Students can start reading straight away, after their Sparx Reader Test (SRT) or after their training book if no SRT is set. In order to read and earn SRP for homework, you'll need to create a homework plan.
Please ensure your school holiday dates are set up first
Creating a homework plan
Go to the Hand-in page
Select a class from the top Class navigation
Click ‘Create Homework’
If required, use the ‘Create homework for:’ dropdown to select any other classes you would like to set homework for.
Set your homework details:
SRP target
Set day & time
Due day & time
Holiday behaviour
You’ll see a visual representation of each homework laid out across the academic year
You can untick any homework so it does not get set in a specific week
Click Save
Tips for effective homework scheduling
We recommend the following when planning your homework schedule:
Have a target of at least 300 Sparx Reader Points (SRP) per week
Keep hand-out and hand-in days consistent across the school or year group
Avoid Friday hand-ins as these typically have lower completion rates
Choose different days to other Sparx systems homework due dates to avoid overwhelming students
Include a weekend between hand-out and hand-in to give students more time
Consider whether you would like students to complete homework during holidays when setting the holiday behaviour in your plan
Editing a homework plan
If you would like to make changes to a homework plan for a class, you can edit the plan on the Hand-in page.
Editing the whole plan
Editing the whole plan
Click 'Edit homework plan' in the top right of the Hand-in page
Make your desired changes to the homework plan.
Check the planner preview to ensure homework weeks match what you expect.
Click 'Save'.
Editing a homework plan will replace every homework in the plan that has not yet been started. You will also lose any edits you have made to individual, upcoming homeworks.
Editing individual homework weeks
Editing individual homework weeks
If you would like to make changes to an individual homework for a class (for example to extend the hand in date), you can edit the homework on the Hand-in page.
Click on the week’s homework tab that you wish to edit, then click 'Edit week X homework'.
Click on the setting that you want to edit - 'SRP', 'date' or 'hand-in time'.
Click on 'Submit'.
If you choose to remove this homework it will no longer be active for that week.
Removing a homework plan
Removing a homework plan
You can remove all future homeworks for a class by clicking edit homework plan, then clicking ‘Remove all future homeworks’ in the bottom left.
You can also do this for multiple classes in bulk on the Class Manager page.
If you would like to make changes to a homework plan, we strongly recommend you edit your existing plan rather than create a new one, as we have found this to be far easier to manage and easier for you to compare classes on Class Manager.
Viewing homework plan details for all classes
Viewing homework plan details for all classes
You can see the hand out and hand in times, as well as SRP set, for all classes on Class Manager. This can also be helpful to see if teachers are setting a consistent homework pattern for students across classes. If you set multiple plans per class they may have different set/due dates so we cannot display this in Class Manager. We recommend only setting one plan per class.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set fortnightly homework instead of weekly?
Can I set fortnightly homework instead of weekly?
No, Sparx Reader is designed around weekly homework to help build regular reading habits.
Can I apply a homework plan to multiple classes at once?
Can I apply a homework plan to multiple classes at once?
Yes, when creating a plan you can select multiple classes to apply it to, as long as they don't already have homework scheduled for that period.
What happens to previous homework when I edit a plan?
What happens to previous homework when I edit a plan?
Any homework that students have already started won't be affected. Only future homework will be updated.
I forgot to stop homework in the holidays in future weeks, can I update my plan?
I forgot to stop homework in the holidays in future weeks, can I update my plan?
Yes, you can edit your plan and untick future homework, where applicable, for each class.
How do I change the homework for a class to Optional?
How do I change the homework for a class to Optional?
You can change a homework week to zero SRP, and this will make it Optional.
What if I want to set homework in one holiday but not another?
What if I want to set homework in one holiday but not another?
You could choose the ‘Set homework during holidays’ option and then manually turn off homework where you do not want it by using the checkboxes in the homework plan view.
How do I extend a homework so it is more than one week long?
How do I extend a homework so it is more than one week long?
Currently you can’t do this in bulk but you can do this for a single homework by using the ‘Edit homework’ button in the Hand-in screen (you will need to initially turn off homework in the following week first)