Homework & Revision
Homework plays a crucial role in supporting student progress, reinforcing classroom learning, and helping students build essential independent study skills. At The John Henry Newman School, homework is carefully planned to align with the curriculum and is designed to be purposeful, manageable, and supportive of long-term academic success.
How Homework is Set
All homework is published via Satchel:One, our online homework platform. This ensures that students and parents have consistent, clear access to tasks, deadlines, and resources.
Parents and carers are encouraged to download the Satchel:One app and synchronise it with their child’s account. This allows you to easily support and oversee homework completion and help plan time effectively at home.
Homework is set in line with our school homework timetable, which is overseen by each subject's Learning Coordinator. This helps maintain a balanced workload across subjects and ensures that homework supports, rather than overwhelms, students’ learning.
Tasks may include:
- Retrieval practice and consolidation of classwork
- Preparation for upcoming lessons
- Research or project work
- Structured revision tasks ahead of assessments
Supporting Your Child with Homework
Parents and carers play a vital role in creating a positive homework routine. You can support your child by:
- Encouraging a quiet, distraction-free environment for study
- Helping them plan their time and meet deadlines
- Checking Satchel:One regularly or using the app to stay informed
- Praising effort and celebrating progress
Homework should be completed independently where possible. If your child is finding a task particularly challenging, they are encouraged to:
- Speak to their teacher before the due date
- Attend a homework club or subject-specific support session
- Use online revision tools recommended by the school
If you're concerned about your child's homework, please don’t hesitate to contact their class teacher or Form Tutor. We are here to help.
Study Guide for Parents and Students
At The John Henry Newman School, we believe that effective study habits are not just a key to academic success, but also a foundation for lifelong learning. To help students take greater control of their own learning — and to support parents in guiding them — we are pleased to share our Study Guide for Parents and Students.
This guide introduces the Science of Learning and explains six highly effective, research-informed study strategies. These techniques, such as retrieval practice, spaced learning, and dual coding, have been shown to significantly improve memory retention, deepen understanding, and boost performance over time.
We encourage all students and parents to explore the guide together, try out the recommended strategies, and begin developing personalised, evidence-based study routines that can support success both in school and beyond.
Study guide for parents and students
Further Support for Exam Preparation
For more subject-specific guidance, revision resources, and key information on exams and assessments, please visit our dedicated pages:
- GCSE Exams
- Key Stage 4 Curriculum
These pages provide a clear overview of expectations, timelines, and tailored support to help students succeed throughout Key Stage 4.
Satchel:One Support
If you or your child need support using Satchel:One, please contact Mr Braithwaite, who will be happy to help. He can be contacted via braithwaitea@jhn.herst.sch.uk.
You can also access helpful online guidance by visiting the following site for parent user guides: https://www.bing.com/search?q=satchel+one+parent+user+guides
Homework Timetables
Time for home learning
The quality of the home based learning tasks is more important than the length of time that they might take. The following times reflect broadly how many hours students in Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 should be spending on home based learning.
| Year 7 | 45 to 60 minutes per day |
| Year 8 | 60 to 90 minutes per day |
| Year 9 | 1 to 2 hours per day |
| Year 10 | 1.5 to 2.5 hours per day |
| Year 11 | 1.5 to 2.5 hours per day |
| Year 12 | 16 hours per week |
| Year 13 | 20 hours per week |
