Reception Homework

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Folk with reception age kids. Can I ask what you are expected to complete homework wise. Currently we are receiving 3 homework sheets and a reading book a week. The work sheets just seem to be pushing them through phonics too fast. My end of April son is shattered after school and fit for nothing. My older child didn’t seem to get nearly so much. This is 3 weeks worth of sheets (they’re actually double sided with sentences to copy and a picture to draw on the reverse). Obviously we’ve not done them. I feel like I’m about to be ‘that parent’ at the upcoming parent’s evening but I’m actually really cross about it all! All advice gratefully received 🧐

I think, the teacher wouldn't give it to you as he if he/she wouldn't be sure in your kid.

DS (July born) is in Reception. He gets a reading book once a week (everyone in the class gets the same one), which he happily reads to me but in truth they're too easy for him. He also has a homework book which usually has one or two sheets stuck in it for him to have a go at. Things like reading some words and trying to write them out, or counting the objects in a picture. DS enjoys doing it so we do try to finish it, but if he was getting fidgety we'd stop.

When DD was in Reception (now Y4) she got no homework at all except for the occasional half term project (make a bug hotel, find a Y shaped stick to make a stickman, etc). They had a reading book every week or so but there was no pressure to read it. She found them tediously dull as she was already reading chapter books, so we didn't usually bother. She hardly gets any homework now really, so maybe our school just isn't that big on it!

There's been a bit in the news about this week. Kirsty Allsop saying she regrets pressuring her primary age kids to do homework. There was a piece of radio 4, the head of a school trust came on a said all research has shown that homework has no benefit to children's academic attainment and may do more harm than good. It's far more beneficial to do lots of reading with parents and for parents to generally encourage curiosity about learning. He said that we only persevere with homework as it's 'the done thing' and parents feel like as they did it growing up their kids should. So given that no research backs up it's benefit, why do we continue with it for primary school children? I know the approach differs school to school but in general it sounds like we are going about this in the wrong way sucking the joy out of learning about causing kids to feel under pressure and anxious.

I think in reception we had a reading book and 'fun' learning task. Encouraged to share pictures of anything they were doing at home eg a hobby or leisure activity. Our EY lead doesn't agree with worksheets for reception age and told us not to buy workbooks as that is not how they learn at that age, it's all play based.

The only way I'd do those sheets is try on a weekend, probably on a Sunday after they'd have a day off. Otherwise push back and say no to the school.

It’s not compulsory, we ignored 90% of it through primary school for dc1 and it made no difference whatsoever to their academic achievements.
Dc2 will only do the bits that they think are interesting, hasn’t been expelled yet…

Not being set homework does not necessarily mean kids falling behind. Our school has no homework until yr 6 other than reading. The kids do well in their SATs including last yrs year 6s who missed out on schooling because of the pandemic. I think homework is often given out by primary schools because parents ask for it rather than because schools think it adds value at primary level.

We got one reading book a week and one thing to do in a homework book, usually draw a picture of something linked to topic, then later on in the year add some labels to the picture.

There was a piece of radio 4, the head of a school trust came on a said all research has shown that homework has no benefit to children's academic attainment and may do more harm than good.

This isn't true. The collection of research shows that homework can have a high positive impact on overall attainment especially if it's linked to current class work or specifically focused on a particular aspect of learning, like practising fluency with maths methods, number bonds or phonic recognition.

If you're interested, the Education Endowment Foundation has gathered, reviewed and analysed all of the research on homework:
educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/homework

@Iamnotthe1 thanks for this. They seem to be making a broad statement about homework across both primary and secondary education. I was specifically referring to primary school children. I noticed it says that homework set in primary schools and a smaller positive impact than in secondary schools. The point I'm making is that learning should continue at home through reading and talking and taking a general interest in the world. Rather than for king kids to sit down and do work sheets/books.

*For kids (not 'king' kids)

That's homework? It was going straight to bin every day😂 forgive me. It's my first dc

Yeah, the additional progress in secondary was an additional 5 months progress in a year and in primary it was plus 3 months in a year. Both still very significant.

There's a lower impact in primary because some primaries still do the wrong type of homework (project-based rubbish like "build a pyramid" or "design a Roman feast"). It's also because, at primary, there tends to be times when the adults end up doing the majority of the work for the child meaning the impact on the child is lower.

Whilst reading, talking and a general interest in the world are all essential, these aren't school specific things and are what parents should have been doing with their children from very young ages. Those activities and routines should have been locked in for years.

When it comes to homework, some of the most impactful things to do at home are routine and repetitive fluency activities (like a worksheet of number bonds). This is because it's just repeated rehearsal designed to improve encoding into long-term memory and may be something they simply don't have time to do in class due to the nature of the curriculum. It also doesn't require specialist knowledge or an understanding of pedagogy so it's also the easiest thing for parents to effectively support with.

@Iamnotthe1
It also says the below.

Setting homework in primary schools has a lower impact on average and has been studied far less than setting homework in secondary schools.

My concern is that battling with a young child pressurising them to do their homework is having a detrimental impact on how that child feels about school. It also causes unnecessary stress and anxiety from a young age. I start school really hung here and the kids are really tired after school and needs to unwind and rest. What are your thoughts on the impact this is having on the well-being of these very young children?
I'm not in any way trying to be argumentative just trying to get my head around this approach which doesn't make sense to me.

