Parents often ask how they can help to support their children with their learning at home.

Our expectations for homework are based on daily reading, spelling and multiplication tables practise. Occasionally, some classes may send home additional worksheet or activity based on topic work, but reading spellings and X Tables are our daily expectations.

Spellings

There are many ways to help a child to learn their spellings with practical and fun methods often having the most success. Below is a document with a variety of different ideas and strategies to try with your child. 

Reading

Sharing books and other reading matter with your child is vital to enable them to associate reading with pleasure. A child that regularly spends precious time with a parent sharing a favourite book will develop a love of reading and, statistically, is more likely to make accelerated reading progress.

Our phonics and early reading scheme FFT Success for All teaches the mechanics of reading. Sharing an excitement of their reading progress with daily reading at home will embed those taught strategies and promote fluency.

Multiplication Tables

The National Curriculum sets out guidance on what 'Times Tables' children should be taught and should know at a certain age.

Key Stage 1 Expectations:

• Year 1 (ages 5-6) - Count in multiples of 2, 5 and 10. Recall and use doubles up to 10 and their halves.
• Year 2 (ages 6-7) - Recall and use multiplication and division facts specifically for the 2, 5, and 10 times tables.

Key Stage 2 Expectations:

• Year 3 (ages 7-8) - Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4, and 8 times tables.
• Year 4 (ages 8-9) - Recall and use multiplication and division facts for all times tables up to 12 x 12. (Pupils in Year 4 take the statutory Multiplication Tables Check in June).

All pupils at Bishop Hooper School (in Year 1 to 6) have their own personal log in to access our online Times Tables learning resource, 'Times Tables Rock Stars'. Check with your child's teacher that they have their log in details. We encourage all children to take part in daily times tables practise and logging in to TTRS each day is a quick and fun way to do this.

The 'GO-Game' is a quick and easy way to learn times tables. Have a look at the example below. The example on the left is for KS1 and so is based on the 2s and 5s times tables. Your child could fill in horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Time each attempt each day and watch how they speed up as they begin to learn their times tables.

Print out a blank grid. Fill in the times tables your child is learning along the top and down the side and set them off!