More yr 7 Homework angst. Please help

"Curlew. The school say 20 mins per subject and it is possible to write in the planner that the incomplete homework done was done in say 30 mins. However, DS does like to do his best and so would feel uncomfortable in handing in a half completed piece of work."

It doesn't matter if he would feel uncomfortable. You have to take charge here. If the school say 20 minutes a subject then that's what he should do.

I can't quite work out from your post how long he is taking, though. He only has 3 hours between getting home and bed- is he spending all that time on homework? Apart from supper?

"An 8 - 8.30 bedtime seems excessively early for a 11/12 year old. Perhaps if you moved that back to say 9-9.30, he wouldn't be so pressured into cramming homework into his very short free time and would feel less resentful of it."

I think that is unrealistic. He has to get up at 6am.

There are a lot of factors at play here.

1. the travel time
2. the amount of prep he is getting - what do the school say: how many hours per week are meant to be set in total? Ds's school has one night a week with no prep in year 7 to allow the children to play fixtures etc but it also allows midweek catch-up.
3. the speed and level of detail he is spending on his homework

Personally I think you're right to keep sleep as the priority in the first weeks of Year 7. And some homework will usually drift into the weekend. I have ds's timetable labelled with what prep is due in, and he will check that even more religiously than his planner.

The travel time is an issue imo. And not so much now - wait until he gets to his exam years! 3 hours a day is not really maintainable, especially if it is not by train/coach where he can work if he gets a seat.

Speed - I suspect he should be getting faster, but if he isn't then you need to work out whether he is faffing, developing perfectionist tendencies or not understanding the subject matter.

How is ds feeling about all of this?

This is why DD2 doesn't go to the grammar school, the odd A* isn't worth giving up your childhood.

I think if he's spending more than 30 minutes on each subject and not managing to get it done, you should go and see his tutor. It may be he is in the wrong set and is being pushed too quickly. There's nothing more damaging to their confidence at that age. An 8 - 8.30 bedtime seems excessively early for a 11/12 year old. Perhaps if you moved that back to say 9-9.30, he wouldn't be so pressured into cramming homework into his very short free time and would feel less resentful of it.

indignatio, my DS can do quite a lot of his homework (and he doesn't have anything like yours) in study periods at school. They seem to encourage it. Is this something your DS can do?

Good luck with it. I've heard from most of my friends with older DCs that the adjustment in Year 7 is really hard (especially for ones like ours moving from state to indie) and can take all year.

DD is in year 9. She gets nothing like this amount of homework.
This year's GCSE results were 80% A* - C including maths and English BTW.

He has an extremely long day with the time spent travelling, but he is going to have to find a way of time-managing (with some support from you) if he is to be successful in his school - I expect they will have high expectations of the quality of the work. Could he do some at lunchtime in the library? Does he have to get up at 6? Then he could maybe have more time in the evening and get up say half an hour later?

My DC go to a state comp which usually sets 3 (or even 4) pieces of homework a night.
DD was/is always happy to spend as much time as each homework required to get her best result, DS does the optimum for him FWIW they also do a lot of hours of sport which we count as equally important as the academic side.

yes, I agree with Curlew too. If he can't do it all -when he is into a settled routine, and not just settling in like now -then he has to stop. He has to do it in the time that's given, because as Curlew says, the school won't know what he can and can't do in the time allotted. This was one of the things the head teacher went on about a lot as DS's school Information Evening.

Ah. Then you need to put your foot down. Timer on for 20 minute- or maybe 30- then stop. Otherwise the school won't know there's an issue.

My DS also just started Yr7.

Our routine:

He arrives home approx 4.45 (finishes at 4pm, but likes to get bus with mates, which i consider to be a good social event for him, as the bus journey sounds fun, so I don't urge him to get an earlier bus. he has to have some life too)

Cup of tea and snack. We 'agree' that he will have some free time and then get down to the nasty stuff by 5.30. This allows for one piece of homework to be done.

We eat early, at 6pm. (This can take an hour if we are very naughty and watch a TV while we eat). So say at 7pm he has to go back to it. This will usually be another two pieces.

He has until 8.30 when he has to perform ablutions and go to bed, reading until 9pm, then lights out. Goodnight Vienna.

We have sorted out a homework plan, which bits to do on what days. His homework is set in either 20/30 or 40 minutes parts, with an hour for Art/DT, etc. We have arranged so that the big things like Art/DT/IT are done at the weekend, when he has more time/patience. But weekdays, if he has a 20 minute bit then he also does a 40 minute bit. And on the days when he doesn't get set homework for that subject, I try to persuade him to bring one piece forward.

This includes Saturday and Sunday, even Friday evening.

Last night he realised he had forgotten to bring home his Maths books, so couldn't do homework due in today. Minor panic but we accepted he would get a detention after school for forgetting to take home books/do homework. Then, I looked at timetable and realised he has two break periods and he can go to library to do homework in those periods (NOT ideal, I know, but needs must when the devil drives).

So far we are managing, and he's not fraught or anxious.

So, in short (because I have been lengthy, sorry) he has to realise this is his responsibility. Then (if you haven't already) you need to organise his time (with his input and agreement) to create a 'do-able' rota.

Also, he needs to do it with some breaks, children's concentration is approx 20 minutes.

I strongly recommend some incentive/reward system, so when he manages to do all his set homework for one day he gets some treat, whatever that may be. And at the end of a week in which he has managed it all, another treat.

At (state) primary, my DS was a nightmare about homework. We had loads of silly projects, and I did most of them. Now I realise this can't happen, so i don't correct his homework (hard though this is). It's my job to get him to find the time to do it. It's his teacher's job (plural) to correct it and teach him better for next time.

It's about time management. he can do it but you are going to need to help him in the beginning. Also, It's a huge change and that makes us all tired. Remember how tiring it is when you start a new job? He may not be firing on all cylinders just yet. Also his days are long, up at 6am. Could you get him to bed for 8, then lights out at 8.30?

And I agree, handing in incompleted pieces of work will make him feel anxious in the run up to handing in/getting back, etc, and he needs to do what's set. You will get there, I'm sure. he's probably never had to organise his time before, so you need to show him how.

Good luck.

What does the school say? How long do they expect him to spend on homework a night?

Sounds to me like too much homework. BabyBearleigh is at a selective indie school, with good results and he gets two homeworks a night, and he's in the 4th year (ie just started GCSE work). The school made a conscious decison to reduce homework, as they realised it was counter-productive.

Can't he do some homework on the bus or train? In time-honoured fashion. 6am start sounds killer although my teens do it, come to think of it (morning ablutions take ages).

If he isn't in until 5.30 and is hungry could you not serve evening meal earlier 6pm then once eaten it is homework time. Say 1 to 1 1/2 hours finished by 7.30 screen time for 1/2 then bed.

My ds year 8 trys to do the majority on the night set but will leave any art which does take longer until the weekend plus Friday nights and does it Sunday morning.

He has a very long day. Why does the journey home take so long?