Self-study

At Wildern we believe Self Study is a necessary part of learning as it is used to consolidate the work students complete in class.

We believe that completing work outside lessons helps students in a number of ways:-

• It develops the Wildern Attributes and study habits
• It teaches the importance of deadlines and consolidates and extends classroom learning
• It encourages an enquiring mind
• It affords the opportunity for enrichment
• It ensures opportunities to practise and consolidate new skills
• It enables students to think critically and creatively
• The impact of self-study on learning is consistently positive (leading to on average five months' additional progress)

Self Study is:

• Used to promote independent learning in order to support, extend and consolidate progress
• Used to develop skills and attitudes students need for successful lifelong learning
• Used to consolidate and extend on learning in the classroom
• Used to practice skills needed in examinations
• Used to help teachers and students identify strengths and weaknesses
• Adapted and appropriate to the learning needs of students
• Given in accordance with the school’s Self Study entitlement timetable

At Key Stage Three:

Self-study at KS3 is set frequently with a weekly or fortnightly deadline. Tasks should take a student up to 30 minutes to complete per subject area. The emphasis should be on the quality of the response and not the amount completed.

If a project is set over a period of weeks then the subject teachers should provide a clear outline of what is expected for each task and a way of checking in stages that the work is being completed. (E.g. flyer outlining criteria for each task and ticked off when completed)

In order to facilitate the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, we feel it is important to phase in the Self-study tasks for Year 7. This is in order to support students with the transition from Year 6 to Year 7.

Year 7 phased Self-study
September: English, Maths, ICT, Science and MFL vocabulary
December: MFL, Art, Music, Dance and Drama
February: History, Geography, RE and Technology

Self-study tasks and deadlines must be recorded in students' planners.

Listed are some examples of potential self-study tasks at KS3:

• Google Quiz / Kahoot
• Vocabulary learning
• Extended reading with comprehension questions
• Quizlet
• Worksheet
• Practice papers (Self marking)

Self-study tasks will usually involve peer or self marking to enable instant reflection and feedback for improvement. This may be conducted in a variety of ways by the class teacher.

At Key Stage Four

Self-study at KS4 is set frequently with a weekly or fortnightly deadline. Tasks should take a student up to 60 minutes to complete per subject area. The emphasis should be on the quality of the response and not the amount completed.

Listed are some examples of potential self-study tasks at KS4:

• Practice papers
• Independent revision
• Extended reading with comprehension questions
• Quizlet/Seneca
• Exam responses
• Flash cards/quizzes

How can I support my child's learning? 

There are numerous ways you can support your child: ensuring they are wearing the correct uniform, and that they turn up on time at the start of the day, being aware of their Self-study schedule and many others. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start if you want to get more involved – so here is a list of things you might like to try.

INSTEAD OF ASKING:

“How was school today?” (because they will say either “fine” or “okay”)

YOU COULD ASK:

“What was the best lesson today?” and “why?”

“What new thing did you find out today?” Ask them to explain it to you.

“What did you struggle with today?” Ask them how they will deal with that.

“What are you most proud of today?” Ask if you can see the work.

One of the best ways of learning something is to explain it to someone else, so look at a subject book, find a recent page and ask them……

“What is this?” “What does this mean?” “Who is this about?” “How did you get that result?”

Consider social factors, especially during transition when students first join us. Rising hormones, friendship issues, exam pressure, behaviour and bullying all impact on our children at one time or another and it can affect their learning, so you need to know what’s bothering them.

“How are you feeling today?” “Did you manage to sort out………?”

“Did you struggle with anything today?” “Does that bother you?”