Home Learning
Why is Home Learning Important?
Home learning involving Preparation, Practice, and Retrieval is an integral part of education which:
- Promotes students’ self-discipline and personal responsibility for learning and organisation
- Reinforces work started in class, extending knowledge, and understanding
- Gives opportunities to practise and develop skills
- Allows parents and carers to become involved in their child’s learning
- Is valuable in ensuring students’ progress and raising achievement.
Completing effective home learning can lead to significant improvements in student progress, with evidence suggesting that it can add up to five months of additional progress over the course of an academic year
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)
Our Home Learning Platform
At Hartford Church of England High School, we use Seneca Learning as our primary homework, independent study platform. Retrieval practice is one of the most effective, scientifically proven ways to help pupils remember what they have learned.
Retrieval practice is the act of forcing the brain to recall information from memory, rather than simply re-reading a textbook or highlighting notes. By generating answers to questions, pupils strengthen the neural pathways associated with that knowledge, making it much easier to recall during exams. Low-stakes testing builds long-term memory and Seneca provides a stress-free environment for pupils to test themselves and learn from their mistakes.
Accessing Seneca Learning
Students can access Seneca Learning by logging into their account via the Seneca website or Seneca Learning app. Students log in using their School Microsoft account details.
All home learning tasks are logged by teachers on Seneca with clear hand in dates.
Successful completion of home learning will be logged on Arbor by the class teacher leading to recognition and awards.
How can parents support with Home Learning
Parents can support students using Seneca Learning by:
- Encourage regular use of Seneca as part of a revision routine
- Helping students set aside a quiet, distraction-free time for home learning
- Check that students are completing teacher-assigned tasks and revision activities
- Support with our initiative Ready, Revise, Together to ensure effective assessment revision
Frequency of Home Learning
Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)
| Subject | Frequency |
| English | One per week |
| Maths | One per week (Sparx) |
| Science | One per week |
| RE | One per week |
| History | One per week |
| Geography | One per week |
| Spanish | One per week |
| Art | One per week |
| Design Technology (DT) | One per week |
| Computing | One per week |
| Performing Arts (Music, Dance, Drama) | One per week |
| PE | Students are encouraged to attend at least one extra-curricular club per week |
Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11)
Home learning will be set once a week in all subjects.
Ready, Revise, Together
During the half terms where students have formal assessments, we will launch our Ready, Revise, Together initiative. This initiative is designed to encourage students to proactively manage their own study habits, moving away from last-minute cramming and building strong revision skills and good habits over time. Students will be explicitly taught revision strategies in their lessons which they should then use to revise independently at home. Booklets containing revision support, revision lists and revision timetables will be sent home for students to use to plan their revision.