We often hear the argument that children start really young here but, again, that's a misrepresentation. Finland is typically the comparative country used but what most people ignore is that, in Finland, many children are in established pre-schools from the same age and are covering much of the same content. For those that aren't and are at home with parents, there is an expectation that parents will do more with the child and have them ready for the school curriculum. Here, that early learning is covered by schools instead under the guise of "levelling the field" (when really it's about getting parents back into work).

With regards to homework, I'd say that if it's a battle with the child then something, somewhere is going wrong. That may be the specific things the school is setting but it might also be how/when parents are approaching it, their own attitudes towards it, the routines of the house, etc. If that's what a parent is finding as an individual, I'd suggest they speak with the school. They will be able to help, both with what's happening in school but also with what's happening at home. Over the last 12 years I've worked in education, I've seen my schools (and me) do a huge amount with parents on parenting itself, supporting home routines and behaviour management, developing parents' understanding of educational development and even running full literacy and numeracy development classes for the parents who are illiterate or innumerate.

It's worth noting that in countries where children stay at home longer, parenting is absolutely seen as a skill to be learnt and developed, not just something you do. That's why started later can work. Parenting classes and courses are more widely run and very well attended. Here, even suggesting that someone's parenting isn't the "finished product" is seen as insulting and a personal attack.

I appreciate your detailed response, thank you. You make some good points and are clearly very well informed. My husband and I are from two different cultures so experienced two different education systems growling up and our observation is that the U.K. starts very young. For us primary education is so more than just the academic work it's about socialising, working with others, building confidence and generally developing an interest in learning. We currently don't feel young kids benefit from homework as it's more pressure on young children after a busy school day. Our priority will always be the child's emotional well-being, I realise that part of this is building their resilience, encouraging them to try new things and be challenged, and homework could be viewed as part of this. However I still think when young kids get home they should be able to switch off and play, eat, bath, get ready for bed and have a bedtime story. I appreciate and understand that older kids need home work but not when they are 5,6,7 to us that's too young. I'd be interested to know the benefits of homework for very young kids.

There is a very broad ability range at this level. The work given out is clearly not being tailored to the student. That's no big deal - just explain to the teacher that it is not suited to your child and do what you can. If writing is the difficulty I would suggest that you work on recognition of the phonics sounds and being able to make them in response to seeing a letter or letter combination. You can make or buy flashcards, make a bingo game, pair game, snap game it use endless online resources like phonic bloom.

Doing homework isn't important. Staying as close to the front of the pack as your child can comfortably manage is desirable because so much learning depends on being able to read. It may be possible to easily catch up later but it may be very hard so best for your child that you prioritising phonics in a way that he can tolerate.

It's the same benefit as with any child. The active rehearsal of learning, including retrieving it from stored long-term memory, then leads it to become encoded much more effectively. For early education specifically, the repetition of what needs to become procedural knowledge (such as phonics and number bonds) drastically strengthens a child's automaticity with those vital early skills and provides them with a solid foundation to build upon when learning more complex skills and concepts. Without that strong foundation, a child will struggle throughout their education, masking their lack of automaticity through coping strategies, until they are forced to "go back" and secure those skills.

I'd not at all saying that a child should have loads of homework. That's not productive at any age. However, homework should be used at all ages for these core reasons:

• it allows time for repetitive fluency-based retrieval tasks that couldn't be done within school hours,
• it communicates to children that learning doesn't stop at the school gates, which sets them up for future success (see attached cartoon),
• it forces parents to engage with the educational development of their child (more parents need this than you'd think),
• it overall has a net positive on the attainment of the child.

There is nothing that says that homework needs to be pressured, nor a battle. It should be low stakes, relatively low time, and should give the child more than enough time to relax, play, etc.

I'm a primary teacher and wouldn't do this with my reception child. Based on working in nice schools, the majority of parents don't even read with their children so they won't be doing this anyway. Or by the time they reach me in Y2 they've just given up. Reading 4 times a week is what will help your child.

Do you mean reading to them? It is not expected that the child read by themselves at R, right? Just checking as new to the UK education system.

We get a homework sheet on a Friday for the weekend. It’s usually only about 20 minutes worth of phonics or numbers. Last weeks was to make up a story and draw a story board. It’s not too taxing at all. Yours seems very ott op!

Reception child gets reading every day (usually 2 books per day) and a maths sheet every week.
if it’s not done they have to miss break and do it then.

I find it absolutely outrageous that a school would punish young children for something completely out of their control.

Yes but it's not really a punishment. That's a teacher taking time to support their learning because the parent didn't. There's great pressure to leave nobody behind. If the parent has a problem with it, do the reading at home and the child won't lose out, teachers won't be pushed etc.

No, they have books with repetitive simple words/phrases which they are supposed to 'read' through a mixture of phonics, inferring from the pictures and help where necessary. It all starts very early.

Wise words!

I wish parents could grow up a bit and realise teachers know their job and are there to help. No one is setting homework to spoil their children's lives and no one can really teach them if they don't support.