Why is homework in primary seen as "bad"

[Iamwaiting]

Inspired by a few other threads. I'm not a teacher or in education so I'm genuinely interested in perspectives, plus those with older children who have been through/ going through primary.

Why is homework viewed so negatively?

Context... I have a DD in reception. She finishes school at 3. We come home (5 min walk) and do her homework (set by me.) 15/20 mins of reading, 5 mins of writing (tricky words / practicing writing words with "igh" sounds for instance / following wibbly lines for pen holding) and 5 mins of simple maths.

Finished by just after 3.30 leaving 4 hours to play / go to clubs / see her friends before bed. Same thing at the weekend but we do it in the morning.

But so many threads on here seem to imply homework is awful in primary, certainly reception. But I genuinely don't understand why. Surely it's just getting her used to a concept that will become increasingly important as she gets older?

For context she can ride a bike, swim well, climb a tree etc etc. Not boasting but just to show she is still enjoying lots of activities despite the "evil" homework!

Because nowhere in the adult world it is considered ideal to be taking work home. If you can't complete work within your contracted working hours, you either have too much work or you are using your time ineffectively.
At work, I have time to complete admin tasks and I can take days off to do CPD study. I would not be expected to do any of this in my own time. Why is school different?

I would guess it's about getting kids ready for exam revision and potential college/6th form/uni.

Arguably none of those things can be a success without a lot of work at home.

@StaunchMomma I remember getting time off school for exam revisions and definitely study days and reading weeks at uni. We were never expected to both attend classes/lectures AND work on essays/revise for exams at the same time.
I did very little homework in the secondary. My parents were firm believers that work should be done in school hours and somehow I managed to successfully complete my core education and two degrees.

Because I think small children spend enough time doing structured learning at school. At home, if they ask to do writing or maths or anything then I'm more than happy to support that, but I don't agree with regular set homework at primary school age. (We read together every day and always have done)

Does it make you feel better to know that if anything what you're doing will have a detrimental effect on her wellbeing? Or do you just like thinking you're doing better than others

I'm not a fan of homework for little ones, but it depends on how your child learns. I was really pleased when the new head at our primary wrote to all parents explaining that there is no evidence that homework at this stage improves attainment, but there is loads of evidence that reading with your kids (enjoying a book together not getting them to read) and practising times tables can make a huge difference.
My eldest is dyslexic and my youngest autistic so we never did homework at primary, they were worn out by trying to squeeze themselves into a system made for different brains.
If your daughter hated doing the work you set and it made her switch off from school as a whole you might see it differently, but if it's something you both enjoy then crack on - whatever works for you :)

If I brought my child home at 3.05pm and had nothing else to do until dinner, then I'm sure we might find all sorts of activities to fill our time, some of which might look like what you call "homework" (but which seems to be voluntary activities that you've chosen to do, not something that the school relies on or will chase up on).

I don't see any reason for a 4 year old to "get used to" something that they'll have to do in secondary school. They can cross each bridge as they come to it. A Reception child already has so much to get used to, especially one who has a much longer school day and commute than yours does. Relaxation and bonding are my priorities on weekdays (well, that and dinner and bedtime).

Also, responding to your later comments of "it's not the difficulty of fitting it in, people view it negatively regardless" - I don't think you can separate the two. You seem to have a lot more free time with your child than most. Mandatory homework would eat into time that any families of primary school aged children just don't have, and thereby create unneeded stress which isn't good for parent or child. At infant school age, homework is a job for the parent. Whereas at secondary, it's entirely for the pupil.

(Talking of getting used to things early - I hope you don't get used to being the person in charge of homework, as your child needs to take responsibility for this themselves once they're older! Please don't be one of those parents that takes this away from their child!)

It's also not helpful that you've used the term "homework" which implies work set by the school, when this isn't the case with you. I don't think many people object to the notion of a parent doing a bit of proactive literacy and numeracy practice at home with their child.

