POLL: how much HOMEWORK does your child get PRIVATE and STATE schools primary school

[Giuliettatoday]

Hi there,

yes, I know it is a controversial issue that has been discussed before, but I still hope this thread does not end up in abuse, because what I am dying to know really is how much homework other (your ) children get.

Of course I speak to mums in real life and the amount spent on homework depends a lot on the individual childs abilities as well but would love to know if the tendency I suspect will be confirmed here.

From what I have heard so far, there seems to be a lot more homework in private schools than state schools, also more homework in state primaries at the top of the league tables than at lower performing ones.

So please, please, do join in.
Maybe just answering the questions in a short style, then give any thoughts/comments - but no abuse at the bottom of your message.

1. private or state?

2. Class year

3. How often does your child get homework (e.g. every day, every other day, once a week)?
   4a) which subjects and what type of homework?
   4b) reading as specific homework?
   4c) spellings?
   5a) How many minutes or hours does your child spend on homework a) per day b) per week (whatever applicable or easier to answer).
   5b) How much is your child supposed to read to you? Average mins per day/reading books per week (not counting any voluntary reading).
   5c) How many spelling tests?

4. Is there less or no homework at the start or towards the end of term or if there is a school event?
   6a) Any holiday homework?

5. Room for addional thoughts, comments, anything else you can think of, such as:
   Do you think it is too much/too little/about right?
   Did you have more/less/same amount of homework as a child?
   Is it beneficial for your child or just a chore?
   What happens if homework is not done?
   Do you sit with your child and help? Do you do extra practice with your child on top of official homework (such as times tables, workbooks etc)?

1. private or state? Private

2. Class year Yes 3 3. How often does your child get homework (e.g. every day, every other day, once a week)? Every day 4a) which subjects and what type of homework? reading every day plus a sheet of some kind usually 4b) reading as specific homework? each night 4c) spellings? once a week 5a) How many minutes or hours does your child spend on homework a) per day b) per week (whatever applicable or easier to answer). Depends on the child and I've had 5 children. Some take ages and some whizz through it. Probably about 15 - 20 mins a day (plus the reading which we don't always do)

5b) How much is your child supposed to read to you? Average mins per day/reading books per week (not counting any voluntary reading).
One class year 3 has a set number of pages given to that child and the other one it is just read and put the page reached in the reading diary.

5c) How many spelling tests? Once a week

6. Is there less or no homework at the start or towards the end of term or if there is a school event? If they have something like their recent school trip to a wildlife park there is no homework.

6a) Any holiday homework?
Sometimes. We've had children at at least 7 different private schools Haberdashers, North London Collegiate, Merchant Taylors and various others and I don't really remember there being very much holiday homework.

Also remember a lot of private schools have after school supervised homework which you can choose to use or need to use if you're at work and collect after work so you can collect the child with all homework done which is pretty nice from time to time.

Then we had music practices too and each child learned 2 instruments.

I think what you do depends on the age and stage. My sister;s children have entrance exams next Jan for schools at 7+. The school they are at entirely gears children up for those exams. They get more age 6 than my twins get at 8 because mine won't have common entrance exams until 13. Then when my older ones were doing A levels etc obviously you expect a lot

ye si nevr got flashcards

1. private

2. Yr1 and Yr4 3. How often does your child get homework (e.g. every day, every other day, once a week)? Yr1 - Reading everyday, spellings once a week , very occasional worksheet Yr4 - Worksheets/set task, spellings, reading and/or times tables 4a) which subjects and what type of homework? Yr1 - see above yr4 - English, maths , science/geography/history usually something of each a week 4b) reading as specific homework? Y 4c) spellings? Y 5a) How many minutes or hours does your child spend on homework a) per day Yr1 0-20 mins, Yr4 10-30 b) per week (whatever applicable or easier to answer). 5b) How much is your child supposed to read to you? Average mins per day/reading books per week (not counting any voluntary reading). Yr1 not preset - can do nothing or finish book, Yr4 as and when 5c) How many spelling tests? 1 a week 6. Is there less or no homework at the start or towards the end of term or if there is a school event? Usually or we can leave it for another night 6a) Any holiday homework? Yr 4 Occasional project

