Homework

27 March 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

This weeks Living and Learning statement is I know the importance of a healthy diet. Alongside your child, check out the NHS Eatwell guide.It shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet. You don’t need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get the balance right over a day or even a week. The BBC Bitesize page ‘What is a balanced diet?’ is worth visiting with children in Key Stage 2.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

As we near the end of our Computing topic, this Talk Time will help you to reflect on your learning.

I know and can use the topic vocabulary from this half term.

Years 1 and 2:

• algorithm – a sequence of instructions or a set of rules to get something done
• command – an instruction that can be used in a program
• program – an algorithm or algorithms which can be run by a computer
• to debug – to find and fix errors in algorithms
• computer – a type of machine that can follow instructions and do useful things

Years 3 and 4:

• computer: a machine that can input, process and output data
• code: the commands that a program can run (eg the blocks in Scratch)
• program: an algorithm or algorithms which can be run by a computer
• repetition: to repeat the execution of certain instructions
• sprite: a 2d character in a computer game
• logical reasoning: helps us explain why something happens
• attribute: a quality or characteristic that describes someone or something
• branching database: helps a computer sort and find information by splitting a group of items into smaller and smaller groups using “Yes” or “No” questions

Years 5 and 6:

• computer: a machine that can input, process, store and output data

• search engine: program that searches for and identifies items on the internet using complex algorithms
• decomposition: the process of breaking down a task into smaller, more-manageable parts
• repetition: to repeat the execution of certain instructions
• selection: choosing to execute one set of instructions over another
• variable: a value that can be set and changed throughout the running of a program (eg a timer, a score, a number of lives left)
• simulation: modelling a real-world or imaginary situation

For your discussions at home, think about the learning that has happened in your Computing lessons. What was your favourite lesson and why? Refer to the list of vocabulary for your year group.27

20 March 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

Our Living and Learning statement for this week is I know the importance of sleep. When we sleep, our bodies and minds have the time to rest, recover and process all the things which have happened to us during the day. When we’re young, our bodies are growing and changing quickly, so we need even more sleep than adults to be able to cope with everything that’s happening. We’re all different, but it’s generally recommended that children and young people get between 9 and 11 hours of sleep every night. Without you or your child getting anxious about hitting a target, think about how much sleep your child’s getting. You might want to consider bedtime routines that help sleep – for example, take an hour before bedtime to ‘wind down’ and build in a bedtime story.

Children in Key Stage 1 should check out BBC Bitesize ‘What do humans need to be healthy?’. Children in Key Stage 2 should visit ‘Why is a healthy lifestyle important?’.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week’s Talk Time has a Science theme:

I know how plants grow.

1. Start by having a conversation about what you think a plant needs to grow and why you think those things are important.
2. Next, try to grow a plant at home. This could be seeds (beans, cress, sunflower, herbs), grass, a vegetable top in water or even a weed!
3. Observe how the plant changes over time and discuss any changes you notice. You could measure the plant at regular intervals to see how it is growing. This could be measuring the height of the plant or how many leaves it has.

Challenge: What do you think would happen if a plant didn’t get one of the things it needs?

13 March 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

I know the importance of personal hygiene, including handwashing… is our Living and Learning statement this week.

This is a big area to think about! It would be a good idea to break this down into a few areas, and come up with a few top tips for each. For example, food hygiene (eg wash hands before eating and preparing food), hand hygiene (eg wash hands after every trip to the toilet), health hygiene (eg sneeze or cough into our elbow, not into our hands – we sometimes call this the vampire method), and oral hygiene (eg brush teeth twice a day, including last thing at night – no snacks afterwards).

Aimed at younger children, this BBC Bitesize clip called ‘Keeping clean’ is worth watching with your child.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week’s Talk Time poses a moral question and makes links to our current computing topic.

Are computer games bad for your health?

We suggest approaching this Talk Time with an open mind. You may already have strong views on this but it’s important to consider both sides of an argument before reaching your conclusions.

Check out these R2s to help you with your discussions at home:

• What are the health benefits of playing computer games?
  • Remember that mental health is crucial to being a healthy person.
• How does playing computer games negatively impact on your health?
  • How could this impact on your physical health?
  • Is gaming always an enjoyable experience?
• Decide which argument is the strongest.
  • This might be the side with the most points to back it up.
  • You might consider some points to be more important than others.
  • You may not agree with people you speak to – that’s okay!

After the discussion with friends and family, what conclusion do you reach? Do others around you agree?

06 March 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

Continue to develop the themes from the previous week. Some drugs can be helpful, like medicines when used in the right way. Some drugs are harmful, even medicines if we use them in the wrong way. Older children can develop this understanding in terms of knowing about some illegal drugs and dangers they present.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week’s homework has a Reading theme to celebrate World Book Day. We’d like you to try reading something different to what you’d normally read.

For example:

• If you usually read stories, try a fact book.
• If you like football books, try a poem.
• If you read picture books, try a chapter book.
• If you read fiction, try non-fiction.
• You could even try a magazine, recipe, comic or instructions!

As an extra challenge can you find:

• A new word?
• An interesting fact?
• A question you now have?

27 February 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

Even young children can begin to develop an understanding of drugs. Talk to your child about medicines – they’re helpful drugs, but only when used by the right people in the right way. Older children can develop this understanding in terms of other drugs like alcohol – talk about age restrictions and drinking in moderation.

The BBC Bitesize page ‘What are medicines and drugs?’ is worth checking out with children in Key Stage 2.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week’s homework is another opportunity to listen to and talk about music.

I can talk about different music.

In music lessons this year, pupils have listened to different pieces of music. We’d like you to listen to two contrasting pieces of music and discuss them.

