sparx english homework

Why we exist

To improve lives and the world through learning..

We create systems that support students, teachers, and school leadership to improve educational outcomes.

Building maths confidence through personalised homework.

Building confident readers through regular reading practice.

Improving scientific knowledge through thoughtful practice.

Who we help

Students using our systems can develop strong learning habits, increase their confidence, make more progress and unlock their potential.

Teachers using our systems gain increased visibility, data insights and time savings, empowering them to spend more time on activities of greatest impact.

Schools using our systems are supported to build learning cultures that are ambitious, transparent and impactful.

How we do it

Every subject is different, so each Sparx system is carefully researched and designed to maximise impact in that discipline. However, everything we create shares the following underlying principles:

• 1 . High-impact pedagogy
• 2 . Ambitious but achievable goals
• 3 . World-class content design
• 4 . Support personalised to a school's context
• 5 . Behavioural insights
• 6 . Whole school approach
• 7 . Supports teacher workload
• 8 . Community

Quality pedagogy enables powerful learning. We thoroughly research, design and test all of our systems to ensure they enable high-quality and impactful learning. Using observations and feedback from teachers, we continually iterate and improve on all Sparx systems so that we stay at the forefront of education.

High expectations can lead to higher outcomes. We want all students to experience success and strive to be the best they can be so we always set a high and clear standard of 100% completion for all students, and we provide the necessary support that teachers and students need to achieve this.

Exceptional content drives genuine learning. Our team of subject-specific content designers use years of experience and billions of data points to create world class content that prompts deep thinking and provides a balance of challenge and support for all learners.

Success is a journey, not a destination. Teachers and school leaders are supported throughout their whole Sparx journey by our School Success Team (who are themselves ex-teachers and school leaders). Working with their dedicated coach, schools experience a smooth implementation and impactful continued usage of Sparx systems. We provide the highest quality service to all our schools, treating them with compassion and respect to support them towards their goals.

Impactful actions that are clear and easy get done. We embed carefully thought-through techniques into all Sparx systems to reduce hassle and encourage high-impact behaviours. These include:

• sensible time-saving defaults for teachers;
• simple, clear expectations and messaging;
• student rewards that promote habit-forming behaviour;
• parent communication that supports the learning process at home.

We don’t design tools to be deployed infrequently, for a small number of classes, or by a teacher in isolation. We design systems that enable efficient and effective whole-school impact. As part of this, we always establish a continuous and collaborative relationship with senior leaders in all schools we support.

Teachers’ time is precious! We carefully design our systems, to reduce unneeded teacher workload whilst critically ensuring that student learning is high-quality. Examples of things we automatically do for the teachers and schools we work with include: contacting the parents with homework status updates each week, personalising the practice to meet each student’s need, providing insightful whole-school reporting and trends.

Everyone can learn and improve with the help of a strong support network. We invest in establishing communities within and across our schools so teachers, school leaders and Multi-Academy Trust leaders can learn from and be inspired by each other.

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How can I use Sparx Reader effectively in school?

We encourage Sparx Reader to be implemented primarily as a homework tool to build students' independent reading skills, but we do know that some schools would like to embed it into the school day as part of their whole-school reading provision. For example, some schools look to use Sparx Reader during library lessons or form time. 

Here is our advice on how to do this most effectively: 

Make sure you have the appropriate equipment and environment

If you are planning on using Sparx Reader in lessons during the school day you need to make sure that students have access to an IT room with fully functioning computers or to portable devices. If your school has computer rooms that can be booked regularly, we recommend that you book these ahead for the entire year to avoid any clashes and ensure you have a suitable space for students to read. Alternatively, if your school has a set of working iPads or laptops, these can be used by a class. 

Because the intention behind Sparx Reader is to help transform your pupils into independent and careful readers, students must be provided with a distraction-free environment to allow them to focus completely. 

Use Live Monitoring to make sure students are focussed

During Sparx Reader lessons, the teacher can monitor pupils’ screens to ensure that they are all on-task. You can also keep a live version of the hand-in page on the central board so that students are motivated to build their Sparx Reader Point totals. Celebrate students regularly for careful reading and check in with those who aren't.

