The Billericay School ‘Caring about Success’
PARENTAL PARTNERSHIP
How to Support Your Child’s Learning and Help Them to Reach Their Full Potential Year 7
Your child starting secondary school can sometimes be a little daunting for parents and carers. Often there is uncertainty about how to help at home as the work is more challenging than at primary school . This booklet aims, therefore, to outline what you can do to support your child’s education.
We know that the children who reach their potential at the end of year 11 and in the Sixth Form, do so because we all work together to ensure that they achieve success and develop as happy, confident, well-rounded individuals.
How can you support at home?
Provide a quiet space to complete homework / independent study. This could range from a desk in their bedroom to a corner of the lounge or a space at the kitchen table. Establish a routine for how and when to study; they should be doing more than just set homework tasks. Think about using a notice board for reminders / revision timetables and a place to store folders and books. Check and sign the planner weekly. Encourage your child to use it to plan independent study as well as recording key homework assignments. Each week they should read through their work, finish tasks and respond to feedback. They should make cue cards or learn key vocabulary. They can revise each topic covered by producing mindmaps or completing practice questions. They can do wider reading, watch relevant videos, do extra maths on Heggarty etc. They should use their planner to plan tasks for the week ahead and log independent study completed. Encourage your child to proof read all work for errors and to ensure meaning is clear. There is a checklist in their planner to help them do this. Encourage your child to pack their school bag the night before. It’s obvious but it saves stress in the morning! Agree a time to switch off phones/tablets and encourage charging downstairs. So many issues arise because children aren’t getting enough sleep or are messaging/on social media too much. Read together. Talk about what words mean. Increasing your child’s vocabulary will have a positive impact on all their subjects. Monitor their phones and social media use – too many friendship issues and anxieties around social media are unnecessarily brought into school. Communicate with their Form Tutor, House team and Student Services about any concerns. Use this booklet to help you support your child with the EBACC subjects of English, maths, geography, history and languages. Ask subject teachers if you want further advice on how to support specific subject areas.
Without any absence, your child is in school for 190 days. Each day there are five 1 hour lessons.
This means only 95 hours out of the possible 876 hours— just 11% of the hours available— is spent with a teacher as a maximum!
Developing the skills to work independently and to consolidate learning are vital to success throughout your child’s secondary school journey. The work they do at home and the support they receive from you, as parent, is essential to help them reach their potential.
Year 7 English An overview of English at The Billericay School Many students arrive to English lessons at The Billericay School and are surprised to find there are some aspects that are completely different to English study at Primary School. Of course, we still read and write and practise our speaking and listening skills but some of the content and ideas are different, as well as the as- sessments that your child will take part in. We teach English using a series of texts. We begin with Oliver Twist and through- out our study of the novel consider: context, vocabulary use and how to make our own writing more engaging. Students also look at the meanings of more diffi- cult and complex words and how these work within a sentence. Across the year, students will study A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a Poetry Anthology with poems written by those such as Tennyson and Blake. Students will also practise writing in a variety of forms with focus not only on the content and clarity of their writing but their grammar use also. A full overview of the curriculum and assess- ment tasks are available on our website. Across the year, Year 7 will also practise writing essays, which will prepare them for their end of year examination. The skill of writing analytical essays can be quite challenging for new students in Year 7, as this is slightly different to the assessment of reading they are accustomed to. In order to practise this skill, stu- dents will need to read a wide range of texts and be able to use evidence from the text to support their interpretations of it. They should also start to under- stand how to comment on the writer’s craft and the methods that a writer uses to create effects. TIP: One way you can help your child with this now is to read with them and ask them questions such as: ‘What can you tell me about [this character]? Where is the evidence of that in the book? What word shows this the most?’ Homework in English Students will be expected to complete at least an hour’s reading at home per week as homework, and they will also be set extra tasks by their teachers as ap- propriate. Most students will follow a structured homework schedule that can be found on the school website. ‘Independent Study As well as independent reading, students should spend some time at home prac- ticing their understanding of the writers’ methods and intentions of the texts that they read. As GCSEs and A-Level examinations become more focused on having a broad knowledge of subjects and information retrieval, it is useful to prepare
students with the necessary revision skills at home as well as in school. In Year 7, we expect students to know how to create and use revision cards in order to pre- pare them for their future exams. Tips – how you can help Encourage your child to read before bed for at least 10 minutes a day – if stories are not their preferred genre, non-fiction texts are just as good such as newspapers or magazines Reading lists for students in Years 7, 8 and 9 can be found on the school website if you are unsure of where to direct your child and their reading As previously mentioned, questioning your child on their reading and what they have learnt from what they have read is useful to develop their infor- mation retrieval and analysis skills Learning vocabulary is important – ask your child what words they have learnt recently and start up a conversation about synonyms (words with the same meaning) and the subtle differences between words When working on other homework with your child, encourage them to proofread their own work by giving them a number of how many errors they may have made, but not telling them where they are. The process of finding the errors themselves means they become more open to reviewing their own work.
