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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Do you agree with homework in Primary

335 replies

Toastiesforever · 28/09/2023 13:03

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.

OP posts:

Worddance · 05/10/2023 12:57

Puffwiththegreeneyes · 04/10/2023 19:24

I absolutely disagree. Having to force tired, grumpy kids to do additional formal learning outside of the classroom will not benefit them in the slightest. But it will put off learning, school and education in general.

Show quote history

So you give them a snack, let them revive and have a short, supported session of learning at an appropriate moment.

NoWinterYear · 05/10/2023 13:53

If the school day wasn't so long I wouldn't have a problem with homework. But considering most kids spend almost a full working day at school I just don't understand where the time for it is. DD only has a few hours in the evening and that includes dinner so if she did her homework she'd have no time to play at all on weekdays.

Iateitallofit · 05/10/2023 14:09

Worddance · 05/10/2023 12:57

So you give them a snack, let them revive and have a short, supported session of learning at an appropriate moment.

Show quote history

They have (supposedly) been ‘learning’ for 6 and a half hours ffs. They need time for rest and other types of learning.

Parker231 · 05/10/2023 14:10

Worddance · 05/10/2023 12:57

So you give them a snack, let them revive and have a short, supported session of learning at an appropriate moment.

Show quote history

By the night they get home from after school club it’s getting on for 6.30 -7. No time for homework. The mandatory homework club in the senior school worked well and they was nothing negative on their grades by not doing primary homework.

Natsku · 05/10/2023 15:11

NoWinterYear · 05/10/2023 13:53

That's a good point, school days are so long in the UK, it would be a whole other issue having homework after such a long day for small children than it is somewhere where they only go to school for 4 or 5 hours.

WillowCraft · 05/10/2023 15:24

Notwiththebullshizz · 04/10/2023 19:22

Reception age kids ABSOLUTELY need to be doing their homework. Their homework sent home directly links to the sounds, diagraphs/triagraphs that they have been learning in school that week, if they do not practice those, alot of children get left behind. The reading shouldn't even count as homework, surly reading to your kids at some point across the week isnt too much hassle. Dont get me wrong, I do not believe in punishments being placed on the kids if they do not do their homework as that's a little much, but i do think a little bit of homework/revision, helps with what they're already learning in school that week, this helping to solidify their understanding.

Reception homework is once a week, a few worksheets that take 15 minutes max. Does this really make such a big difference on top of the hours they are spending on it in school already? Surely they would need to be doing daily homework for it to really make much difference. And that would probably bore them and put them off.

Reading books is different, the more exposure to different kinds of books the better.

If the homework is a replacement for TV or screens then it may be worthwhile but if it replaces 15 minutes of one to one time from a parent that could have been spent having a conversation, or reading a book, it is probably detrimental.

Charles11 · 05/10/2023 15:27

I agree with you op but you won't believe how many parents wouldn't even bother to read with their dc if it wasn't part of their hw. In fact, lots still don't.
They don't even take their kids to the park let alone air shows.

Puffwiththegreeneyes · 05/10/2023 22:06

Worddance · 05/10/2023 12:57

So you give them a snack, let them revive and have a short, supported session of learning at an appropriate moment.

Show quote history

No, I let them work out their days formal learning in child led, non-directed play. Then they eat dinner and go to bed.

enchantedsquirrelwood · 06/10/2023 09:45

DanceMumTaxi · 29/09/2023 13:08

I think the general consensus seems to be that projects, research, posters, craft type homework is rubbish and adds very little value. Whereas reading regularly, spellings, times tables etc are important and will help them in their school based learning.

Yes, exactly this. The art projects were really a waste of time (although I think DH quite enjoyed doing them). Goodness knows what ds would have done it if it had been down to me, though, I have precisely zero skills in that direction.

People will say that art projects are just as important for the kids who are less good at academic stuff - well maybe, but why do parents have to do them?

Ditto dressing up days, they should never be compulsory.

LostittoBostik · 19/01/2025 14:28

Reality25 · 28/09/2023 13:40

YABU

One reason why a lot of Brits struggle with Maths is they never actually learn the basics properly at primary age.

They get progressed through primary without knowing multiplication, addition etc. fluently.

Then they reach secondary and can't cope.

Imagine learning to read if you don't know the alphabet properly. It's like that.

And it's hard to learn the basics fluently without practicing at home as well. If it's not being set as homework it's your duty as a parent to set it yourself.

Am late to this thread but this is bullshit honestly - I have an A in Maths at GCSE and was asked by my teacher to consider maths+further maths at A Level. (I didn't do it as I'm a humanities person). I never learned my times tables. You have a calculator at every point in life.
Mathematics, pure maths, application of number theory is important. Being able to calculate 9x8 within a second in your head isn't.
I hate this so much as DD is the same as me - academically doing well but totally unable to retain number facts. She's being written off when that difficulty is zero sign of her understanding level.

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