to ask how much homework your Y1 child gets each week?

[snottagecheese]

DD has to read (sometimes 'at least twice') her Guided Reading title (usually 25-30 pages long) and answer on average 3-4 questions about it (1-line answers usually, but not always) by Wednesday.

Then she has 10 spellings to learn each week, and is supposed to write them out twice as practice before the test at school each Friday.

Now, she also has to log on to the Mathletics website to complete '3 x 10-minute' sessions per week.

Is this the norm?! I work PT so she is in after-school care 3 days a week till 6pm so no time there; I can't imagine how parents who work FT squeeze it in. At the weekend, I guess. It still seems like an awful lot for a just-turned-6-year-old. Mind you, I had no homework at primary school EVER, so in comparison to that I suppose anything's going to seem like a lot (ah, the halcyon days of 80s education...)

IMHO that is excessive. I send home a reading book and very occasional individual tasks (such as learning pairs to 10) but I don't believe in sending home any more than that. I work in a fantastic school where the children come from all backgrounds and make great progress. I recently had a child arrive from a different county who had the level of homework you describe, it had completely turned him off learning in general. His parents were delighted at our approach!

I think that is an enormous amount of homework.

My kids are now in high school, but their primary did not do homework till year 6. They did have spellings to learn weekly, but I did not bother with them. I felt that primary school is for fun learning, they can worry about homework at high school.

Though, I have heard that a new headteacher has joined the school and upped the homework, much to the parents dismay. It is all for the league tables, nothing to do with the kids.

This is all very interesting! It seems the amount DD gets is not especially unusual, but like others on here I really question the need/benefit of it all. DD is bright and does lots of independent reading off her own bat, and at the moment she enjoys the novelty of Mathletics, but I agree that school at this age should be about how learning is fun, and I can't see how this much extra-curricular work is helping foster that notion. DD could (and occasionally does) do the work quite quickly, but often she's a bit resentful of doing it which means it takes far longer than it should and sometimes leads to a bad mood and stroppiness.

Interesting what you say about a new head teacher, CalicoBlue - our school's in a bit of a crisis at the moment as the head teacher retired unexpectedly after a slating from Ofsted (he'd been there forever and was LOVELY), so now we have an interim head who is all power suits and Powerpoint presentations. I think the introduction of Mathletics is down to her, and I wouldn't be surprised if she comes up with other kinds of homework for them...

DS is in P1 (Scotland) - there is reading/writing homework daily & further maths/tasks at the weekend.

I think it's a piece of nonsense! We really struggle to get it done, especially on working days when I'm not home till 6pm & have an over-tired toddler competing for attention & playing up - while poor DS is knackered, having been in childcare since 8am.

I really question the "benefit" of it. If it's really so important, it should be done in school time. If it's not, why are we doing it?

Mine gets about the same as yours OP, plus phonics words Mon -Thurs. It has been stressed to us that it isn't compulsory, but I don't want Dd to be the only one in the class not doing it. She's keen, so I have to pretend I am too and we get it done. (DS, year 4, totally different kettle of fish!!)

It pisses me off tbh that they seem expected to do a lot, sometimes i find myself thinking wtf do they do for 6 hours in school, that I have to do all this at home too? While she is keen I will keep at it I guess, and go with the flow - I wouldn't be prepared to force her to do anything.

too much!! Reading 3xweek (30 page books..But he can read a bit at a time) 12 spellings a week, 10 numeracy questions, literacy (anything from a paragraph to a "fact sheet") plus rolling projects - a new 3 week project every 3 weeks. It's massively stressful!

P2 Scotland, four reading books a week and one other written piece of work per night, such as a maths worksheet, English comprehension or education city. Also one 'talking homework' or other task type thing (make a dragon out of recycled materials/ design a new school mascot/ write a poem/ make up a parcel for the food bank).

Dd has a learning log where she writes one page about a topic. She has 4 reading books a week. I think homework is pretty pointless most of the time.

I think they should pretty much ban homework, at least in primary school.

Homework each Friday to return next Wednesday. 10 spellings to learn. Use five of those words in their own sentences - checking comprehension not just spelling. One maths problems sheet and possibly one other exercise - unscrambling words or putting jumbled up sentences in order to make a story. Then reading book changed whenever they want.

DD does all homework at the weekend and reads a new book every day. But she LOVES homework.

None.

Reading books sent home and suggested at least 15mins x 3 per week.