Independent Study

What is Independent Study?

Independent study is learning, that is set to be done outside the timetabled curriculum and is not usually directly supervised by a teacher. Independent study enhances student learning, improves achievement and develops students' study skills and as such is an integral part of the curriculum. 

Research shows that independent study has a positive impact on student progress. At MEA we believe independent study is an essential part of learning and expect all our students to engage with it in a positive way.

Aims of Independent Study

Independent study enables students to:

• Embed crucial knowledge in to their long term memory.
• Build a greater knowledge base to which new learning can be anchored.
• Take ownership and responsibility for their learning. 
• Enhance their study skills e.g. planning, time management and self-discipline. 

Independent Study Timetable

Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 should spend approximately 1 hour each evening completing Independent Study. This increases to 2 hours per evening for students in Years 10 and 11.

Please see below for recommended quantity and frequency of independent learning in Year 8:

Year 8	Frequency	Time
English	Weekly	30 mins
Maths	Weekly	30 mins
Science	Weekly	30 mins
History	Weekly	30 mins
Geography	Weekly	30 mins
Spanish	Weekly	30 mins
Digital Enterprise	Weekly	30 mins
Art, Food, Music, Performing Arts, FF, PE	Fortnightly	30 mins

 

Knowledge Organisers

Knowledge Organisers are created for each term, containing the key information they must learn for each subject. Knowledge Organisers can be used to support Independent Study. Independent Study is published on our website for each term, and students are given paper copies of the tasks in lessons. This must be completed on time and to a high standard. Completion of Independent Study is included on Student Reviews, which are sent out termly.

Teachers upload all of the lessons for each subject onto our online learning platform MS Teams. Students can use these to help with independent Study and to prepare for any assessments they do in lessons. For each subject class, students have a MS Team​.

In Files tab there is a folder for each half term. In it is:​

• Unit plan​
• Knowledge organiser​
• Lessons clearly labelled with topic and in order​

Students can use these to help with Independent Study, revision, and to catch up if they are absent.

To download a copy of the Autumn Term Knowledge Organiser click here:

How can parents and carers help with Independent Study?

Parents and carers can support students by viewing independent study as an important part of their learning, by discussing Independent Study with them and encouraging them to be organised in completing it. Providing a quiet area at home for students to study in is also very helpful.

The academy uses an online system called Class Charts which allows parents and carers to keep track of your child’s assigned homework tasks. 

For guidance on how to access MS Teams, please click here.