Do you agree with homework in Primary

[Toastiesforever]

I disagree with homework in primary school and quite frankly im amazed its still handed out and expected.

I have 3 DC in primary school and we have never done homework, my theory is that my children have enough education in school and as parents we should educate outside of school however we see fit.

For us this includes them reading books, Harry potter, Jacqueline Wilson, david Williams etc - we are lucky that my children love reading.

They will always participate in school talks/presentations and projects.

All my children are involved within the school Litter picking committees, School newspaper, music lessons within school.

And furthermore they are in competitive level sports outwith school which require substantial training hours.

Local days out like airshows, community days and city celebrations.

Ive noticed that most teachers my Dcs have had through the years really agree that homework is not required in primary yet we have this year we have came up against a teacher that says its required for my oldest DC.

I still said no, am i being unreasonable.

Our 9 year old DD has to do reading, spellings and times tables every night, then extra Maths and English at the weekend. On top of this, roughly once a term there will be some kind of elaborate 'special' project..something like making a junk-model medieval castle that has to have a working drawbridge, researching a particular topic and writing a 5 minute speech about it complete with slides, or conducting a science experiment and presenting your method and results on a big display board, that sort of thing. This annoys me as it's always something that needs a high level of parental involvement, we can easily end up losing a whole Saturday or Sunday. I also feel sad for the kids whose parents can't be arsed or are genuinely unable to help, they must feel so shit.

I hate homework, I agree kids should do some reading then relax. But I was on the PTA and had parents come in to a meeting to talk about how their kids really struggled with suddenly getting an hour of homework a night once they reached high school. The kids weren’t prepared for high school and were at a huge academic disadvantage compared to other kids from different schools.

So while I hate homework, I made sure my kids do theirs because I don’t want them to struggle later.

I wish it could change, but it would have to be across the board.

Earlier you said they have to learn 100 words by the end of year 6- now you are saying it’s more that 100 (incidentally the evidence you provided is guidance, not statutory)- so which is it? And why are you wedded to the idea that only weekly spelling tests can achieve it? Also, you seem to think that without it all future education will suffer to the point of beI hard to achieve, which obviously isn’t the case.

where did I say they have to learn 100 words by the end of year 6? I cannot see that - and it's far more than that as I explained above

The "evidence" I provided is the English National Curriculum! This is what English schools are supposed to teach! And, in my experience, do.

Regular tests seem like a good way to monitor progress for the majority of children so that the teachers know how likely the class as a whole (and individual children) are to be able to be able to leave primary school knowing the spellings that their secondary school would like them to know on arrival.

How do you recommend English primary schools teach and monitor children's spelling progress if they don't test them?

sorry- 200- 100 for year 3/4 and again for 5/6.

Free, independent and academy schools don’t have to teach the national curriculum.

This thread is interesting as I know a school mum who was always adament it was the school's job to teach, not the parents, despite her having the time to do homework (being a p/t employee) and her kids not having any of the clubs the OP mentions (which is on the parent, not the school). The school mum I mentioned now has a DD without good qualifications and of course the mum is blaming the school.

It takes a village to raise a child, so the saying goes, and parents should play their part. Homework enabled me to see what my DD was learning, what she was doing well in and not doing so well in, it enabled me to ask questions of the teacher and DD to understand what was happening in school etc. I always helped DD with homework, tried to turn family outings into games, or do other educational games (she loved any games to do with money or counting!), and she has tutors for her exams who also give her homework to do. It's all paid off as she got good grades last year.

There are parents who cannot afford tutors, extra curriuclor clubs etc and homework gives them a chance to help their child in other ways. Its rarely hard homework and usually set at the level the child can work at.

@Iateitallofit

"Earlier you said they have to learn 100 words by the end of year 6"
So at least you now accept that that comment was plain wrong and I did not say this.

"the evidence you provided is guidance, not statutory"
Also wrong - it is statutory for all the schools in England that follow the national curriculum - which is most of them. Even independent schools tend to follow it for spellings as a it's a good list and structure - and they don't want their children rocking up at senior schools not knowing the lists the government has set!

It's also not 200 that they need to do by the end of year 6. There are the 100 from year 3, 100 from year 4, then all the rules that are taught for spellings across years 3 - 6 (see left hand column in the pages that I referred to that has the statutory column in the document) and the teachers typically teach the rules in school and set relevant spellings that week for practice. We've also seen the weekly lists include words from that week's topics (e.g. relevant words relating to Romans or Vikings), words that many children seem to get wrong in their writing, revision of some of the common (high-frequency and exception) words they should have learnt in by the end of year 2, and words that are in the text that they are reading through together in class.

A list of 10 words a week is often ones they've talked about or covered in class that week, and this is to check that the children have learnt and understood what they have been taught.

