than 10 minutes. This half term’s ‘Pick and Mix’ activity sheet can be found below:
Essential: Reading is an essential aspect of our home learning. In Y1, children are required to read either their reading for pleasure book or e-book (accessed through the Collins E-Book website using your child’s individual log-in) daily. In Y2, the same expectations remain; however, your child may transition onto a banded reading book as opposed to the e-book during the course of the year. In Y3-Y6, children are encouraged to read their banded reading book or their reading for pleasure book daily. Parents and carers are encouraged to record reading at home in their Home-School Reading Diary so that they can earn rewards for reading at home, such as the Book Basket in KS1 and Book Tokens and points towards the Reading Olympics in KS2.
Online Support: As an academy, we subscribe to a number of online portals where pupils are encouraged to practise key skills from core curriculum subjects. Children should use their individuals log-ins found in their Home-School Reading Diary to log into the following sites.
Times Tables Rockstar:
https://ttrockstars.com/
Reading Eggs:
https://readingeggs.co.uk/login/
Purple Mash:
https://www.purplemash.com/sch/birleycommunityp#/portal/birleycommunityp/child
The Pick and Mix Grid: These grids allow pupils to select activities that particularly interests them and spend the half term working on them before bringing them into the academy to share with the class in a showcase of the amazing work undertaken at home. This half term’s grids are available below:
