How much homework does your Year 1 child get?

[confusedofengland]

DS3 has just started Year 1. He will be 6 in February. He loves school & does well academically, according to his last report, so he is not struggling particularly with the homework.

However, I am finding it really tough to keep up with the amount of work he is given. We are supposed to read with him each day, then at weekends he also has 6 spellings to learn (including the word 'complaint' this week), Bug club (online reading) exercises to complete & written work to do (4-5 facts on a subject, presented in a style of your choice). We have done all of this today & it took well over an hour! That, to me, seems a little excessive for a 5-year old.

His brother, in Year 4 (8 years old) has similar amounts & has SEN so needs lots of help. His brother in Year 6 (10) has just taken his 11+ so was doing lots of studying for that, which I set up & went through etc, but otherwise doesn't need much input on his homework.

During the week, I struggle to hear him read every day, as we are out taking him & his 2 big brothers to activities every day except one day. I have to do it all as DH leaves home half an hour after the DC get up & rarely gets home before bedtime.

Is this amount of work typical for children of this age?

My year 1 ds gets a reading book and that's it. We read the book every day which takes about 5 minutes. My year 2 ds gets the same.

Just reading

I live in Switzerland and my 5 year old has no homework at all, not even reading or spelling. In fact he won't even start learning to read until next year which would be the equivalent of Year 2 in the UK. This is normal here yet the education system here is well regarded.

I think the pressure on very young children in the UK is nuts, I'm just glad we moved shortly before my son would've been starting school back home.

DS in Y1 gets "flexible" homework each week. Basically they stick a sheet of paper in his homework book every week saying which phonemes they have been concentrating on that week, what they have been doing in maths and what tricky words they have been doing. There are some questions you can ask them, if you want, but nothing to write down. Then there is sometimes an activity to do. This week it was to go outside and talk about our senses and what we can see, hear, feel are Again no written work required, but if you wanted to you could.

The school have stressed that reading every night is the most important thing. I would focus on that if you're getting bogged down by too much homework.

My DD1 has just started year 1. She has 6 homework tasks for this term, all are optional. Handwriting practice sheets each week, again optional. 2 online apps, which are optional. The only compulsory thing is reading 5 times a week.

Reading 4 times a week at least so they get their extra playtime reward. Then one lot of homework sent home on a Friday that generally takes about 20 minutes.

None. Thankfully. (We do get reading books).

Ds gets a weekly reading book and a phonics book which is changed every three days, plus spellings, number bonds and number and handwriting practice at the moment. The number and handwriting practice will be replaced with more challenging tasks as the year progresses.

It took ds maybe half an hour max to do his homework and reading last week. School expects us to hear them read three times a week minimum but also realise that life exists outside of school and that reading every single day is an unrealistic expectation (though one we try to do not always successfully)

Complaint That is insane!!My DD is in Ireland and the equivalent of Year2.... and her spellings this week were something like lap, tan, jam etc I can’t quit remember. She also has tables to learn and by tables I mean 2+ tables, and reading. But she finishes school at 2.20!! So plenty of time to get it done!!!
I’m with @PurpleTreeFrog I think the pressure on kids in the UK is ridiculous!!

Just reading and some optional activities linked to the term's topic - but fun things like building a den, making a healthy snack or making a gadget out of junk.

I'm not a fan of homework at this young age - they spend enough time in school and with extra curricular clubs and the need for downtime, I'm quite content with minimal additional home learning.

DS1 has just started Y2. Last year they had 10 minutes reading a night, a maths challenge every fortnight and a weekly book review (three sentences expected, tops) and four spellings to learn and write a sentence including. Seemed plenty, outstanding school according to Ofsted.

That's a ridiculous amount and too much for such a young child. Children are pushed far too ouch these days no wonder more children than ever have anxiety issues. When I was at school (granted a long time ago) there was no home work at all until secondary school. When my children were at school homework started in year 3. And then there really wasn't much. At infants school they did bring books home to share with their parents but they were all lovely 'real books' 'so it was enjoyable.