Useful Websites BBC Bitesize - https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/z3kw2hv This website is interactive and useful for reviewing key topics and skills such as spelling, punctuation and grammar. There are some useful activities for Shake- speare study too. BBC Skillswise - https://www.bbc.com/teach/skillswise/reading/zn4twty This website is to help students develop their skills in English in reading and writing. Mostly focused on the basics of the English Language, this helps students practise their spelling, punctuation and grammar as well as their reading skills. The British Council– Learn English http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org This website is interactive and fun, with a range of activities for students develop- ing and learning English as well as those who enjoy writing stories and creating characters. There is also a section for resources for parents who might be con- cerned about their child’s literacy skills development.
Developing Cultural Capital
Cultural capital is knowing about the world. Ofsted are looking to encourage all schools to develop this in every child so that their exam performance is improved, but most importantly, their understanding of the world is widened.
If you’re wondering how to help develop your child’s love of English and cultural capital, there are many activities you could get involved in.
Firstly, Shakespeare’s Globe in London showcases Shakespeare’s work throughout the year—you can get tickets from just five pounds! (Check the Globe website for more information: www.shakespearesglobe.com )
For a larger trip, you could go and visit Stratford-Upon-Avon and the birthplace of Shakespeare. You might like to take your child to the Charles Dickens Museum in London. You needn’t go far, however, you could take your child on a trip out for the day anywhere you like, and then get them to write a review of their experience: a film, a meal, a dog walk, anything that fits your schedule! You might encourage them to write to a local MP about an issue they believe is important in our commu- nity, or next time they ask you for something in particular, get them to write you a persuasive speech as to why they should get what they have requested!
Year 7 Maths
Mathematics at Billericay
Mathematics is essential for everyday life and understanding our world. We want our students to develop in to confident Mathematicians, who can adapt their learning when solving problems, can communicate their mathematical reasoning in a logical and coherent manner and are resilient when faced with a problem they have not seen before. There is an increased demand to the curriculum building on the KS2 curriculum and students are expected to develop their use of mathematical terminology.
Homework expectations
Year 7 Maths classes will have one piece of Maths homework every week. Students will be given up to a week to complete before the homework is taken in for marking. Each homework task will take approximately 30—45 minutes.
The homework may be written work, research or perhaps an online homework set on MyMaths or Hegarty Maths. Should you want your child to improve further and do extra Maths homework at any time they can always do extra MyMaths or Hegarty work without it being formally set.
Independent study expectations
Students need to learn the key formulae and facts they need for Mathematics and are encouraged to do this using cue cards and regularly revision. There are cue cards in the Maths learning resources area and sometimes these will be created in class. It is really helpful if you could test your child in order to boost their knowledge and to promote quick recall.
Tips—how you can help
Never, ever say “I wasn’t very good at Maths at school” to your child, this gives them permission to say the same thing.
