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If your primary sets no (or minimal) homework...

6 replies

DinDjarin · 20/01/2023 10:40

DD's primary's ethos is as little homework as possible although the official line is they are allowed to set 30-45 minutes a week.
Usually this is some spellings every few weeks or revise for a test. Nothing regular.

However, we just had parents evening. DD's teachers said all was well and asked her to rate how she thought she is getting on. They then said not to forget the extra worksheets handed out in class and that she can look at x website for maths and do some exercises, y for English etc for each subject. Then were at pains to say it's not homework and completely voluntary yet at the same time managing to convey the expectation that the children should complete these activities, that the answers to the worksheets are on the class google drive so she can correct them.

Is this the same in your school? It seems a ridiculous way to get around the "no homework" policy.

OP posts:
PuttingDownRoots · 20/01/2023 10:43

Its no homework beyond spelling, times tables and reading.

They get workbooks in Yr6 though for SATS

NoSquirrels · 20/01/2023 10:50

It’s because if you ever poll parents at primary school, it’s nearly always a 50-50 split of those parents who hate homework with a passion, and those who feel equally passionate that their children aren’t bring ‘stretched’.

All the research says homework at primary is useless. Just do more reading instead. Take some trips on weekends and holidays to museums and what have you. Talk to your kids.

Ignore the worksheets unless you are in the 50% of parents who want their kids to do them.

DinDjarin · 20/01/2023 11:01

Well, its mainly the ones in the subjects where DD felt she wasn't doing so well that I think she should maybe do. Of course, those are the ones she hid! And trying to persuade her to do "homework" that isn't actually homework is quite a task.

Basically, I've just ignored the websites and "extra" sheets as she's mainly doing well. I'm concerned if the others in the class are doing these things, then she'll start to be left behind.

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Linren · 20/01/2023 11:04

As an ex-primary school teacher I can almost positively say that the teacher does not expect that these are done.

As PP said, there are often quite a few parents who think that the children need extra homework and complain that they aren't being given enough to stretch them.

Voluntary activities are actually a good way around this - the parents who would force their kids to do extra anyway are at least giving them relevant work (I saw some crazy "homework" dreamt up by parents - think making their 8 year olds copy out of the dictionary). For those parents who are happy with the current level of homework, they can ignore it.

Since parents evenings are a time that a lot of parents ask what they can do to help their children at home, teachers often remind parents what resources are available during this time should they need it.

We had various online platforms for reading and Maths. I sent parents list of discussion prompts for use when reading with their children at home. I uploaded additional resources, games, quizzes and practice worksheets relevant to the topics we were learning. Yet still every year I had a handful of parents that were unhappy that their child didn't have more homework (spoiler: they weren't doing any of the extra stuff I had provided).

The additional things she uploaded are almost certainly just to defend against those type of parents, and reminding all parents that they exist in every parents evening is to avoid getting to the end of the year and being told that they were never informed about what was available to them.

Feel free ignore them. I would. The best way to help your kid is to read with them as much as possible. For maths, get them measuring, telling the time, practical things etc. if you can make timestables fun then knowing them off by heart does help because it's one less thing to think about when things get more complicated eg converting fractions.

Other than that, encourage learning as something fun, let them find out things they want to know and let them have fun.

NoSquirrels · 20/01/2023 11:13

I'm concerned if the others in the class are doing these things, then she'll start to be left behind.

They won’t be. She won’t be. Honest!

Miala · 20/01/2023 11:14

"And trying to persuade her to do "homework" that isn't actually homework is quite a task."

I can relate to this. We had a lot of it in lockdown, for understandable reasons, but the upshot was none got done. Answers being available for her to self mark will happen a lot. I wouldn't worry about that, just treat it as part of the exercise.

I think PP has it spot on. Decide which side you're on in the Great Homework Debate. Based on that, either earmark some of it as actual homework and expect her to do it, or sack the lot off. You could even explain to her that they do this optional thing because families go either way on homework in primary school. Explain your own position on homework and therefore what your expectations are for her. There's no harm in her hearing "in this family we believe that..."

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