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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

homework at primary school

39 replies

messimum · 18/06/2011 23:30

Is homework at primary school really necessary? I probably sound old when i say this, but when i was at school, (i'm 34 now), we had reading books in infant school and then they added in spellings and timestables in juniors. what would happen if we didn't do the homework? would my daughter (5yrs old) actually fall behind? if so, what on earth do they do all day at school? really i think they should work hard at school, then their free time is their own? Have i got this all wrong?

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marycorporate · 19/06/2011 18:48

I think, SEN or not SEN, most parents want to do extra work with their children.

If your DS2 gets one sheet a week, and you want 1 sheet a day, can you ask his teacher for this?

I wonder if those who are unhappy asked the teacher if they could do an alternative homework, they would actually not mind? It's just a thought. A friend of mine got herself in a right tis as her DD (5) hated the written homework and she was worried that the argueing that went on about it at home would put her off of writing for life etc etc, she went to the teacher and they said just get her to do a drawing of what she did at the weekend and write underneath it if she wants to. Problem solved.

I don't know, I guess there are far bigger things on the planet to get my knickers in a twist about than a sheet that takes 15 mintes a week to complete. But that is my situation, as I said, different if you have 3 or more.

mrz · 19/06/2011 18:50

I set homework once a week if children do it great if they don't that's fine too.

anthonytrollopesrevenge · 19/06/2011 18:50

I'm happy to do it, my problem is my DS isn't and it leads to constant confrontation and upset and tantrums. I rarely get him to do it to standards I like and frankly sometimes it's all so stressful I give up. This has gone on throughout Reception, KS1 and now yr3. It can take hours to get him to research 5 simple facts on the Internet ( though he is easily capable of doing it), if I could simply do homework over breakfast I would but it just isn't that easy. I haven't given up but I bet a lot of parents have for the same reason, and just sometimes I admit defeat too.

IndigoBell · 19/06/2011 18:57

I think, most parents want to do extra work with their children. - I don't think this is true. Some do, some don't. But if you want to do extra work with your kid why on earth does school have to set it?

I don't need to ask his teacher for a handwriting sheet, I'm well able to make my own. And I do. And he does it.

My older children don't want to have diff hw from the rest of the class, the teacher knows their problems. Why is she not setting them appropriate hw?

It's taken me 3 years to get them to send home the right reading and spellings for DD..... But she sends that home in addition to worksheets for lessons my DD hasn't even been in because she's been withdrawn for an intervention. Why do I have to tell the teacher that's just plain stupid? And how can I when I have so much else to tell her in my very limited time with her?

Because in the end school is a factory. :(

marycorporate · 19/06/2011 19:01

Indigo, I was really just responding to the general question about homework at primary school.

IndigoBell · 19/06/2011 19:05

Well the general thing is, as always, it depends.

Some kids like doing hw, some hate it.

Some parents have time for it, some don't.

Some parents believe in hw, some don't.

Some hw is appropriate, some isn't.

Some parents think their kids get too little, while others think their kids get too much.

There really are no answers to any of these questions ever. There will never be a right answer :(

magdalene · 19/06/2011 20:14

I don't think homework is necessary at primary school either. After all, the children are there 32 hours a week and need to spend time at home relaxing and having fun. Indigobell is right when she says there's no right answer. I suppose it's mainly to make parents feel involved with their child's education but there are more ways to do this.

PoppetUK · 19/06/2011 20:56

Nothing like a bit of fatigue and grumpy kids to finish a day and then there is homework. I spent 20 mins with mine this morning doing some mental maths, spellings and writing 2 sentences. I was hoping do normal bedtime this evening but that has all gone pear shaped. In the end eldest didn't read, middle just read a book he's been given several times before and toddler and I had nearly an 1hour of rapid return. This week hubby is away and I have no idea how much homework I will be able to achieve with my 2 school aged children. The year r child has a few weeks backed up. I am totally exhausted and just doing the basics feels like a an effort. Just as we get a routine together illness or something that requires extra attention hits..... This is the way it is but I can't say I'm feeling too great about it and feel like I'm letting my children down if I don't do it.......

pinkie00 · 19/06/2011 21:33

DD has had some homework every night since primary 2 and I have no doubt it helps her.(now 8) It is carefully given in small amounts to cover spelling, sums, and it reinforces what she does in class. Kids need to practise reading and writing if they are not to join the illiterate generation.

c0rn55ilk · 20/06/2011 09:05

kids need a love of learning of they are not to join 'the illiterate generation' ...not drill every night

FionaJT · 20/06/2011 09:50

I agree - my dd will happliy spend hours pouring over children's encyclopedias etc finding interesting facts, or writing her own books. But she will fight me tooth and nail to not spend 5 mins filling in a homework work sheet (she is in Yr 1). Same with school reading - screams if she doesn't get 15 mins in bed with a Secret Seven book of her choice before lights out, but more screams if I ask for 1 page of her school reading book.
I'm torn between thinking that she is learning far more on her own than completing the school work, and wanting to back up school and instill good habits early.

IndigoBell · 20/06/2011 09:56

Kids need to be taught to read an write if they are not to join 'the illiterate generation'

The point of homework is not for parents to teach their kids to read and write.......

Original poster

messimum · 08/07/2011 22:52

wow, i really enjoyed reading all your messages. I've thought a lot about what you all said, and i still can't believe that homework is really necessary for primary school kids. I have always supported reading, and i agree with comments from others, that giving lots of other h/w means less time to read. In my mind this is one of the best skills to help a child with. Confident readers will eventually become confident writers. I have also noticed that in the school holidays, (when i definitely don't do h/w), my daugter actually does do more of her own spontaneous writing and reading(little stories, menus for a cafe etc), probably because we haven't had a battle over the school's h/w!
Also I went to a state primary school, we never did h/w, although my parents always encouraged us to read. I continued through to uni, and professional qualifications, as did many of my friends. Were we really being taught so much better when we were at school, that the teachers knew we could achieve without doing h/w?!!

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BusterGut · 08/07/2011 22:57

Reading and x tables.

Spelling to keep (some) parents happy.

We do research once per half term, with guided response and websites to help!

As mrz said - if children do it, I'm happy. In KS1 I regard it as a parent's responsibility to help with homework, and if they're disinterested, we'll just try to pick up the support in class. I certainly wouldn't punish anyone in KS1 who hadn't done their homework.

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