Ask them what they learnt in Maths today.
Have a look in their book and see if it is well presented, have they ticked their classwork answers? Do they know why they made any mistakes?
Check in students planners to find out when homework has been set – don’t take ‘I haven’t got any’ as an answer – they should do online work as above
Useful websites https://www.bbc.com/bitesize https://www.mymaths.co.uk ttps://www.hegartymaths.com
Developing Cultural Capital
Talk about Mathematics; there are always Statistics being quoted in the news. Do quizzes and problem solving activities with them. Encourage them to find Mathe- matical Apps and games…there are loads of them out there. Remember Maths is fun.
General Numeracy and Mathematics Work Guidelines
Working should always accompany answers, even if the working was done on a calculator.
Workings should be written down the page rather than across it (Each new stage of working appears on a new line).
When multiplying by a power of 10 (10, 100, 1000 etc) the numbers are moving place value, NOT the decimal point moving.
Units should always be included in answers, and the answer should make sense for the units (write £3.50 not £3.5, or use 6km rather than 6000m)
All diagrams are drawn in pencil, using a ruler where necessary, with axes fully labelled, and a key always present when needed.
Scales (used on graphs or in timelines) should be in equal intervals, drawn on graph or squared paper, and drawn to a sensible size.
Bar charts using discrete data (where numbers can only take on specific values) should have gaps between the bars, whereas bar charts using con- tinuous data (where numbers can take any values including decimals) should have no gaps.
All answers should make sense to the question being asked. Students should check their work by re-doing the question rather than reading through the working for errors.
Year 7 Science
Homework expectations
Each Year 7 science class has two teachers, each will set a piece of homework every two weeks. The homework may be written work, research or perhaps an online homework set on Doddle. Students will be given up to a week to complete before the homework is taken in for marking. Each homework task will take ap- proximately 30 minutes.
Independent study expectations
Students are encouraged to learn the key facts of each topic they study using cue cards. These can also be used by parents to boost a student’s knowledge and to promote recall. You don not need to know the answers yourself! Full sets of cue cards for Year 7 can be found at;
L:\Science\KS3\Year 7\Revision resources\revision cue cards
The KS3 Science Study Guide (letters already gone home via MyEd) is a useful re- source to support learning
Tips on how you can help
Check in students diaries to find out when homework has been set.
Set aside time in the evenings and at weekends for children to do home- work.
Praise students when they show you good work but ask them to have an- other go if they have rushed it.
Use the cue cards for 10 minutes a week. Perhaps make it a family compe- tition.
Never, ever say “I wasn’t very good at science at school” to your child, this gives them permission to say the same thing.
Encourage them to revise for tests little and often and to always have a revision plan.
Useful websites https://www.bbc.com/bitesize www.kerboodle.com www.doddlelearn.com https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks3/science/ https://www.s-cool.co.uk/ https://classroom.thenational.academy/
Cultural capital ideas
Places to visit
The Science Museum in London
The Natural History Museum in London
Southend Aquarium
Find the “Heath spotted orchid” at Mill Meadows
A spring walk in Norsey woods
A trip to Hanningfield reservoir nature reserve to watch the migrating birds
Hands on Science at the Imperial War Museum Duxford
Reading list
A short history of nearly everything – Bill Bryson
Horrible science, Fatal Forces– Nick Arnold
Horrible science, Killer Energy – Nick Arnold
Horrible science, Chemical chaos – Nick Arnold
Women in science – Rachael Ignotofsky
Year 7 Geography One of the most common comments parents make when they come into to school to discuss their child’s Geography is, “It isn’t the same as the Geography I did when I was at school.” This is only partially true! There are some elements which are the same, but Geography is a subject which has evolved over the years to reflect the complicated interrelationships between people and their environment and to ad- dress the challenges we will all face in our local area, our region, nation and world in the future. In Year 7 Geography, children continue to investigate a wide range of people, places and environments. They start to learn about the geographical patterns and process- es and the political, economic, social and environmental factors affecting people and places. They also learn about the interdependence between places and envi- ronments and carry out geographical enquiry outside the classroom. They may ask geographical questions such as, “How and why is this landscape changing?”, “What is the impact of the changes?”, “How do different people feel about this?” and “What action could, or should, we take to deal with this?” Your child will collect and analyse data to answer such questions and be encour- aged to develop a personal opinion. They will also use a wide range of geographical skills and resources, such as maps, satellite images and ICT to answer questions. Your child’s geographical vocabulary will also be extended (using terms such as ‘distribution’, ‘natural increase’, ‘plate tectonics’ and ‘subduction’) and they will have a greater awareness of the location of places and environments studied in the classroom and in the news. TIP: One way you can help your child with this now, is to talk with them and ask them questions about places you to go to or hear about on the news, such as ‘Where is it? How far is it from here? How can we get there? What is happening there? Why is it happening? What are people doing about it? How would you re- spond? What will happen next?.’ Homework in Geography Students will receive a homework task from their teacher once per fortnight. The homework may be written work, research to bring to a future lesson or perhaps time to be set aside review their work and prepare for an assessment. Students will usually be given up to a week to complete any task. Each homework task will take approximately 30 minutes. Independent Study It is important for students to deepen their geographical understanding through becom- ing proficient in the vocabulary of the subject. Students are encouraged to learn the key terms and facts of each topic they study by creating and using cue cards in lessons. These are even more effective when parents periodically use these cards to check a student’s knowledge and to promote recall. Full sets of cue cards for Year 7 can be found at L:\Geography\Year 7\
Tips – how you can help Encourage your child to take responsibility for planning journeys for themselves and others – especially if they are visiting a place they have never been to before. Everyday things are happening in the local area, the country and around the world. Make sure they know where these places are, what the issues might be and how they and others might respond to them. Ask them what their homework was about, rather than if they have done it. Get them to explain it to you and ask them for more detail if you think they can do better or if they have not quite understood it or the geographical vocabulary used. If your child is completing a written task for homework, remind them to include the correct geographical terminology and to proof read it themselves. Ask your child to show you their book and/or homework from time to time. If you feel they have rushed a piece of work, not spent long enough on it or it is not their best effort, before they are to hand it in, then it is likely their teacher will too. If this is the case, get them to improve it.
Useful Websites
KS3 BBC Bitesize Geography – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zrw76sg This is the first place to look if you want some extra information on some of the topics we cover in Year 7 – OS mapskills, natural hazards, transport & communication and population & migration. There’s lots of other interesting topics here to explore too! Mapzone - https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/ This is the Ordnance Survey’s own education site. If you want to practice your mapskills or discover how maps play a vital role in our moder lives, this is where to start. BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news If it is happening in the news, anywhere in the world, this is the place to find out about it. It only takes thirty seconds to scan down the page and find something geographical happening somewhere that you can discuss together and then bring your ideas into the lesson to share with others.
Year 7 History During Year 7 History lessons at the Billericay School, students will look at an overview of British history from 1066 to 1700. We will take a thematic approach looking at how Britain changes during this period. This may well differ from your own experiences of History at school as the emphasis will not be on learning dates or the names of Kings! Students will instead focus on concepts such as change and consequence, gaining an understanding of what life would have been like for people living during the period. Specific areas that we will cover include: The Norman Invasion in 1066 How did the Normans control England Life in the Medieval period The role of the Church Henry VIII and the changes to the Church in England The Civil War Slavery
Homework As History lessons are one a week, your child will not be set homework every week. However, this will be set on regular occasions during the year. This can take a variety of different forms such as a poster advertising the claims of who should be the King in 1066 (likely to be one of the first tasks set) to a diary extract of a medieval peasant during the Black Death. Every half-term, your child will be complete an assessment that will enable us to measure their progress. Some of these will be completed in class so the homework will be to prepare for the assessment and some of these will be completed at home. These assessments will cover the following areas: Why was William able to win the Battle of Hastings? How did the Normans control England? Why did Henry VIII set up the Church of England? Why did a civil war start in 1642? Why was slavery abolished?
