Any tips on how to help DD manage her Y7 homework?

[Coffeeandcakesplease]

DD has just started secondary and is finding the homework demands pretty overwhelming - the amount, managing it and also the academic content. The tasks seem to take her much longer than the allotted time she also gets very anxious and stressed about it so a significant amount of time is spent dealing with this before she even starts the task. I am currently sitting with her while she does all her homework and helping her manage it (obviously hoping to back off in time with this, particularly with the easier tasks).

She has always struggled with homework in primary and has SEN so this is not unexpected but I would welcome advice from anyone who has been in a similar position on ways to handle it.

Did she have homework in primary?

Dts also have SEN, I get them to do the allotted time and if it goes over they stop.

Id definitely speak to the school about it. Kids without SEN struggle with homework so this genuinely might be too much.

Ask the school, with her SEN in mind, how much time she has to spend on each subject, can she - for now - leave work in completed as long as she has spent that time on it and genuinely tried hard.

it’s early days and the school
should respond well if they know ‘you both’ are trying

My kids homework always takes longer than the allocated time. I don't think the times are realistic if they want to do a good piece of work.
I usually tell dc to start homework on the day they get it so they're not stressed the night before it's due in.

Do school offer a homework club? They have a supported SEN homework club as well as several other general ones. It’s the only way we have been able to manage it for two of mine. The TAs help and will sign off once they have spent the allotted time.

Im in the exact same position. At the moment I'm having to sit and help her with her work. We're in the middle of testing for dyslexia and having steps put in place. But she honestly doesn't even know the homework she's getting. She says she never been taught it. Which I believe as it's only week 4 and the first 2 weeks was just getting to know them. It's really frustrating and trying to find a balance. Glad I'm not the only parent going through this!

I’d be asking for reasonable adjustments given her SEN.

Thanks for the replies so far - really helpful. @BooksAndHooks We had hoped a homework club would be helpful but the SEN one isn't due to start sometime after christmas due to staff shortages. The normal homework club has one TA for everyone who turns up so I actually think that will be worse than being at home as there is no way DD will talk to a TA she doesn't know if she struggles, and will have to deal with a new/different environment. I think she is likely to stay there for the hour and do even less than she does at home.

I am trying to get DD into the habit of doing it when it is set rather than when it is due as we have had a couple of late night teary rush jobs, so I am making her do it all this weekend and be ahead to hopefully stay on track next week.

Our school has said if homework is taking too long to get in touch, I would suggest doing this and hopefully your DD's school are helpful and flexible.

Does the school use Teams or Google classroom or another app that allows you to see the details of what's been set? It's hard if you're just relying on whatever they've scrawled in their planner. There should be, at the very least a homework timetable so you can see what she should have on which nights and then you can plan a bit around that. Contact the HoY or tutor if you don't have it.

Definitely speak to the school. Our head of year at the intro meeting for Y7 was very clear that if the homework is taking more than an hour per night, it’s the school’s problem to fix, not the child’s.
We found that the 30 minute tasks were usually 5-10 minutes, but the ones timetabled to take an hour could easily fill 3-4 hours without a bit of nudging to stay on task and reminders that eg the focus should be on the subject information on a poster not the detail of the art work.

Hi. My son just started y8 and has dyslexia. What really helps him is being very routine about homework. He does one subject every evening straight after dinner Mon to Thurs. Then we finish anything outstanding at the weekend when we have more time. In y7 we also supported with a lot of the subjects and helped as much as needed to avoid getting stressed. I think it also helps he has a desk and a quiet space to work. It is a big adjustment when they start

The first term of y7 for my son last year was a total write off! It took us a long time to work out how to manage it. I agree do it on day set. Day review of what is due and understanding yourself what the work involves so you can allocate time. I think taking to head of year to explain that your dd is struggling so they can help you too. Also, you're only a few weeks in so be kind to yourselves. It's a big change that takes time. A good school will recognise this.

Thanks everyone - very helpful. We will probably have to go back to the school to ask for adjustments/more support. I was keen to give it a few weeks and see how it went for a bit and try to support her at home.

Yes, definitely contact the school.

They might be happy with you doing the following. Once she has spent the allocated time, I would write on the piece ‘spent 30 minutes’ or however long and sign it.