Because I would say the majority of families don't just come home from school at 3.15 and stay there all evening.

A lot of parents work past 3.15, even if they are WFH they can't sit and do homework with their kids whilst they are working.

Then making / eating dinner

Then going out to sports clubs. My family for example have sports clubs every day
.. Once the lighter nights kick in we arw at cricket matches every night. I'd much rather my children who aren't playing in the match that evening come with me and have some time outside playing and enjoying themselves with their friends than be stuck indoors at home doing homework.

My mum was a highly regarded foundation stage teacher for all of her teaching career - she has always emphasised to me that reading at home is sufficient for primary school, which everyone should be doing naturally anyway.

my son is reception atm, we do reading daily, as long as he is willing, I will never force him if his not up for it. I read every night to him regardless before bed.

we go to museums, play board games, count out things daily, read sign post as we are passing them etc etc etc - all these things are natural and they don’t even realise they are learning as they go so it’s not forced and a much better way to learn imo.

I don’t dislike homework, I just think a lot of the time the homework provided is being done in a roundabout way at home anyway. If we are sat down and it’s obvious we are ‘working’ my son will challenge it and then it’s not fun for either of us. If you’re child enjoys it then amazing, but if they don’t then there’s other ways they can learn after school.

Not sure that happens any more in school, or it's very little time. the expectation was certainly that kids revise out of school hours when I was teaching (left 10 years ago).

I don't know anyone who completed essays etc in uni time, in honesty. All essays etc were written independently and most on-site time was purely for lectures.

The whole thing is so much easier for those who are naturally academic, really. That's not the majority of kids, though. So many really struggle in the classroom and are avoidant out of it but unfortunately there aren't enough school hours or support staff to facilitate in-school revision.

Reading is a given. The extra 5 - 10minutes - depends on what it is. You have to start by mustering a reluctant child to the desk. Cue 15 minutes of complaining, resisting and bribery. The 10 minute task stretches out to a half hour. Then multiply that by 3 kids.

my view is there is no place for homework other than reading practice until they are around 8 yrs old when they should have around 15 to 20 minutes.

I think most of the issue is that it is inconvenient for parents as they don't get alot of time with kids once picked up from afterschool care.

Private schools seem to have it sorted as they have homework club - so you get a drink and a snack and supervised homework time for older kids before someone collects usually later on say 6 ish. But you go home homework sorted - well maybe just reading to do but for me that is bonding time.

You are privileged if you collect your child at the end of school and they get that uninterrupted time with you all evening. I was an older Mum and thought it would never happen, as such I was working between Bham and London and when I went back to work we had about 18mths then was made redundant. Best thing that ever happened as I had to cut back on everything until I got more work so childminder and home help stuff and got to spend a few years mostly being around until our business got established then I made a point of being around when she was home from school. She wanted to go to afterschool at one point so she did and enjoyed it and I got a more balanced work life.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond with insightful and measured posts. Lots for me to think about there, and the range of perspectives makes really interesting reading.

To those who have told me I'm either damaging my child or superior for simply trying to understand other perspectives at the start of my child's education, when as I mentioned I know very little at this stage, less thanks!

I personally would never set my children homework as I believe this could have a detrimental affect on their learning, unless you are a teacher of course. The reason being, I realised during homeschooling that the way they are taught things is vastly different to the way I was taught so it just caused confusion when teaching a different method. Thankfully the teachers ended up doing some great video clips explaining how the technique used in school.

For me, I just don't think homework is necessary in primary, I find it much more advantageous doing things like baking, them reading the recipe and measuring the ingredients out.

Reading regularly is an absolute, yes though.

I think it's also the way a school might reprimand a child for not doing it.

What you're doing is great, you're building skills and foundations for learning, but when there are worksheets after worksheets sent from school it can have a negative impact. There is research to show hw can have a negative impact on progress because the methods used at home differ from what they're being taught at school and therefore confuse a child.

