At Gladesmore Community School, we call homework ‘own your learning’.  This is because we don’t just want pupils to be doing work at home, but we want to make sure that they are taking ownership of their learning.

How do pupils know what they need to do?

First, teachers will tell pupils in lessons.  However, we know that sometimes pupils are absent or they forget the details of the own your learning that has been set.  Therefore in addition to setting own your learning in lessons, we also use remote methods of setting own your learning e.g. Google Classroom.  

How much Own Your Learning will I receive?

Pupils should plan to be doing 1-2 hours own your learning every night.  If they have no own your learning set, they can always revise or go over their learning from the day.

What sort of Own Your Learning tasks will be set?

Some of the own your learning will be handed in to the teacher in lessons, however, increasingly many subjects are asking pupils to submit work online.   

Own your learning is very varied, it could include:

• Research about a topic you are to study in the future
• Revising a topic you have studied before
• Producing an original piece of work e.g. a drawing or a story
• Using a particular website to practise your skills e.g. MathsWatch
• Completing an activity to deepen your understanding of a topic
• Practising something you have learned in class

Can pupils do their Own Your Learning at school?

We know that it is difficult for some pupils to complete own your learning at home because there are lots of distractions or because they don’t have access to a computer / tablet.  Gladesmore Community School has two spaces where pupils can work outside school hours – the school library and the Success Lounge.  Historically, pupils have been able to use these spaces before school, during break and lunchtime and even after school (please see special note below).  

Can pupils get help with Own Your Learning?

Yes!  You can always go and ask your teacher for help or contact them remotely on Google Classroom.  We also run an own your learning club 4 days a week in the CLC.  In case pupils need help, we recommend not leaving own your learning until the last minute so that there is time to ask for help. 

What happens if pupils don’t complete Own Your Learning?

When pupils first start, we understand that things are new and pupils are given some time and training so that they can become accustomed to our systems and ways of working.  Pupils who regularly complete own your learning receive regular rewards from their teachers.  Pupils who regularly fail to submit own your learning will be sanctioned.