This document provides information about a new home/school learning approach using a quality book or journal. The purpose is to support children's curriculum learning and skill development through activities completed at home with family in a fun, non-assessed way. Each child will receive a journal to record one activity per week related to family or classwork. The goal is to encourage meaningful learning opportunities and create a keepsake, while maintaining high presentation standards and differentiation for students' needs. Parents and teachers are asked to provide positive feedback on children's work in the journal, which is intended as a team effort rather than formal assessment. The school requests feedback on how well this new approach is working.

1. Home / School Learning
A supportive approach

2. Purpose of Home / School Learning
Home work: work completed at home
Supportive of curriculum
Supportive of skills acquisition
Relevant to learning and life!

3. Shift Happens
As you watch this video clip, relate the message to the changes in your
own life. When I was young there were no cassette recorders let alone
CDs, iPods, computers and PowerPoint presentations!

4. Format
Quality book with cartridge paper.
Partnership between home and school.
Children can complete this work however they wish:
labelled diagrams, reports, recounts or whatever they
wish providing it is presented with effort.
Work will not be formally marked – just positive
comments from both staff and parents.
Work should relate to school curriculum and be relevant
to the development of skills.
This could be a lovely keepsake for you and your child!

5. Explanation
Each child will be receiving one of these books to encourage them
to write about or illustrate activities you have done as a family. It
may also be used (if your child wishes) to follow up work from a
class activity to support their learning. I would like to see one piece
of work, either about a family or class activity per school week.
The work will not be marked in the same way that a formal piece of
class work would be, but it is very much a team effort with the
purpose of encouraging worthwhile home learning that will support
your child’s curriculum work in school. It is therefore possible that
some children will spend a lot of time on each activity or they may
only spend a little time. It doesn’t matter about the time spent on the
work – instead it is the quality of the work and the learning
opportunities it affords that matters.
Please spend time with your child and encourage these activities
and I am sure your child’s work in this book could become a lovely
keepsake for the future!

6. Criteria for Home / Learning
Journal
Ensure that high standards of presentation are met.
Provide activities that will support the learning activities
of the classroom learning.
Ensure that each child has at least one activity a week
that furthers their learning and sets a challenge.
Differentiate the outcome and support for each activity
according to the academic needs of each child.
All adults and the child themselves are invited to make
positive and constructive comments that may evaluate
the work, but the work is not intended to be marked with
any grading.

7. Evaluation
Do please try this out and as the Autumn term
progresses, evaluate and feed back to me what
you think and how it is working for you and your
child.
We can not please everybody all of the time and
it is possible that style of home / school learning
will be dependant on the topic, but remember
that events, outings, hobbies and interests can
be shared in this journal.
Do listen to your child, these changes are a
result of listening to pupil voice.