To not bother with weekly ‘busy work’ homework tasks?

What is " this amount" of homework ? A book to read (5-10 mins) a work sheet ( 10 minutes) the construction of the Tudor house ( for mine it was a pagoda and the shard) is surely not a daily task but a lovely crafting activity for a rainy weekend afternoon no ?

Let her be a child.

Let her read for pleasure rather than attainment. Find books and stories she loves, take her to the library, read the books you loved when you were a kid with her, watch the tv shows or films based on the books and talk about which was better, give her hot chocolate and biscuits and blankets and curl up together with a lovely book. She doesn't need to jump through standardised hoops, she just needs to know that she is capable and there is a whole world out there waiting for her to discover it.

YANBU most research suggests that the completion of homework at this age has no meaningful impact on learning. Reading, talking, and playing with your child is likely to be far more beneficial. Who cares if she gets a big fat X? It sounds like you know what is best for your child. The homework X will mean nothing in the long run but you and her being stressed all year over meaningless tasks will likely impact the mental health of you both. If I were you I’d probably go to the meeting equipped with references to some of the research that suggests homework is meaningless but that’s just me!

This amount of homework at age 5 seems to me to be ridiculous. They’ve been at school for what - 5, 6, hours if they haven’t had enough learning in that time at that age, then how do teachers expect them to drum up further energy or concentration for homework. I’m not anti homework, there is a time and place for it certainly, just not I think for tired 5 year olds at the end of a school day.

All of those qualities can be learned doing something more productive and inspiring than a tick box (for the teacher) worksheet. Children that do sport, music, dance, brownies etc etc learn teamwork, commitment, work ethic, ability to stick with something when its hard. Just because a parent makes a judgement call to not do one particular activity which is causing stress in family life and is low worth (according to their judgement), it doesn't mean they are abdicating their responsibility as a parent.

Why are you doing everything? Is dad not able to help?

There's nothing to stop you from doing extra work with your child if you think they would benefit from it. However, research actually suggests that for the vast majority of children homework has very little impact on achievement.

I'm fine with reading with them even enjoy it and I don't mind being asked for some help but otherwise I really resent any homework that requires lots of parent participation. If I wanted to do schoolwork with my child I'd have home educated.

What about the kids who aren't doing so well though?

Oh, so this is the reason my struggling fc has no bloody homework. Their school put it out to a vote and the "overwhelming" majority said to scrap homework. So no homework for my "behind" child and we are just having to muddle along to help them.
Well done for you're exceeding dc though

Sack it off. She's 5. She's been learning all day at school. Are they incapable of fitting the learning of a 5 year old child into 9am - 3pm every weekday? Home is time to chill out, spend time with family, run around the garden, watch cartoons, draw a picture. Not sit at a table with some uninspiring worksheet.

As a teacher, I don’t really believe in homework tasks for under 10s beyond reading and spelling.

I have to set it and report on it at parent meetings and end of year reports, but I do not care. By all means, tell the teacher your stance. They probably can’t change what’s written on the report etc, but you might find they agree it’s stupid too!

The research does not back homework in primary schools (beyond reading), there is no value added by busy work. Some argue it forms good habits later, I argue habit forming can happen in the first couple of years of secondary.

The children sit in a classroom all day. I’d rather my class spent their evenings playing and making their own choices than doing worksheets. They will learn more from this unstructured time.

Oh come now - “low expectations” is just being dramatic.

Other countries don’t start compulsory schooling until 7 and produce perfectly functioning adults! 5 year olds here are in school all day, that’s plenty. How is forcing a 5 year old to do a worksheet “self motivated learning” anyway? It’s the opposite.

My mum pushed back against homework for me in young primary school because she thought it was excessive and a waste of time - I have multiple Oxbridge degrees. Does that help 😂

Really? A few minutes a day with your child helping get them into a good homework ethic even at 5yo.
Also gives you the opportunity to talk to them about other school/social stuff that may be on their mind.
I worked full time and we always did ‘homework’ together. H read to them at bedtime and he worked long hours too and probably didn’t feel like it most evenings.
Teachers don’t set homework to test/trap parents!
Step up and parent your child.

I'd do the tasks. It's part of being a parent, helping your dc with schoolwork.

But homework for 5 year olds isn’t an inherent part of having children. It’s just daft 😂

What even is "busy work"?

Mine had had "homework" since reception. One page in a maths and English workbook once a week. Takes about 60 seconds to complete each. Sounds like your school is doing something v different?

For a start, compulsory education in Singapore starts at aged 7. If homework made any difference, surely our 4,5 and 6 year olds would be academically advanced compared to their peers in Singapore (spoiler - they're not).
No-one is doubting that it's important to do homework when older (upper primary or secondary), but even then, the quality of the homework set needs to be good (this is true in Singapore where, by the way, students have the option to complete their homework at school).
A few worksheets printed from twinkl, completed at 6pm when a 5 year old is tired and half way through their dinner, is not going to make the difference as to whether a child 'gets it' or not.
Either way, you can't compare education in different countries that easily. There is so much more at play, and aside from homework, our country has a massive problem in terms of the reputation of and attitude towards education which contribute to poor outcomes. The root of those problems are complex and certainly cannot be fixed by homework.

Not that I’m aware of it’s been a consistent rule for years. TBH my ds has Sen needs so doesn’t always do the same as the others.

Your child's school sounds awful! They genuinely make them stay in and complete the pointless homework presumably whilst all their classmates are having fun on a Friday afternoon?

Learning, self motivated learning and understanding is a skill that has to be developed otherwise at by the time they’re 13 or doing exams they have to skills or motivation to revise of manage self study.

Spending a bit of time in the evening or morning doing some work is not a hardship even at 5. Have some down time post school and then homework time/ reading or spelling for 10-30 minutes. Break it up into short segments.

why does everyone have such low expectations of themselves and their children. It’s horrible.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to get the homework done now god help you later on, surely when you choose to have kids you do so in the knowledge they are a lot of work?

I did this too when mine were primary age ( worked on my feet often without a break) Do you have a partner ? Can you supervise homework whilst cooking ? or batch cook to free more time ? Do you have to do laundry every night ? Could that be shifted to the morning ?

I loathe homework in primary school with a passion. I am not a teacher, if my child needs my support then it is not homework, it is me doing a teacher's job. It should be reading and spellings only in my opinion, until possibly the last year of primary school.
And as for the setting them up in a routine for later years, this is nonsense. My DS is autistic and I refused to do any homework beyond reading and spellings with him for years and now in P6 he is settled into a routine of homework at 7pm every evening, because guess what? He is now mature enough for it.

By contrast my DD, also autistic has always done all her homework, with very little input from us. The difference was that she enjoyed it, was happy to do it and it didn't disrupt family life.

If homework is causing stress at home it is not worth it. I would not allow my home to become a battleground every evening for the sake of a couple of worksheets.

That's absolutely ridiculous.

Surely parents have pushed back against this?