AIBU to think Sparx Reader homework is putting my son off reading?

You aren’t, but lots of teachers are.

I’m not trying to dictate what’s right and wrong in this situation, but if we have to set homework, then it makes sense that we support pupils to complete it if families don’t have the means.

I'm not giving up my unpaid lunch time to enforce kids doing online homework I don't believe in.
I don't think they should be doing online homework at all.

Or, teachers are giving up their lunchtime to support pupils?

I’m a secondary teacher in a comp and spent all afternoon today filling in SENDCo paperwork. It’s life, we’ve all got to put in a shift when we’re not at school.

That does suck 🙁

@AnonMama87 how long does it usually take him?
If it isn't long then be honest with him and say you agree it's pants but lets just get it over and done with.
He can still read his other books for pleasure.
As someone above said - keep complaining about it (to the school).

Break or lunch or homework club. It's shit.

Sparx is definitely not reading for pleasure. Thankfully we don't have it and are so broke that we'll never afford it.

My DD13 has sparx maths. It's rubbish. It doesn't explain stuff well and lots of the time is stuff she's not covered. But she's not allowed to do less than 90% hit rate regardless of that. She's supposed to research. Her and pretty much all her mates screenshot it and throw it in AI and answer them that way. I can't say I disagree with her approach on it. When twice I made her do it properly and she couldn't do the work as the supply teacher hadn't taught it yet, she asked for help and was given debits for not completing the homework.

So does that mean they have to stay at school for extra time?
Or do it in their lunch break?

They can do it in school

The fact is, most children are not reading for pleasure, and therefore aren’t reading. Sparx at least keeps them ticking over. If they do a few minutes a day, it’s not a massive demand.

(My two are keen readers, eldest just ticks Sparx off every week, it’s a bit of a chore but it’s not put him off. Homework isn’t meant to be inspiring or particularly enjoyable!!).

Keep complaining… after feedback from my children’s school they have stopped it.

What happens if one of your students doesn't have access to the internet?

Surely the tech only works if you have access to the internet?
We don't actually have broadband at home. Our only internet access is via our phones.
We can use my phone as a hot spot for using tablets/laptop but if my phone isn't there then obviously that can't be done.
This isn't really relevant to the thread (sorry @AnonMama87 for going off on a tangent) but it really does make me want to bang my head against a wall when the government and schools are saying "internet is bad" while schools are simultaneously setting homework online 🤷

I hate online homework with a passion but I'm expected to set it.

Our school gives every child tech for this reason.

It's horrendous OP. I will keep complaining to the school and will occasionally do my DC homework for them

Which is ridiculous when schools (and government) are saying teens shouldn't have smartphones 😂
They can't have it both ways.

I had a child that loved maths all through primary, achieving above expected levels, until Sparx maths was introduced in year 8. Found the whole process of Sparx so frustrating and gave up entirely with maths. Still got a 7 in GCSE with two afternoons of revision but they could have been so much more successful at maths, and taken it post GCSE without this.
I dread to think what levels of frustration the reading would cause.

My Y10 dd2 is also getting increasingly annoyed with it. They too have it for Maths and Science as well. It's just the reading that is taking forever apparently. And she is not a slow reader either!

Also last year you could gain ‘gold reader’ status by reading extra which allowed you to read your own books. This year they’ve removed it as it doesn’t test their reading or comprehension which is another minus. There’s a Reddit group called fucksparx which says it all!

My dd did this last year. Not having to do it so far this year. As far as I’m aware but it is awful. I did it for her sometimes. He hates reading but this put her off even more!

That doesn’t work when most of their homework is online.

It’s awful and nothing like reading a book. I disagreed with it so did it last year for my son. I read very very fast by scanning the page as a whole - which it doesn’t like and seems to give lower points if you read the segment quickly.

The books are rubbish, I compared one with a paperback version and it was abridged so not even a complete text.

The vocabulary test has about 6 words that are recycled and is also poor.

I’m also doing the homework this year with the proviso that he reads an actual book for twice the time I spend doing it.

It’s not about love of reading it’s about compliance. I’d be tempted to do some of it for him, I know you shouldn’t but technology used in this was kills love of reading and is actively harmful.