The best hw is what you're doing and perhaps a project for home learning, e.g go for a walk to spot signs of spring and talk about them (for Yr R). Reading is an essential life skill that in my view, shouldn't even be seen as hw, it's fun and super important.

As a teacher, I personally hate homework as it’s never children’s best work and quite often completed wrongly so then I have to spend more time in class re-teaching the concept.

My 11-year-old DD receives weekly homework but we don’t do it with her unless she wants to. She reads with us or to her 2 year old brother daily, we always talk about her school day and what she has been learning and she has lots of good experiences to support the topics she is doing at school.

I think other things are more important and whilst we value education greatly I’d rather my DC learn through conversation and experiences that additional paper that has the potential to put them off their enjoyment of school.

i have 2 children, one in reception and one in year 2. They don’t finish school until 3.20, we walk home and get back at 3.50. My year 2 has maths, reading, spellings (tested at school) and a comprehension task. Plus numerous projects through the year. My youngest has reading and one piece of written homework, usually English.

first of all the eldest HATES homework. It’s always a battle, lots of tears. He’s tired from school, does lots of activities. Add in regular illness and homework for us is miserable. The youngest does hers ok if asked but it’s not her favourite part of the day. Effectively it’s a source unhappiness in our house. Plus cooking, parents working, all the other daily tasks. I don’t have a problem with young children doing homework as such, but suggesting everyone could be happily doing this by 3.30 is ridiculous.

Well... Myself and DH both work full time, we have 3DCs and 2 of them are in competitive sports so training 4.30-8.30 most nights by contrast you dont work, have 1 child and not really any other hard going commitments.

But fundamentally i dont agree with being in school for 6 hours then coming home to do homework, my children do however always participate in projects and solo talks.

Having said that we are transitioning our P6 child into doing homework for going into secondary school.

@foodglorious thank you for the judgement but I do work, in fact I'm the sole income for my household

There was zero judgment, my mum was a SAHM as was I for a period of time.

4 or 5 year olds don't need to be doing endless homework. Certainly 4 year olds should be spending their time playing. It's too much to expect children that are still learning to concentrate to do a full day at school followed by homework at night. Aren't they allowed down time?

My DD is 5 and in year 1 now. In reception we just read with her every night - and that was all that was expected. In year 1 she suddenly has multiple apps and a homework sheet every Friday. It's a lot and that doesn't take into account that she's at clubs and / or after school club 4 days a week and doesn't finish eating until gone 6pm (earliest).

I don't recall doing much homework in primary. Maybe spellings and reading but nothing like the extent of homework we are seeing now.

I have a much less structured evening than you and I feel very strongly that, for my child, free-choice playing is what she needs most during the evenings after school.

Her school finishes at 3.30pm, 5 minute walk home during which she is absolutely famished and often grumpy and irritable. I feed her tea as soon as we get in the house, then she perks up and often wants to just play imaginatively with her toys and seems very settled and happy to do that, so I leave her to it while I sort out the washing up / laundry etc and she has a great time and it helps her wind down.

We do bath and then a bit more free playing, or sometimes a walk around the village depending on how energetic she is feeling. We always do reading before bed and have done since birth, but I read different books than the school books as I think variety is important to her and I think exposure to lots of different books is a good thing, not just school work.

Two nights a week she has an activity and she finds those very tiring.

I think my child finds school quite overwhelming and exhausting, and I just want her home (whilst she is still small) to be a place of refuge and calm for her, where she can decompress and do what she likes (within reason). I think that allows her to be really raring to go and excited to go to school, as she is fully recharged.

Which country do you live in because none of what you're saying - even reference to work books at home, ring true for the UK to me.

The schools expect kids to be reading at home nearly every day so that would be your daughter's 10-20 mins of homework every day which they can't do on their own. Especially when they're in the early stages of primary. If you add the extra science / maths or whatever you've mentioned, that's taking it closer to an hour or more.