I'm still interested to hear how else you think that spellings should be taught as you seem to have other suggestions

I think it depends on the homework doesn't it? Reading and in due course tables are so foundational accessing other parts of the curriculum that supporting at home is essential in my opinion. Most children would not be able to gain fluency in tables just from work done in class. It's also worth noting that in most schools it seems like they read more with the children whose parents can't/won't read with them at home. That obviously means that they are not spending time doing other things with other children. Notwithstanding that there are some valid reasons why a parent may not read at home, this does seem irritating and unfair.
Beyond that, the evidence is mixed about impact as it depends what the homework is and what kind of support parents can give. Endless projects on Romans etc don't seem to be very necessary and on occasionI haven't done things like this. Personally, I prefer a few maths questions based on what they are doing in school so I can spot any difficulties and spend a short time consolidating with my children. This helps them.move on with more secure foundations and more confidence.
So overall, if you're missing out on reading amd tables I think you are doing your child a disservice, beyond that it is more subjective.

Once again more teacher trolling and people with an axe to grind against them. Teachers don’t create the curriculum- the government goes. Moan at them.

Surely homework should be more about whether it is child/age appropriate, rather than whether the parent can be bothered to do it with their child. An academic child might thrive in a primary school that sets homework.

DD5 is in reception and has homework in addition to reading but she goes to a private school. She absolutely loves school and homework so it suits her but she’s clearly learning at a much more accelerated rate than my friends’ kids at local state schools.

Difficult one.
I think homework should be small and manageable in primary but yes I think it should happen.
Im a secondary school teacher. When each subject is suddenly setting them a 20 min + homework in year 7 which can mean maybe 2-3 hours or more of homework a week, this would be a huge reality shock if up to this point they haven’t done as much a one 20 minute task in a week.
Surely gradually building them up is the answer?
I can also tell you the data is pretty clear, kids that do homework (in general) do better in exams. I teach a core subject, but there is sooo much in the syllabus. You might do a topic for a couple of weeks and then not see it again for a couple of years. If you don’t practice it, you are very very unlikely to remember it.
On the flip side my 3 year old has been in a school nursery for 2 weeks now. We have to fill in her reading diary daily for her to get an entry into a raffle every week. She’s had to do show and tell, a sheet about practicing different fine motor skills and then uploading pictures to show that they have done it. So for example using scissors, making jigsaw puzzles unassisted.
The first week we were supposed to get them to make a curry and upload pictures of them doing it. I’m 33 and would struggle to make a curry from scratch. If my 3 year old managed it then clearly she won’t need school as she will be a chef before she’s 10 😂.
So I’m definitely starting to see it from both sides!

Try living in Northern Ireland and having nine and ten years olds got houses for the eleven plus!!! The pressure is huge - lots of kids have tutors at the weekend and practice tests during the week and at weekends.

awful process

I didn't agree with it in Primary, DD's year 5 teacher in particular piled it on. At the time the hours we spent sat around the kitchen table felt torturous. But it was always linked to what was happening in class the following week, so if it wasn't completed the children were left floundering. Many parents refused point blank, but DD seemed to enjoy most of it, so I gritted my teeth and got on with it.
Once she was able she learnt to get on with it herself with minimal input. Although there was the occasion when she presented me with a beautifully written piece on the history of the Victoria sponge. The actual assignment was on the history of Queen Victoria.....😂😂😂
FF to year 10 and the start of her GCSEs (our school stagers the papers between Yr 10 and 11 so fewer exams in the last year or a chance to resit if necessary) and I realised how much of a work ethic DD had. Suddenly all those hours spent hunched over whatever it happened to be that weekend had really instilled a sense of hard work l= achievement in DD.
6 weeks to exam time, the parents FB group was going mad with parents trying bribery, punishment, tutoring all all sorts of things to get their kids sat down and actually revising. The same parents who blew off the primary homework week in week out. We've never pressured DD, I've seen the consequences of that first hand - a friend made to go to university when she didn't want to, ended up with a mental breakdown and has never been the same since - so I was pleasantly surprised when I asked about revision and apparently she'd been making notes and doing targeted sessions since Easter. DD worked her socks off (no pressure from us, just help and encouragement when asked for) when peers were at the beach/park/wherever the day before exams.
Come results day she smashed it, the others, not so much. And this success is already driving her on to want to follow it up with the rest of her exams this year.
All those hours of primary homework paid off, not in terms of content, but in mind set. I grumbled and groaned with the best of them at the time, but now I completely get it. Although I won't be volunteering to make a scale model of the burial chamber of an Egyptian tomb again any time soon!

I have one word for you, OFSTED!

Haha this is definitely incorrect. It’s less about this and more about instilling some form of work ethic, responsibility and independence ie remembering deadlines etc into young learners who for their own well-being, need these skills to transition smoothly into secondary school.

DS went to a ‘homework as you feel’ Primary. We were given a choice of projects each term, and did bits and pieces from it. We also had a schedule of sports, trips out, reading etc. it was great.