A reading book on Tuesday, for the following Monday. Read it, write about it: title, author, who's in ut, your favourite bit, what you'd change.

He's in year 3, it was the same for years 1+2. We're in Spain, in state school. DS' cousin in private gets one side of A4 writing, other side maths per night. Plus projects which are actually for the parents (sew an owl, type stuff!).

DS is in Y1. We do 10 mins reading every day. Then homework on a Friday to be completed by Wednesday, something like Read, Cover, Write or Maths. Had to write out his family members for a family tree project one week. Never takes longer than 20 mins.

DS is Year 2. Not a lot of homework, he doesn't have to read every day but if he does he gets a merit (we do

This is similar to my year 1 child, reading expected daily. She has a spelling test on a Friday and a maths and literacy app to access, plus weekend homework.
I also think it's too much but she is also interested and keen to do it so it doesn't feel like we have to force her. She has had homework at weekends since reception and reading.

Pressed send too quickly! We do read every day.

He has 10 spellings every week and maths problems every 2 weeks. Then a bigger project in the holidays.

Year One was pretty much the same except the maths was only every half term instead of 2 weeks.

@Kungfupanda67 it’s a private school in London.
And it’s definitely considered one of the less academically pushy/ more well rounded schools in the area which is why we went with it.
It’s a lot of homework but it is also tailored to ability. Less spellings / more maths etc depending on a child’s abilities.

Thats sounds right, if i remember my DC had online Maths, Spellings, Reading Book and Learning journal. Far too much for their age. When we changed schools they did not do as much, just spellings on a Monday to be learnt over the week, and 1 piece on a weekend. I think some schools go overboard.

Ds is in yr 1 and they have to 'share a book's every night (so not necessarily read every single night but they must at least be read to), 5 spellings per week for weekly test, 1 worksheet in their homework book. There is also optional extra homework they can do as apparently some parents request it ( I rolled my eyes when I heard this and then remembered how, aged 5, I'd begged my mum to request more homework for me from school ).

I personally think it's too much and I don't feel like my ds actually gains anything from the worksheets. He keeps forgetting to bring home reading books and I've reached my limit with Biff and Chip anyway, so I've started to read chapter books to him and he just reads the occasional paragraph as we go along.

My friend, whose daughter goes to a different school, says at their school all children have to do 30mins homework plus reading book every night - which seems crazy to me!

Hardly any. Since the start of term DS has come home with one reading book. He's not been tested yet (new to the school) so it's 6 levels below where he should be.

I've bought him all of the Biff, Chip and Kipper books and the Year 1 CGP guides and we work through those instead.

KS1, reading is encouraged with certificates. Spellings. A homework task each week.

If homework takes too long, I comment on the time spent. I have slow, reluctant writers (SENs identified in DC1, possibly milder in DC2?) They put enough effort into school. We do a lot out of school as school is not a fully holistic education. They need their chill out time too. I'm not turning home into an educational battle ground.

Dd was in year 1 last year and all she got was one worksheet on a Friday.
DS has started high school this year been there almost 3 weeks and not had any yet.

It does sound like he has more than most then!

He doesn't mind doing it & actually quite enjoys it, but with DS2 having a similar amount & also needing a lot of help, it's not uncommon to spend 2 hours + per weekend on homework, which then eats into family time.

I'm just thankful they have got rid of the class mascot, who each child got once a term & had to write a photograph diary for, that invariably took ages!

My year 1 gets:

A reading book (kids have to change it themselves - which they do about once per week)
6 spellings (this week was mad, sad, dad, May etc)
One piece of homework. This week was Mathletics set activities, took about 20 mins.

The homework is only set a few times a term. Once they get to year 3 there is homework each week. Reading and spellings are continued.

Yours sounds like a lot for year 1