Independent study All of the History department’s teaching resources are on the school system and can be found on the L drive (L:\History\Year 7). This enables students to use these resources to help with homework and gives parents the opportunity to help their children with any task that has been set. When students are preparing for assessments, producing cue-cards and/or mind-maps is strongly recommended. You can help by regularly testing your child. Developing Cultural Capital The first term will focus on the Norman Conquest and its impact on England – there is a variety of places to visit that could support this such as the Tower of London, Hedingham Castle and Colchester Castle. Later on in the year, we will focus on the Tudor period which means you could visit places such as Hampton Court to support your child’s study of history.
Year 7 Modern Foreign Languages An overview of Languages at The Billericay School In the Modern Languages Department we are passionate about the importance of learning languages. We know how vital language skills are for young people in today’s competitive international job market, but we also believe that the insight into another culture and the deeper understanding of their own language that students achieve is immensely valuable. We aim to teach students not only to communicate confidently, but also to understand the underlying structures of language so that they develop transferable skills. Lessons include games and activities to build students’ confidence in speaking and listening, but also clear explanations of grammar and regular written work, both in class and at home. Students have regular tests in class, and three formal tests, one each term. They will be given revision materials to help prepare for these. The outcome of these tests will determine which language or languages your child will continue to study in Year 8.
Homework in Languages Students will be set one homework each week for French and one for German. The homework may be vocabulary learning, which will be tested in class, a reading or grammar exercise, or a piece of independent writing. Each piece of homework should take around 45 minutes to complete to a good standard. As students build up their understanding of the language they are given a check list of features to include in their written work and teachers will be looking for these when marking assignments.
Tips – how you can help Establish a regular time and a quiet place for homework to be done, and always take an interest in what your child has been working on. Check in their planners to see when homework has been set, and help them to pack their school bag so they don’t forget to bring their exercise book. Vocabulary learning must be active. You can help your child to learn vocabulary using the look/cover/write/check method you have used for English spellings in primary school. You might also wish to encourage your child to make cue cards with the French/ German word on one side and the English on the other so that they can test themselves or family members can test them. Encourage your child to refer to their class notes and their checklist of what to include when doing their written homework. Written homework will always follow on from the work covered in class, and your child should aim to re-use as much of the language he/she has been taught as possible. Encourage your child to proof read any written homework before handing it in. Ask your child to tell you in English what they have written in French or German. This way you can check that they understand what they have written, rather than copying without thinking it through, and it will help you to see whether your child has been ambitious enough in vocabulary and structures. Discourage your child from using Google translate! Cultural Capital You can help your child by encouraging them to take an active interest in the culture of France and Germany. You might visit a German Christmas market together, or cook a French dish at home. You could watch a French or German film or TV programme together, or encourage them to take an interest in music in French or German, perhaps artists such as Stromae, Amadou and Mariam or die Toten Hosen. You can also encourage your child to participate in the cultural activities we offer in school. In Year 7 we offer: French club once a week German Exchange in the summer. This has been running for 50 years and is an enormously valuable experience for students, building strong and lasting friendships between the children and the families. You welcome a German child in your home in May, and your child then stays with their German friend for 12 days at the end of the summer term in July. Students are accompanied by staff and are taken on outings during the school day, but spend the weekends with their host family. Applications open after October half-term. French trip to Normandy. This takes place in October of year 8, but applications must be submitted in the summer term of Year 7.
E-Safety and Social Media: Helping children to be smart with their smartphones
There is lots of information on our school website in the Parent Area. This includes links to Parent Info, an excellent site which covers absolutely everything related to the online world in a concise and easily understood way. You’ll find practical advice, guides to specific sites and links to more support and information.
