At Redbricks, we have developed our homework policy considering the board's recommendations, our realistic assessment of children's age and their needs and other practical considerations related to curriculum, engaging children productively at home, parent expectations, other quality schools' approaches, etc.

Homework at Redbricks is seen as an opportunity for the children to practice skills learnt in the school at home. It is burden-less, activity-oriented and balanced to minimize stress and maximize learning for the children. There is a clear weekly homework schedule per subject developed across classes, to introduce homework progressively to children.

In general homework will be well within a child's capabilities both conceptually and in terms of the skills required. The work will be familiar and relate to concepts that have been introduced or reviewed within the few days preceding the assignment. The homework needs to be completed by the child and not the parent.

The school believes in developing an internal motivation in its students, which is required for true achievement. Students need to develop a strong self-concept and set own benchmarks for excellence. Hence, we do not follow competitions at an early age but promote it from middle school age once the child has developed a healthy sense of confidence and self-motivation.

In the early primary years, children are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities irrespective of their skills or preferences. They are also encouraged to set own benchmarks of performance. Comparison of one's own performance with past performance, helps the child to focus on becoming better and better at what he/she does. He/she develops a healthy sense of self-esteem and higher risk-taking ability. At this age, children are still emotionally vulnerable and frequently equate loss in a game/competition with loss in own self-worth.

In middle school years, children are now becoming developmentally ready for competition. We start introducing intra-school competition activities and give them opportunities to participate in inter-school competitions. However, a focus is on creating a healthy atmosphere of competition where loss is not ridiculed or win is not over-glorified. Children are taught that Losses and Wins are a part of life, but participation, practice, hard work, continuous improvement and risk-taking ability are more important in competitions. If we lose, we appreciate the winner and improve on our weaknesses. If we win, we respect the loser and prepare ourselves for the next competition. This approach is continued in the high school years.

In the primary years, certain children show early talents & skills in some areas, especially sports. Parents may decide to enroll them for some external competitions. We as a school will not discourage them but we do not enroll children directly for external competitions. We will be proud if the child participates, and will also recognize his/her achievements in the school.

Since we follow a progressive, child-centric teaching approach, we advise students of our school to not attend any tuition class.

Following are some drawbacks of tuitions in children's development:

Our teaching approach in classrooms and the skills of our teachers is such that each child will be able to develop and learn well according to his or her age and stage of life.

Through our ongoing assessment methods, our principal and teachers follow the progress of each child closely, and proactively get in touch with parents if there are any concerns regarding his or her development.

Where parents feel the need of an external tuition, the principal, teacher, and parents can jointly determine whether a child needs extra academic support. Extra inputs at school and home can help these children. But it is important that such inputs are given in a right manner and are collaboratively planned between the school and the home.

In situations, where the teacher feels that a particular child needs extra academic inputs over and above the regular classes, she discusses the case with the Principal.

In certain cases, there might be a need to conduct a formal assessment through an external expert to identify the problems with the child's behavior/abilities in order to plan appropriate intervention strategies. This is done only after taking parent's consent.

Depending on the need identified, the child may spend extra time at the school for individual remedial time along with the teacher. During this time, practice of skills related to weak subject areas will be undertaken.

Parent consent is also taken to conduct such extra remedial time with the child at the school.

As per the school policy, NO Redbricks Teacher is allowed to conduct Personal Tuitions for any Redbricks Student, Alumni or any other Children studying in other schools.

Strict action will be taken against the Teacher if it comes to the School's notice about any such tuition activities undertaken by the teacher.

Language is an important component of the education and our stand as a school on the use of language is as follows

English is the medium of instruction. However, usage of mother tongue in school is also encouraged where the need for expression is more important than the language being used.

The school believes in a healthy mix of languages being used in the classrooms by the students and at times by the teacher, especially in the early years where English is a new language for most children.

However, as children grow older, we encourage them to communicate as much in English as possible. The only difference is that we don't punish them for not using English, but guide them constructively to use English as much as possible to express their ideas.

From 5th Grade, children also study a 3rd language. The school currently offers Gujarati as the 3rd language.

Natural language development happens in below order and the school will also give priority to the steps as listed below (which are simultaneous but cannot be preceded) 1. Listening 2. Speaking 3. Reading 4. Writing

Therefore you will find a lot of emphasis laid for the child to get exposed to the art of listening and speaking the English Language in early primary years. Reading and Writing skills are also emphasized but not without the base of listening and speaking. The ultimate goal of the school is to have children read, write and speak fluently, effectively and efficiently in English.

Research shows that Language is best learnt through natural situations rather than drilling method. We provide a print-rich environment to children and engage them in multiple meaningful experiences where they have to learn and use the language within a real context. This also creates a joy for learning the language in children.

Cursive writing- It is not introduced formally to children due to developmental reasons. Not all children are comfortable in cursive writing, especially when their fine motor skills are still developing in early primary years. Too much emphasis on cursive writing shifts the focus from written expression of ideas to only formation of letters. However, if the parents want they can teach cursive writing at home, and children are allowed to write in cursive at the school.

Emphasis on Handwriting- Like cursive writing, in grades 1 & 2 handwriting doesn't take center stage but learning to write the ideas and fine motor control is more important. Teachers do guide children to write neatly and in good handwriting, but don't make it too much of an issue otherwise it hampers their confidence and skills of written expression. In our experience, as children grow older and developmentally ready, their handwriting continuously keeps on improving through more and more writing.