Here are some questions that could help to structure your discussions:

• How does the piece of music make them feel?
• Do you like the music? Why? Why not?
• What instruments can you hear?
• How does the music change during the piece?
• What is different and what is the same between the two pieces of music?

There is some vocabulary below (we call them musical dimensions) which we introduce to pupils in music lessons across key stage 1 and key stage 2. It would be great if you and your child could try to use some of this vocabulary when discussing the pieces.

Finally, here are some links to pieces of music which you may want to listen to:

06 February 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

As well as exploring consent generally, consider permission-seeking and permission-giving when online eg getting permission before taking and sharing images of others.

As a parent / carer, you might want to start seeking permission before uploading images of your child online (‘Shall I share this pic, or would you prefer me not to?’ is one way to ask, for example.)

This BBC Newsround clip talks about the importance of online consent.This BBC Bitesize clip talks about digital consent.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week, our Talk Time is in preparation for Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 10 February. We’ll have a full day of learning based around internet safety. With that in mind, start to think about ways you already keep yourself safe when online.

I can talk about ways to keep myself safe online

Things you might like to consider are:

• Age restrictions – where might you see these and why are these used?
• Digital content – do you know what a digital footprint is?
• Mis information, disinformation and hoaxes – are all things we read true?
• Fake websites and scam emails – are all websites trusted?
• Password safety
• Personal data and keeping it safe online
• Online vs offline behaviour
• Impact on quality of life and having a balance of online and offline activities

Have a conversation with your family and friends about how you already keep yourself safe online. After your conversation, take some time to reflect on yours and others responses. Is there anything that you could change or do differently to help keep yourself even safer online? Is there anything you’d like to know more about?

06.02.26

Here are the spellings for this week. Your child will have a spelling quiz on Friday 13 February.

swimming   raining    watching   cry  cried   empty   emptied   they

Please encourage your child to try practise the words by putting their words in a sentence using our handwriting guide. Also, look at the spelling activities guide for some ideas to practise these words.

30 January 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

As well as exploring consent generally, consider permission-seeking and permission-giving when online eg getting permission before taking and sharing images of others.

As a parent / carer, you might want to start seeking permission before uploading images of your child online (‘Shall I share this pic, or would you prefer me not to?’ is one way to ask, for example.)

This BBC Newsround clip talks about the importance of online consent.This BBC Bitesize clip talks about digital consent.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week, our Talk Time homework is reviewing learning from your child’s Living and Learning lessons this half-term. Children in most classes have been learning about our British Values.

These are: Democracy, Respect and Tolerance, Rule of Law and Individual Liberty.

The question that we’d like you to consider with your child is:

Why are British Values important?

Things you might like to consider for each value:

• Democracy – voting, listening, the right to have a voice, leadership, joint decisions
• Respect and tolerance – traditions, culture, awareness, acceptance, religions, respect
• Rule of law – rules, laws, agreements, behaviour, protected rights
• Individual liberty – values, consent, equality, rights, choice, dignity

When discussing these values, it’s often helpful to imagine what life would be like without these values.

23 January 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

This is the fourth (and final) ‘British value’ – values that are important in the UK and many countries.

Can you child imagine a country where we didn’t have rules and laws? Can you child link their understanding of the importance of rules and laws with other Living and Learning themes? Look back at previous themes: school rules, protected characteristics, rights and responsibilities…

Older children should check out this BBC video about the rule of law.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

This week’s Talk Time is about Science – and we’re looking for signs of the changing seasons. You’re going to be a season detective and your job is to observe how the world changes as winter turns into spring.

Why not try some of the following ideas to observe the changing seasons:

• Look outside each day. What is the weather like? In winter it is often cold, frosty or snowy. As spring arrives, you might notice warmer days, sunshine and more rain.
• Look at plants and trees. In winter many trees have no leaves. In spring, you may see buds, new green leaves and colourful flowers starting to grow.
• Listen carefully when you are outside. In winter it is often quiet. In spring you might hear birds singing, bees buzzing or frogs croaking. These sounds tell us animals are becoming more active.
• Think about how you feel. What clothes do you wear in winter? Do you wear different clothes in spring?

Try to spot these changes happening around you and talk about them with an adult.

16 January 2026

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Living and Learning:

Here are two more values important in the UK and many countries. Individual liberty relates to freedom. Respect and tolerance are about appreciating differences with other people.

Can you child imagine a country where we didn’t have these values?

Can you child link their understanding of respect and tolerance to the protected characteristics we thought about in the Autumn?

Older children should check out this BBC video about respect.

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time:

There’s a moral theme to this week’s Talk Time.

It is a waste of our time learning about the past as it has already happened and we can’t change it.

This is a very topical statement given that we’ve just started our history topic. You may already have an opinion on this but it’s always worth pausing to consider a range of viewpoints.

This week’s R2s will help you to provide a balanced argument before you reach a conclusion:

• What are the reasons for (the pros) learning about the past?
• What are the reasons against (the cons) learning about the past?
• Reach a decision. Is it valuable to learn about past events?
  • One list may have more points than the other.
  • Some points have a greater importance than others.

One way to approach this Talk Time is to have a debate with people in your household. This will not only help you generate ideas but also work on a range of oracy skills. For example,  building on the views of others is a skill that we have practised. When someone raises a point that you’re in agreement with, use one of the following phrases to start your response:

• I agree with you because…
• That’s a good point. I also think that…
• Furthermore, I’ll add that…

On the other hand, you may disagree with a point made by a family member. When that’s the case, it can be hard not to interrupt them. The oracy focus for this half term is turn taking. To be respectful of others’ opinions, wait until a person has finished speaking and then respond using one of these sentence starters or one of your own:

• I hear what you’re saying but…
• That’s a good point. However…
• I take your point but…