Top Tips: • Maintain an open dialogue with your child about how they are using their phone and which social network sites (SNS) they are using. They often know much more than us but aren’t always knowledgeable about the risks. Make sure you can see what they are posting and who they are ‘friends’ with. There should not be hundreds of friends or followers. Monitor their apps and discuss how they are using them.
• Remember that most social networks set a lower age limit of 13. Sit with your child and explore the privacy settings and how they intend to use the site when they first set up an account.
• Remind your child that as soon as they type something and send it, it is permanent and public even if they send it privately or subsequently delete it. Other children may share it or screenshot and send it on. Talk to your child about ‘netiquette’ – how to behave online — and remind them to THINK before they post. Use the guidance in their planners as a discussion starting point.
• Inappropriate content or contact can be easily reported to both the social network site and using the button on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
• Your phone/Internet service provider can advise you on capping data or filtering content.
• Finally, if your child is not using their smartphone smartly we always advise you to confiscate it and stop them using it. Most issues happen outside of school. We have a ‘no phones’ policy but are often asked to follow up incidents on SNS from the weekend. You can then reiterate the rules and boundaries and feel more secure when they start using it again. Students are encouraged to see their FT, HOH, teacher or Student Services if they have an e-safety/social network issue. We remind students frequently that we will always be able to help and advise, however trivial or serious the situation.
Useful websites: www.billericay.essex.sch.uk/parents Lots of advice and information on all aspects of school www.parentinfo.org Excellent guidance and support on issues in the digital world www.thinkuknow.co.uk (CEOPS) Protecting children on and offline www.childnet.com Advice, tips and resources www.connectsafely.org Advice on safety, privacy and security www.nspcc.org.uk Advice and support on a wide range of issues. www.net-aware.org.uk
Useful guide to social networks, apps and games
Instructions for Virtual Learning Platforms
(Instructions on how to use virtual learning platforms are explained to students when they join the school).
GOOGLE CLASSROOM Website:https://edu.google.com/intl/en-GB/products/classroom/? modal_active=none Login: Please use [email protected] For example: [email protected] Password: Students will have chosen their own passwords. Any student who has not yet reset their password should use the initial password as previously advised by the school. In the event that you have lost or forgotten your password, please email us at [email protected]
DODDLE Website: https://www.doddlelearn.co.uk/app/login Login: Please use your first name followed by your surname then the year you start- ed at the school. Both first name and surname have a capital letter. For example: JoeBloggs21 Password: Students will have chosen their own passwords. Any student who has not yet reset their password should use the initial password as previously advised by the school. In the event that you have lost or forgotten your password, please email us at [email protected] Please be advised that we do not currently have a Parent Key facility for this sys- tem.
HEGARTY (MATHS) Website: https://hegartymaths.com/login/learner Using the Find Your School option, select The Billericay School Login: Please enter your first name, last name and date of birth when prompted. Password: Students will have chosen their own password. Password resets can be requested by clicking the reset link.
MYMATHS Website: https://www.mymaths.co.uk/ Students using MyMaths will have been given a unique username and password, details of which should be noted within their school planners. This information can be re-sent by emailing: [email protected]
KERBOODLE Website: www.kerboodle.com Science books year 7 – 11 are on Kerboodle. The user name is first initial and sur- name. Science teachers can reset the password if asked.
Our Code of Conduct, known as ‘PROEC’, is based on 5 key words: PRIDE, RESPECT, ORGANISATION, EFFORT and CARE.
In our school community we:
Pride: Take pride in ourselves, our environment, our work and our achievements.
Respect: Show respect and tolerance to each other, our community and ourselves at all times.
Organisation: Arrive on time, organised and ready to learn every day.
Effort: Give our best efforts in all that we do and celebrate the efforts of others.
Care: Behave sensibly and safely, caring about the well-being of everyone in our community.
Through our commitment to these values, we will foster a harmonious, responsible and aspirational community, prepared for the challenges of the future.