However… he’s now started high school and the formal homework is a shock to the system for us all! I think a start on more structured homework in year 5 or 6 might have helped in hindsight.

I’m a teacher.
I hate homework in primary and secondary school.

The absolute maximum they should get is having to do reading and perhaps practice spellings.

People forget that many kids don’t actually have anywhere to do homework or have the resources.

Growing up I would constantly get into trouble for not doing my homework but I had parents with MH issues and DV issues and was often not allowed in the house and if I was there was nowhere to do it. At one point I shared 1 room with my mum and siblings.
My mum wouldn’t allow things in the home that was touched by other people and felt the stuff from school was dirty and so we had to leave our school bags at school or outside.
Buying supplies was a no go and it wasn’t something I could speak to my teachers about.
I couldn’t do it in an afterschool club because I was getting afterschool detentions for not doing my homework and then it was a vicious cycle.

I think there should be no homework and instead encourage reading and exercise.

In year 10/11 they should put on revision classes and teach them how to revise and make flash cards etc which they can then use at home.

I agree with homework as I think its good for the kids to practise what they learn in school so it sinks in quicker.

But the local primary school gives far too much. My DS is on the waiting list for a dyslexia assessment and he spends all night every night on his homework, so he can't ever go out and play with friends, or chill out on his switch

I heard a story this week the child was bringing homework back in to school, mum was getting reports could do better sums mostly wrong, well over all homework not great turned out is was the mum doing the homework and not the said child, I believe learning spills out to the home aswell and parents getting involved off what their child is learning. There learning and education is not just up to the teacher or school but parents aswell.

I think the issue with no homework until GCSEs is that it then becomes a shock. My DC’s primary gave homework but it was never onerous. Secondary started during Covid and not much was given and it continued this way - usually some online maths and some reading. However we’ve got to y10 and suddenly there’s homework for each subject and panic has set on as they aren’t really prepared. Added to this an autistic child who doesn’t cross the line with home and school so all academic work is school work and should be kept that way. Luckily the school have a homework club for sen so they go to that but I’m still going to have to work on extra at home. My other child loves homework though and has even asked for more from their teacher. They come on and do it.

Its probably down to children and family situations at the end of the day and some kids are timetabled quite heavily with extra curricular and some do nothing out of school. I think maybe schools need to be flexible with the type of homework so that it’s not finishing something off that’s needed for the next lessons as we get frustrated with that. But homework that’s related but stands alone so that no one is disadvantaged from not being able to complete it would be helpful.

I actually am quite appreciative for homework.

I look over what they’ve done and check which errors they’re making and this means I know what kind of things to practice with them…. Just things like words they’ve misinterpreted the meaning of that I try to explain and then use in context a lot..

I guess I feel like getting them to where they need to get to is half the school’s responsibility and half mine. If I don’t know what they’re doing at school this half term or what they’re struggling with I can’t really help much.

A quick look on google scholar will show that the research is clear, homework does not benefit children of primary school age.

I am absolutely anti-homework. It doesn’t teach them a good work ethic, it teaches them that a decent work-life balance isn’t important. Ultimately, they are children who should be experiencing childhood, not tiny little robots to be prepared for the work force. It is hard to raise well rounded children if all the focus is on academics.

We have just moved DS from a school that set a ridiculous amount of homework (2 pieces a week, plus spellings, times-tables, 20 mins maths app 3x a week, and a big project every weekend) to a school that doesn’t set any, and we have a much happier child as a result. We are no longing rushing about from his extra curriculars and trying to cram more academic work in before bed, and we no longer have the epic battles over homework at the weekends.

We have always encouraged reading for pleasure and not viewed it as homework so DS reads freely every day, and I always read to him at bedtime.

No, I don't.

My children don't do homework and we've vetoed school putting in sanctions for it not being done (as it's not my child's fault, and they shouldn't be punished for my beliefs).

We do read, lots. And they want to do spelling practice so I do. But the fixed homework book & sheet homework we don't do.

😂 well clearly if they are receiving excessive homework they will struggle for a work life balance. I’m actually speaking about a NORMAL amount of homework. At our primary, the children get (per week) 1 piece of homework that takes a maximum of 20 minutes and 10 ability appropriate spellings and that’s it. Obviously we encourage reading for pleasure but that isn’t homework.
If parents think 1 hour of homework per week outside of school is ruining children’s ‘work life balance’ then I’m not sure how you expect them to cope with future study to achieve qualifications.
As a teacher, I’ve seen the difference in how children cope going into secondary who didn’t learn to take any responsibility for themselves in year 5/6, and the children that established their own routines and had support from their parents in developing independence and a good work ethic. The latter don’t usually struggle, whereas the first group have a culture shock trying to settle in. You may have done a Google search, but I’ve seen it first hand year upon year.
Ultimately, most schools have a homework/home learning policy and you sign up to this when you enrol your child at that school. I don’t understand all the complaining from parents afterwards.