7. Room for addional thoughts, comments, anything else you can think of, such as: Do you think it is too much/too little/about right? Enough Did you have more/less/same amount of homework as a child? Can't recall but probably less Is it beneficial for your child or just a chore? beneficial What happens if homework is not done? Not much Do you sit with your child and help? Sometimes Do you do extra practice with your child on top of official homework (such as times tables, workbooks etc)? Occasionally in holidays or weekends but not forced.

1. private or state? private

2. Class year YR and Y1 3. How often does your child get homework (e.g. every day, every other day, once a week)? YR - reading book every night Y1 - reading every night, 2 or 3 worksheets every week (Friday), usually phonics plus maths or science. Also 10 spellings to 'learn' every week - tested on Friday 5a) How many minutes or hours does your child spend on homework a) per day b) per week (whatever applicable or easier to answer). YR - books are so easy we ignore and do maybe 15 mins on 'proper' books Y1 - maybe 30 mins each week. Reading as much as she likes, cannot stop her!!!

6. Is there less or no homework at the start or towards the end of term or if there is a school event? None on day of school trips
   6a) Any holiday homework? Generally a little project to do eg family tree over summer, holidy poster over Easter

7. Room for additional thoughts, comments, anything else you can think of: Always sit with dd to help / guide, also ds to read
   One week we did not do homework as too busy, no comment from teacher. We often do 'Jolly Grammar' with dd at the same time as her weekly homework as she really enjoys it and the 'phonics' the school does is too easy. Cannot remember how much homework I had at this age! Think it is generally about right.
   DD loves her homeowrk and enjoys it - ds not keen on reading his school books but loves me to read to him!

12 full replies so far

10 private, 2 state

Is this representative of MN, or does this type of thread just tend to attract those who've chosen private?

Ds's school have recently changed from the jolly phonics/grammar word lists with weekly tests to lists of words which need to be broken down into phonemes, with a target phoneme each week. Practice three times a week, with parents counting up how many right each time. I have to say, sometimes I'm not great at segmenting the phonemes, but ds seems to know what he's doing...

I agree that spellings are a waste of time - my dd never learns hers as she knows them all from phonics. There are the occasional 'tricky' ones we work on but no more than 1 a week on average.

Ds only gets two books a week from school. One graded and one free choice. And thank GOd TBH, because there are more interesting books out there which he and I would both much rather read. In fact, we have been known not to finish the school books (slack parent), but he is making the required good progress so his teacher is more than happy with things.

And a maths thing once a week too which he adores. He is super keen on maths

The private are interested in their children and their work. The state less so? May be.

Surely learning spelling is essential otherwise how can you learn things you can't sound out. How would you ever know how to spell words like ceiling or Autumn as someone wrote below.

1. state

2. 3 and 5 3. Max twice per week 4a) Literacy and Numeracy and 'Topic': Worksheets usually 4b) No 4c) Yes - weekly in yr3 (none in yr5) 5a) 20 mins per week max 5b) No expectation now (both extremely fluent readers) 5c) yr3 weekly, yr5 - I don't know 6. Yes 6a) No holiday homework in long hols - Easter, Christmas, Summer. Sometimes a project during a half term hol - e.g. make a Roman Shield, or a miniature garden, etc.

7. We have very little homework, and that's fine with me. They enjoy the holiday homeworks, and learn from these. But with the other the only benefit there has been is with them learning good homework habits (i.e. sit down and get on with it and get it out of the way asap) I had no homework as a child, and would be happy with that. I don't know what happens if homework is not done. The boys do their h/w independently now, we don't sit with them. We do do 'extra' things with them that are 'work' from time to time. Atm ds1 is preparing for 11+ so we are doing that with him.

