We’ve had much debate for years in education about the worth of homework. Should we set it in KS1 and KS2? What homework is of value? What about the children who don’t do it?

As an SLT at my school we agreed that regular reading at home is paramount. Beyond that, practise of key maths and writing skills can certainly also be of use. But what we really wanted to do was encourage the children to have a range of experiences away from school with their families to enrich their lives, hopefully become better citizens, but above all, make memories.

From there we created The Sidlesham101. This is a list of activities, experiences and deeds which we hope all of the children in our school will attempt at some stage before they leave us at the end of year 6. These activities are designed to be particularly relevant to our local area, although many can be replicated elsewhere.

We began by asking the parents and children for their suggestions and were delighted with their responses. Loads of ideas were shared, which were very specific to our local area and really captured the collective imagination.

Now the list has been shared with the children and parents, we will see how they respond in practical terms. We have a display to share photos and testimonies in school and a #TheSidlesham101 hashtag on Twitter. If you like the idea and want to have a go at some of the activities or want to start your own list, please do use the # so we can see what you’ve been up to.

Sidlesham101