Do you agree with homework in Primary

I also think that in general being rewarded for “achieving” is outdated and if the only reason they do homework is to tell them how many they got right/wrong then it’s counterproductive. They have to use that information to then support further learning.

my child’s school don’t reward children for getting questions right - they get points for meeting the schools core values instead eg. “You have shown a positive community attitude when you helped your friend tidy up” which I think is a much better way to do it.

I think that homework as an older child in Primary is perfectly reasonable, it will gently prepare them for high school where they will undoubtedly get lots of work to do at home.

some people work better after having some time for information to sink in so I think it’s good they go home, reflect on what they have learnt and check they understood it. If they didn’t it’s a good flag for the school to see what the kids a tree struggling with… it might be a while class doesn’t understand something so they might rethink their approach to how they teach that lesson.

I also YABU to undermine the things the school ask of you. In the long term it makes education more difficult for the child because the parents and school spend the whole time at odds… how can you expect them to listen to their teacher when you have already implied the teacher is wrong?

Remember not all parents know how to support their kid's learning without homework. I homeschooled at one point and I knew exactly how to enhance their learning skills but my kids have two educated parents capable of teaching, not everyone does

I don't have an issue with homework, they don't have enough time in school to get through sufficient material and practice. Other countries have far more homework and extra lessons than British kids and they do better in world rankings.

My dd hated me sending her to Saturday school at the time but she's pleased now we did so because she learned to cope with her dyslexia

I do not think there should be homework in the traditional sense of do this at home and it will be marked. I do think however that teachers should speak to parents of children who are performing below the expected level in subjects. Teacher can then ask the parent if they want to be given additional worksheets to do with their child at home. The parent can then decide if they wish to try and bring their child up to the expected standard or decline.

Just admit that what you said initially isn't 100% correct and we can all move on.

You think rules have to be produced in a certain way? My kids have lots of rules. They are almost all communicated through little chats.

So not 'your rules' then, just a little chat.

No school should really set homework, except perhaps at ‘A’ level. It’s not necessary. The school should be able to teach what’s required in the classroom. If they can’t do that, that’s a failure by the school.

Children’s general education and public exams - certainly pre-‘A’level - just don’t need research and extra learning. Covering books and finding some pictures occasionally, maybe. The rest, no.

To be honest, I have a bigger issue with GCSE and A level exams than I do with homework in primary. Exams are truly a waste of time, it'd be better to grade children based on their work throughout the years rather than how well they can answer questions under intense time pressure.

Anyway, with regards to homework in primary - I guess it's partly to teach children how to work at home for when they need to in secondary school. I don't mind it as long as it's revision of things they've already more or less mastered in class so they can do it more or less on their own.

So you assume schools don’t make their rule explicit to parents before accepting children?

I actually had a conversation with my kids’ reception teachers about homework before they started at the school. We were much on the same page, which was a bit of a relief. They had to set homework as school policy, but they didn’t think it valuable except for reading - which we did lots of.

We have reading daily. Maths sheet once a week and literacy sheet once a week. Time tables practise encouraged daily

A simple no would have sufficed.

To as much of an extent as the school that accepted them made me aware of their rules.

I assume your oldest child is at the upper end of primary, as you have three school age kids? If so, it's their responsibility and you don't need to make them. It's up to the child to do their homework or not do their homework, and if they get in trouble for not doing it then that's their problem. I don't think you need to get involved really OP (unless I've got that wrong and your oldest is in Y2 or Y3).

I hate and dread the homework. It's a constant battle getting DS to do it. He tries his best but there is such alot he can't grasp and he's falling behind. He's Year 5. We're going to have to get him extra tuition outside of school. He has little interest in reading and his only focus is games on screens. It's a nightmare and will only get worse

The researcb saying no benefit - well that would depend on what the homework is. Because spllings if the spchild can memorise from lessons alone would waste your time. Same as ttr if your kid never forgets them and is very fast.
Clearly extra work in an area a child struggles with will help - that is logic!
It is why 1-2-1 tutoring works.
Very little of oue primary work was tailored - basically none.
Both dd would have benefitted from moving up a year on the maths app.
Somilarly in y7 the different maths app says its tailoring the homework - maybe it is but it is very slow..
Whereas for sats we did 'homework' of past papers and cgp books and that really helped. Went from not finishing the arithmetic to 40/40 in 8 weeks. We targetted the areas she struggled with - time and measire etc.
A great school would be stretching kids - ours doesnt do that. A child who works slowly gets a lot less done in class so less practise.

A kid in dd1 year never did the maths app. Had to do it at breaks. She was not high achieving years ahead child. Kids who did homework etc have all come out with exceeding on the maths sats. And most gone into higher sets. It will affect kods who did none of the work until they do enough secondary work to improve.

I have mixed feelings on homework, especially when it's excessive amounts, but overall do think it's a good idea for them to have some and to at least try to complete most of what is asked. I also find it sad/worrying that some parents feel they/their children don't have enough time to do homework at all - in that case I might be considering if the children are doing too many after school/weekend activities, and drop one so that they can spend a little more time on homework.

If a school accepts my child they agree to my rules.

Good Lord - and we wonder why teachers are leaving the profession in droves 🙄.

In answer to the question, I have no issue with homework in primary school, provided it can be completed by the child without significant adult input. My DD in year 4 has weekly spellings and times tables practice, plus an online vocabulary app thing, all of which I’m ok with. Less keen on the ‘build an ancient Egyptian burial chamber out of loo rolls’ type tasks which inevitably end up being completed by the parents!

I’m an ex-teacher and I don’t make my primary age DC do homework. Sometime they want to do it because it’s an interesting project, and we read every night, but I’d rather they go to sports clubs, Rainbows, swimming etc after school. They need that down time. Both are doing very well academically so it’s having no impact. But to reiterate, we do read every night, and I do think that’s important.

Giving 5-year-olds mandatory homework because you think that otherwise they'll never cope with homework at age 11 is a little like making children wear impractical uniforms for years because otherwise as grown adults they'll never cope if their job has a uniform. A strange sort of logic.

OP - but are they finishing all the maths they are set in lessons? Sounds like you might want to look in their books to get this answer if you don't have it. This is important - it will show you how much maths they are actually doing at school.

Spellings - it can take 5 mins to check they know the list. Do they get tested? Do you tell the teacher they must be excluded from spelling tests? That's not a precedent I'd want to set.

@NumberTheory What, did you put your terms and conditions on the application form then?