Links between home and school, alongside a positive working relationship between staff and families, can make a hugely positive impact on your child’s progress. Please work with us to give your child the best start in life.
Visits are an important part of school life to enrich the experiences of the children. We ask for a one-off £50 contribution towards the visits and guarantee the true cost will be higher, shared below.
For Year 4 the following visits have been planned or already taken place. The amount next to each one shows the cost per child.
Total cost per child (Year to Date): £30.00
Homework has a positive impact by enabling pupils to undertake independent learning to practice and consolidate skills, conduct in-depth inquiry, prepare for lessons or revise for exams… Homework refers to tasks given to pupils by their teachers to be completed outside of usual lessons.
Education Endowment Foundation, August 2021
At Croft Junior School we will refer to homework as ‘Independent Study’.
Independent Study will be shared on Google Classroom and is optional for all children. It will not be shared on any particular day nor expected back, checked for completion nor result in any form of negative challenge. Independent Study will be positively encouraged, informally celebrated, and referred to in lessons.
Independent Study does have a positive impact on children’s learning, but it should not be taking over life out of school. We want to hear about children attending dance classes, learning to play an instrument, and visiting interesting places.
At Croft Junior School we expect the children to come to school and work hard. If they do that, they should be able to go home and spend valuable time with family members and friends and enjoy being a child – playing and learning other things through play. Some children do of course really enjoy writing and doing mathematics and other ‘academic’ things and in these instances, they may wish to spend hours with Independent Study.
If your child has worked hard at school, any Independent Study shared will not be chased. If your child has not worked as hard as they could have, tasks for them may be shared, giving them the opportunity to make up for time they have wasted.
Reading
Reading is hugely important and enables the children to better access all subjects at school. Children will have two books and will be encouraged to exchange them regularly. We will teach the children to read at school and they will be heard regularly. We encourage children to read a little every day. Help from parents is appreciated and valuable. As a parent, listening to your child read and enjoying a book will make a significant difference. We also encourage parents to read a little to the children too.
Reading books should be in school every day. When children finish a book, they will return it to school and the class Librarian will return it to the right place in the library. Your child can visit the library independently to choose a new book on any day.
Spellings
Spelling can be practised in several ways. The list of Year 3/4 words and list of Year 5/6 words are available one Google Classroom. Children will be encouraged to learn these words. Other words will be shared to both develop vocabulary and relate to topics studied. There will be no formal test other than at school Assessment Points, three times each year.
Topic Study
Each term a question, idea or prompt will be shared for children to research away from school. This can be completed independently, with friends and/or with family members. A deadline will be set for completion for those that wish to take part. The work completed can then be brought into the school and displayed for others to see, ask questions, and enjoy.
Independent Study will be encouraged, but not checked. Those that choose to engage will benefit and achieve better for it. We want the children to enjoy it, value it and benefit from it. There are no compulsory deadlines nor expectations of completion. If you have a busy week, change of plans or anything else, be assured you do not need to explain, nor does your child worry about the consequence.