ILT Information and Timetable
Homework
At Waseley Hills, ‘Homework’ has been rebranded as Independent Learning Tasks (ILTs) so that students really understand the value of working and learning independent of their teacher, class and school.
ILTs will be created to assist the learning which occurs in the classroom, rather than being a pointless ‘add-on’. It will act as a means for students to recall key facts and information they have been taught and that they need to remember.
As a school we have worked incredibly hard with staff to train them in the production of ILTs so that they are never pointless tasks but instead, aid learning.
When we teach things, if we never go back to them, then students will tend to forget them very quickly. If instead, we use tools like ILTs, quizzes in lessons and activities such as recall or revision techniques, students are more likely to remember them. The more they remember, the better they will learn new information! Linked to this, the more variety we present this information in, the better they will be able to remember.
When is it given and how will you know?
Like everything, we try to keep things as simple as possible at Waseley Hills so that there is no room for confusion for our students, teachers, or yourselves.
- We have a very simple ILT timetable (see below).
- We will collect ILTs in in the morning and then provide an opportunity for students to catch up on any homework they have not handed in at the end of the day should it not be handed in.
- ILTs will always be printed on green paper so that staff and students can easily identify it.
- ILTs will always have the due date on them.
- We have arranged for study areas to be open for students to access in order to give them time and space to complete ILTs.
Below: ILT Collection Points are located in all subject areas for you to collect resources if required.
Hand-in timetable:
|
Years |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
|
7-9 |
English |
Maths |
Science |
History |
Geography |
|
10 |
English |
Maths |
Science |
|
|
Initially, ILTs will only apply to certain subjects and to years 7-10, year 11 and other subjects will have a separate process for homework.
ILTs will be collected in on these mornings and Scholars given an entire week to complete this. If any students are struggling with any element of their ILT, or they misplace their sheets, they can speak to their teachers and we will help them. Really this needs to be done BEFORE the hand-in date.
We also understand that for our younger students, we will need to help them get used to the system and so years 7 and 8 both have a study slot built into their Culture session where they can complete their ILT, we also have a study support area for use at break and lunch.
You will be able to see the homework easily as it will always be on light green paper and we will feedback to students on their ILT through a 1-4 mark (1 being the best). You will see an average of these scores every 13 weeks when you receive a written report.
What if an ILT is not completed?
As we stated above, we need ILTs to be completed so that students can succeed in their classes. If ILTs are not handed in then students will complete it that night after school. We will never keep Scholars longer than 30 minutes but want to be in a position where this is never used as we get 100% of homework handed in. We will send a text home as close to mid-day as possible should this apply to your child. Obviously, if a student has been absent for a week and hand in day is their 1st day back, this won’t apply to them.
What about being positive?
Handing in ILTs, although an expectation, will come with a reward which will automatically be applied to students balances. When ILTs are marked and is deemed to be excellent, further rewards will be added in the form of more ETHICs points.
My child needs more support where can they get this from?
We have pre-identified students who may need more support and our curriculum, pastoral and SEND teams will be closely monitoring and helping students so that they make a success of this system. It is clear that the more we help EVERY child to know and remember, the better outcomes they will have. ILTs are a critical aspect in this drive.
I hope that this quick ‘explainer’ helps. We aim to produce one of these periodically as we go through the year and hope that they are useful and give you an insight into why we do the things we do at Waseley!