not doing year 7 homework

These strategies help us:
(1) Homework timetable is all very well but it tells you what day the homework is set rather than when it is due in. We have a timetable with the sessions after the homework is set highlighted (e.g. maths homework set in on Monday so due in on Wednesday). That means I know that Tuesday night is the day to prompt about whether maths is done or not. We have less of a problem with getting homework done and more of a problem with DS remembering to take it in, so this helps with that too.

(2) When DS is on computer / watching TV, etc. I ask him what time he intends to start his homework and hold him to that. This is more productive than 'Stop that and do your homework'. This causes him to think about what he has to do and how much time it is going to take. He usually suggests a sensible time to start and I make sure to remind him then: 'It's 5.30 now and you said you were going to start your homework.'

I don't think there's anything wrong with checking homework as they can learn from mistakes just as well from a parent as they can from the teachers, as long as the parent doesn't just correct the work rather than getting the child to improve it.

Why not? The teacher is going to be puzzled that work she does at school is different to work she does at home. She needs to be responsible for her own proof reading!

@curlew: I won't sign off work say an English piece for example, where where dd has missed a full stop; has missed a closing speech mark or has used the same word in a sentence twice. In those instances i'll remind dd that she has repeated it. Does that mean dd didn't get it or simply not did not read through her work properly? Or is it like any piece of writing where each time you proof read it, you just find better ways of writing something?

Don't know, but the more I do that, the less of those mistakes dd makes and the sharper her works get. Plus the teacher still finds the odd bit even I have missed (which is hardly surprising as my grammar is not the best). dd repeatedly gets 10/10 and top of class for English in Exams so I don't think the method I'm using is too cranky.

Do the school have punishments if homework isn't done/handed in on time? My daughter's school issue detentions. Today she's forgotten her history project, so has asked me to drop it in at break time. She's done far in excess of what tutor asked so hopes he will agree to it being handed in within 15 mins of end of lesson, otherwise she knows it will be a detention. I'm not very amused at having to go into school, but at least she is trying to put things right.

The main thing he has something to hand in. At the moment they are getting to know him and what he is capable of. It may well be that he is submitting all he can in a particular subject.

If you feel this problem is continuing, do speak to the school, I'm sure they will be happy to talk to you about this and that your son has parent support.

"I do still read through thoroughly and won't sign off until I'm satisfied"

If you do this, how on earth is the teacher supposed to know whether he's "getting" it or not?

Having said all that, it's not easy with all the other stuff we have on our plates as parents.

@cricketballs, quite true. Year 7 was our homework as opposed to just hers. It would be the question of, what homework do we have tonight. Education I think is a 3 way thing: child, parent, school. dd Year 8 now and much more independent, although I do still read through thoroughly and won't sign off until I'm satisfied. Although Maths is beyond me, but I do still make sure dd has checked and check again.

Yep fair enough cricketballs. Now you mention it (mine are older) year 7 should be spent with parents making sure they have the mechanisms required with a view to stepping away completely over the next year or two.

Just make sure that by the time they're off to university they have the organisational skills and work ethic to get their dissertation done without you breathing down their neck!

titchy - the problem with your solution is that as a school we depend on parents to support and therefore by leaving them to the school sanctions only and not giving your support does not do your DC, you nor the schools any favours. Whilst you are correct that they need to require their own work ethic, these children are 11 years of age and therefore need support in order to discover this

Get HW timetable.
Ask subject teachers to ensure HW written in diary.
Check diary each night.

Or get him to sit down at desk/table for an hour each night. He can do HW or stare at the wall!

Check his mark for the homework. If it is poor then sit down and discuss how it could be improved. Let/make him do it again. Do it with him if you have to. Persevere. You will win him over to making a better attempt first time with each homework. He'll realise it will be less hassle to make the effort first time around. His teacher might offer some input if you have a chat.

DS1 is now in Y9 and is still doing this. He claims he does some of it in class time / lunchtimes.

Not quite sure if it's a girl thing. My nephew will religiously do two hours a night on homework without batting an eyelid and will get pedantic about his essays too. Although, the thought if starting it is usually the hard part, when he gets going he's fine. Having said that, his best friend is quite the opposite and will spend as little time on it as possible. In an highly sought after comprehensive.

Not quite sure about the, 'gets cross if I nag him,' bit. You're the parent not his mate. I wouldn't give a flying hoot if my dd got cross if I nagged her. The homework needs to be done and done well. In her own words she says I'm a softy but strict when it comes to education. My nephews mum is the same too. There's also a balance which she's aware of. I spend a lot of time and money on the things she loves doing outside of school too so it's not all just school work. Having said that she knows that she gets all that because she works hard at school.

The only tip I can give is, I tend to reward when a great job is done, great results or great effort as opposed to taking things away if they don't do well and threaten.

It's also worth finding out what the expectations are of independent study.

My Yr7 DS is expected to 'read around the subject' in Science, Geography and History, which often gets done if homework hasn't been given or finished quickly.

It sounds like he is actually getting homework but maybe not giving it his best shot. I suppose the bottom line is what grades he is getting in relation to target. In our house we have a "useful hour" at the same time every day where they do something useful, whether or not its homework. And always keep asking about what homework is due.

Hello? Are you me?

I thought DS's (Y7) school was "going light" on homework to break them in gently, until I went to parents' evening and found that they weren't, it was just DS who was going light on homework! Although his geography teacher made me laugh, as she smiled when I went in and said "I've just had the mother [of a girl] telling me that her daughter is spending 2 hours on her homework every night and crying and getting tense because it isn't perfect - I think that is not the conversation we are going to have".

I'm taking a middle ground between micro-managing (don't want to) and letting him get bollocked by the school into getting it right (not sure that is the best way of learning). I think ATM he nees help in getting the framework right.

We got a copy of his homework timetable - which previously he had been unable to locate and make him write down at the beginning of the week exactly what homework he is supposed to have on which day in his planner (which is entertaining as he now gets indignant if he get's homework when he is not scheduled to ). I think this has really helped him to be able to see what is expected/coming rather than it all being a random surprise. We also check of an evening that it has the return date marked in. I'm not checking his actual homework, other than his maths, but I do find that being able to say "Hmm, Science due in tomorrow: have you done it? what was it?" etc is much better than a random "Have you done your homework" question. I will also say "Oh, that looks quite short, did Miss Teacher say don't bother doing too much if there is something you want to watch on tv" which will often elicit a couple more paragraphs getting done

Does he have a homework diary? If so, is it being filled in properly?

Leave it up to him. School should have sanctions if he doesn't do enough. He needs to work it out for himself and develop his own work ethic. Better he starts to learn this over the next three years than in GCSE or A level years.