Please complain to your school about homework. Lets get rid of it!

[freerangeeggsnookie]

I would like to appeal to all parents who are fed up with homework and encourage you to email, phone, tweet & post your school to stop it.

Having taught for a number of years in various schools I am sick and tired of the absurd homework we are setting. Here are some facts about homework from Visible Learning by John Hattie (summarising research on homework):

1. Homework makes no visible difference to pupils progress until they are in about year 10 and in high ability groups.
2. Homework does not help pupils learn time management skills.
3. For the homework to be effective the teacher must be actively involved.
4. Anyone who asks a pupil in year 7 and above to make a poster is taking the piss (pet hate, not from VL).

Now this is not to say that pupils shouldn't do any studying at all. If a student is independently studying at home doing extra work that they have requested then this will have a benefit. Also as stated above as pupils get older and are studying complex content it can be essential.

Unfortunately most pupils are snowed in with ridiculous tasks which teachers are forced to set by heads who are terrified of parental complaints. It is these complaints that need to be balanced out. If you are not sure if your childs homework is useful ask them after its marked "What improvements could you have made?". If they cannot answer then they have learned nothing. What was the point of that?! So if you are sick of homework like me please, please, please complain. Nothing would make schools a more happier place!!!!

My niece just gone up to yr7 is having detentions once, twice sometimes three times a week and missing breaks, because she has so much homework and she hasn't done it.
Can a school really enforce detentions like this?

I agree in regard to primary school children. make them work harder AT SCHOOL and get rid of homework. Secondary age is different - at GCSE and A level they obviously need to do revision and assignments at home.

I used to be a secondary school teacher and have had 3 kids of my own.

I think HW at primary and secondary is really valuable.

Provided its not too much and is manageable.

I have found many kids enjoyed it and were aided by it.

I am frustrated almost to the point that I want to swear! My daughter has just started Year 3 and has been pushed to do homework once again, being told by the deputy head the end of Year 2 that the new teacher will set homework, otherwise they will have their playtime stopped to do the work if it is not done.

I find it a bloody cheek that a school has that much control and push this ideology onto the children, to the point numerous students anxiety levels were far to high for a group of children of 6/7 years the last school year.

I have written into the school and said that should the work be disproportionate; my daughter gets stressed, I will limit the work proportionately or stop it all together, however, my daughter has told me that they have been threatened again that play will stop if not completed. Work has been given on Friday and it would seem that it was to be completed by Monday -- even more of a cheek when you are given just the weekend to complete!

As anyone else have any comments or suggestions please.

Thank you in advance

I agree - there's no evidence that homework has any benefit in primary schools, and children should have time to just be children. There is a new petiton against it here: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ban-homework-in-primary-schools

my dd has had to stop guides, all her dance, musical theatre and singing lessons because when she gets home from school (between 5.30 and 6pm) she has 2 to 2 and a half hours homework a night. after that she eats dinner, has a shower then goes to bed.

she gets really tired because she is missing out on sleep which means she can't concentrate in lessons. as well as this she has lost loads of her friends from outside of school. it just isn't right!

I'm so pleased I have read this thread. My kids (yr 2 & 3) bring home a home learning book, and the tasks take literally hours and hours. I went into school last half term to complain and tell her I was not signing the home school agreement, as it included a section about ensuring homework was completed. My kids do loads of other activities outside school, and I would rather them do those sort of things than piles of pointless homework tasks.

I don't feel the homework we get enhances the DC's in any way, and in fact as others have said, just detracts from family time. Very refreshing to hear others are of the same opinion!

DD is in yr 10 and has very little homework and never any homework in the school holidays. This leaves us time to revise subjects she is unsure of and the teachers happily run extra study classes for half an hour after school, because they don't have tonnes of marking to do.

My primary aged dc are set useful and brief homework which I discuss with them. I think it's great.

I believe homework causes stress on children and doesn't help them, it just annoys them.

I agree with there being no homework for primary school children.

I have 2 school aged children. One in y3 and one in reception. DS1 (y3) comes home with a reading book and a set of spellings twice a week. He does his spellings at home. Then it's left in his book bag for weeks on end without being marked or probably even looked at. There's spelling sheets in his book bag now that were completed in September.

DS2 (reception) comes home with a reading book, a writing book, a special writing book, a phonics book and flash cards every day! It's ridiculous! The poor boy has only just started doing full days at school and comes home with at least an hour and a halves worth of homework a night. I just don't think there's any need for it what so ever.