What happens if homework is not done?
Do you sit with your child and help? Do you do extra practice with

but ceiling and autumn are both easy phonetically if you know the rules so they do not need to be learnt.

The only thing that needs to be learnt is the extra 'n' at the end of autumn and that ceiling starts with a 'c' not 's'

state
year 2
a book to read - we usually do one a night or over two nights (dd1 still has quite short books)
no homework
no spelling tests
no holiday homework

Xenia - the question was whether weekly spelling tests are the best way to learn spellings. Not whether spelling is important

She was responding to me, I think, Flying

Trying to wind me up, but I'm not biting

Private
Year 1
Book to read each night (meant to be 20 minutes but often less)
Spellings x 15 each week
Timestables to learn (but now revising so may be told to revise 6, 7 and 8 say). Weekly tests on a Monday morning.
Very occasionally may bring home a worksheet or something not finished in class - but only once a term or so. Not expecting anything in the last week of term.
Usually something is set over half-term but not the main holidays though the school emphasises the importance of reading to and with your children especially over the summer term between reception and Year 1.

Ds1 took part on a competition which included reading more books and writing book reports (3 a week) - that was too much ino. I don't mind reading as homework as I think that it is important especially in the early days of reading. In infants there doesn't seem to be a huge issue if homework is not done (though obviously will show up in test scores I guess). It is more of an issue from Yr3 onwards I believe.

Revising?

In year 1?

Well they've only generally spent 2 weeks per table, and they consolidate at the end of each term (as there is inevitably a lot of short term learning). I think they spend the first part of Year 2 revising as well.

Ah I get you. I had my secondary hat on and thought they were revising for exams or something. Phew

1. State

2. Year 3 3. Once a week 4a) Literacy and maths alternate 4b) She is expected to read every night and record it in a book 4c) spellings - practise nightly for test once a week 5a) 20 mins a night including reading/spellings

1. private or state? STATE

2. Class year YR 4 3. How often does your child get homework (e.g. every day, every other day, once a week)? ONCE A WEEK, LITERACY AND NUMERACY 4a) which subjects and what type of homework? EASY STUFF AS ABOVE 4b) reading as specific homework? NO 4c) spellings? YES, INC IN LIT ABOVE 5a) How many minutes or hours does your child spend on homework a) per day b) per week PER WEEK IS ABOUT AN HOUR(whatever applicable or easier to answer). 5b) How much is your child supposed to read to you? Average mins per day/reading books per week (not counting any voluntary reading).NO IDEA, WE DON'T DO IT BUT I READ TO HIM EVERY DAY 5c) How many spelling tests? ONE A WEEK AFAIK 6. Is there less or no homework at the start or towards the end of term or if there is a school event? NO 6a) Any holiday homework? SOMETIMES

7. Room for addional thoughts, comments, anything else you can think of, such as: Do you think it is too much/too little/about right? ABOUT RIGHT, HE'S 9 Did you have more/less/same amount of homework as a child? LESS IIRC Is it beneficial for your child or just a chore? BIT OF BOTH, DEPENDS What happens if homework is not done? NO IDEA, WE ALWAYS DO IT Do you sit with your child and help? NOT IF I CAN HELP IT BUT WILL DO IF NEEDED Do you do extra practice with your child on top of official homework (such as times tables, workbooks etc)? NO

OTHER: I REALLY RESENT HOMEWORK WHICH IS FOR THE PARENTS TO DO, I.E. TAKE YOUR CHILD TO XYZ PARK WAS ONE WE HAD RECENTLY.

State
Year 3
Reading - every day (they like at least one book completed per week)
Spellings - 5 to learn per week for test
Numeracy - times tables to practice/1 worksheet per week
Literacy - 1 worksheet per week
Handwriting - 1 worksheet per week
Holidays - usually 1 piece of project type work eg at half term dd had to write about volcanoes.

Seems quite a lot compared to some but dd doesn't find it too much. We don't do homework every night - tend to concentrate on getting it done at the weekend!! (last minute, just like her mother!)

op is obsessed by education