Ensure students still have a meaningful amount of reading  to complete outside of school

Lots of schools have success with students completing some of their Sparx Reader reading in school and then finishing it for homework. For example, if students have a target of 400 SRP each week, they can make a start in their lesson and then are required to earn the remaining SRP outside of school. Students have a positive experience and have the opportunity to get a 'headstart' on their weekly homework. 

Sparx Reader can be used during homework club and homework catch-up sessions in the same way.

What's Next

• How are classes & students added to Sparx Reader?

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Sparx Maths

Students must achieve 100% in their compulsory homework each week. They should also be completing their XP Boost and Target questions so that they can win rewards and make strong progress towards a great result in Maths GCSE.

Please click  here  for guidance on how to correctly complete your Sparx homework.

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Sparx for English

Sparx Reader is the English homework platform for years 7, 8 and 9. This online platform will get students reading more and crucially, reading carefully to achieve a better understanding of their books. Students are able to select a book, tailored to the right level of challenge for them, and Sparx Reader will regularly check their understanding of the narrative throughout the book. The platform is designed to improve students' literacy but more importantly, we also hope it helps ignite a passion for reading.

Students must achieve at least 400 Sparx Reader Points (SRP) in their compulsory homework each week, which is equivalent to 40 minutes worth of close reading. 

Please click  here  to see how Sparx Reader works. 

Students can log in here:  https://sparxreader.com/login

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Brakenhale School

• Home Learning

Homework Policy

Homework is an important part of students’ learning. At Brakenhale we want to ensure that students take time to consolidate and embed their learning through re-visiting and re-learning topics which are studied in class.

Knowledge Organisers are used to support students with their self-quizzing, as well as revision for end of term assessments.

Self-Quizzing at Key Stage 3

In Years 7 – 9 students complete self-quizzing every evening.  For Maths and English the homework is completed online using Sparx (and for Year 9 Science).  For the other subjects students complete ten self-quizzing questions from their Knowledge Organisers every day.  Each day they complete a different subject as per the timetable below:

A printed booklet is provided for each student to complete their homework in and the knowledge required and questions to answer are shared with students via google classroom.  Students should either access google classroom via their school email or log on directly using their school email and password.

You will also find a pdf version of the resources at the bottom of this page.

Self Quizzing Video

The self-quizzing homework is checked by tutors every morning during line up and by class teachers every two weeks during lessons.  Here you will find a video modelling the use of self quizzing:

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Google Classroom / Class Charts for Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5

At KS4 and KS5 teachers will communicate homework via Google Classroom or Class Charts.  These online platforms allow teachers to share homework tasks, resources, support and guidance with their students.  If assistance is needed using either of the platforms, please contact your tutor or your class teacher for that specific subject.

Students from all year groups have the opportunity to attend a homework club which runs every day from 3:10-4pm in the LRC.

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• Go to sparxscience.com
• IT Guidance & Troubleshooting

How does Sparx personalise homework?

A key aspect of Sparx Science is that the homework is personalised in order to be challenging yet achievable for every student.

Pitching difficulty and length of homework

Initially the difficulty and number of questions is determined by the Initial homework level assigned by the teacher.

Over time, Sparx learns a student’s ability and adjusts the number of questions and their difficulty.

A balance of new topics and spaced retrieval

Sparx Science homework automatically revisits previously-assigned topics in the Consolidation section of homework.

Each homework in Sparx contains:

• 40% Consolidation
• 60% topics set that week by the teacher.

Note: in the first few weeks of a class using Sparx Science, the there can be a smaller proportion of Consolidation or no Consolidation at all. In these cases, the number of questions from topics set that week is increased.

How do teachers control the contents and length of homework?

Teachers control which topics are set each week and the length of the homework (e.g. 80 minutes).

Teachers can also adjust which topics are eligible for Consolidation.

Teachers can override the  Homework difficulty   level at any time. Reducing the homework difficulty level for a student will mean fewer questions are chosen and that these questions are easier.

What's Next

• How does Sparx change homework due dates based on school holidays?