To expect homework to be given in year 10?

[KentishMama]

My stepson's school has introduced a new 'homework diary'. The announcement read:

A new homework diary will be launched on 04 March 2015. This is in response to views of the majority of parents/carers in a recent homework survey. Each student from Year 7 to Year 12 (excluding Year 11s and 13s) will be given a homework diary. The purpose of the homework diary is to:

Let students and parents/carers know what homework has been set each day.
Let parents and carers know how long their child is expected to spend on their homework.
Emphasise the importance of keeping to homework routine.
Help ensure that all homework is completed and handed in on time.
Provide a way for parents and teachers to communicate with each other.

Each week tutors will sign the homework diary. It is important that parents and carers also check the diary and sign it. In addition there is a section at the end of each week where parents and teachers can write comments, messages and make suggestions.

SS is in year 10. The diary has been in place since the beginning of March. We've checked and signed it each week. But there has not been a single entry in it so far. No homework. No comments, messages, suggestions. We've questioned SS and he says there just isn't any homework. We asked his form tutor and he said the only expectation is that the kids do 'self-directed reading' each week for English. That's it.

AIBU to think that there ought to be more there? And that it's no wonder this school has abysmal GCSE pass rates?

Also - do you think I can / should raise this with the school? If so, how?

No coursework in year 10?! That seems very unusual.

At least none that ever needs to be completed at home. It's not normal, is it???

What's the point of a homework diary if they are not going to put anything in it?!

Why not years 11 and 13?

That is crap and I'd be complaining. I thought two hours per night in yr10 was pretty much standard. Across 10 GCSEs that's only one hour of each subject per week. I think most coursework is now called "controlled assessment" and has to be done in school to prevent cheating.

It might be the time of year though - I didn't give any formal homework for yr10 for 3 weeks because they had a full set of mock exams, and I told them I expected AT LEAST 3 hours of revision for the exam in my subject.

As for how to go about it - call the head of year in the first instance. If you don't get anywhere with that then you go up to the deputy head. I'm pretty sure there's guidance about homework on exam board websites, and planning out of class activities (such as homework) is part of the Teachers' Standards (ie professional responsibilities), so all teachers should be doing it regularly.

If the kids haven't even had a homework diary up till now then clearly the school is pretty shit regarding homework.

If teachers haven't been bothering to set homework up till now (and why would they when the kids don't even have anywhere to record it?) then it's going to take a bit of time for them to get their arses in gear. I imagine at the moment they're going to say that they're too busy with their exam classes to do it.

But the situation is completely unacceptable.

In year 10 I had two hours of homework a night, we had mick papers regularly and my school had the highest GCSE pass rates in the city. This is a highly unusual situation, I would write to the year head and head teacher about it. I have never heard of no homework in year 10, I would really be talking to someone about thiss or transferring my dc to another school for year 11.