Lack of homework v being kept in at lunch (yr3)

[4kidsandlovingit]

I will try to cut a long story short for you. I currently have boy girl twins in yr 3 and every parents eve I ask for more homework for them.
My eldest DD (now yr 9) had book reviews, times tables, spellings (all weekly) and occasionally some other work comprehension or similar. She was never kept in to complete work. if it wasnt done in class time it was sent home.
When eldest DS (yr 5 now) went into yr 3 an NQT started and also another teacher (previously taught yr 6 in a socially deprived area- her words not mine). years 3 and 4 were divided between the two teachers and needless to say experience over rules NQT every time.
He had no homework bar occasional times tables and a termly take home task (build a shield/anderson shelter/ocean scene). hes not into crafts never has been and learnt nothing from this homework.
Ask where homework is to be told by NQT she would discuss it with experienced teacher. Experienced teacher told another parent she didnt believe in homework.
Anyway now DTs have the NQT in yr 3 and experienced teacher has yr4. Still have termly tasks (we have recycled DSs anderson shelter) and no other homework. Now DS2 is well above average and spelling etc is great. DD2 is not so good with spellings. I have asked for spelling homework, nothing has come home. She has a book of spellings to keep on her desk and add to when she comes across a word she struggles with because DD1 used to have one and I suggested it. As for spelling homework, I have been testing her using the spelling framework that I have downloaded. She struggles with times tables but again nothing set by the school. She does however love art but has recently stopped going to art club after school because they are not doing new activities they are finishing off class work in this time. Surely if the children dont have time to finish work it should be brought home as homework?
Final straw came today. DS2 has a bit of a sore throat and has been kept dosed up with Calpol. DP went to school at lunch time to give him some more and the receptionist got him out of class (not wet play for a change) because he and several other children were finishing off work. When i asked him about it he said that they hadnt finished a story in time so had to do it at lunchtime the up shot being that he had no play time. Im not happy. I appreciate that work needs to be done but why wont they send it home. He is entitled to a lunch break and I believe that lunchtime should not be used for classroom work. In my opinion either the teacher needs to sort her class out better in the first place or send to work home to be done.
I apologise for the rant but does anyone have anyother views on this matter?

Does the school have a homework policy?
Can't you help your child learn all his times tables without it being homework? The expectation now is that they will know them all by the end of Y4, by heart, out of sequence and the division facts that go with them.
I rarely send work home to finish, either they are not working consistently enough in class and need to recognise the need to focus and manage their own learning, or what I asked of them was too much. In which case I look again at my expectations and revise them or put in other strategies to scaffold the work.
Sending work home has to be for very specific and valid reasons IMO.

I can and I have. He know his tables and can spell and is G and T but if the teacher cannot organise lessons that 14 kids cant complete a story that they have been working for a week now by a set deadline then why should be have to go without playtime after lunch. Surely it would be better that it came home as homework? Or would that not be a specific and valid reason. After all they are only 8 and we moan if we hae to work through out lunch times.

"After all they are only 8"

Exactly. So why do they need hours of homework? You are pissed off that your DC didn't get his playtime entitlement bit don't seem to think he's "entitled" to playtime at home???

Plenty of time for hours of homework when they get to secondary school.

And at it being a Teacher's lack if organisation that meant your child didn't finish his work.

The task was probably to complete a story within a given time-frame with an adequate amount of writing to the appropriate standard. Independent writing.
Not sit at home with your mother dictating what you could write so that you don't have to make the effort yourself. That may not be the case for you, but it happens often enough to make that sort of homework rather pointless for the majority.
So work on getting your DS to make the appropriate effort within class, and getting the school to sort out their homework policy to everyone's satisfaction.

At DS's school they have deliberately reduced the amount of homework - they encourage parents to focus on practising reading and times tables with their DC. There is little other homework. I'm not sure how giving out more homework would be helpful tbh and I applaud the school for focusing on basics at this level.

I think you need to understand "why" your DS hadn't finished his story. If it was for repeated messing about, keeping him in at lunch to finish it seems appropriate.

At our current primary school homework for all years takes 30 minutes tops. (My children are Y1,Y4,Y6) All years get it on Friday and it's due on Wednesday.

At our old primary school homework was anything from 0 (not given at all) to 2hours. It was given on a random day and returned on a random day. They would also get homework that needed adult help (craft projects, projects that needed an adult to help with research...)

When we started at our current school I was about y6 homework being so little but I think the fact that it's consistent and appropriate to what they are learning is useful. (My boys never tell me what they are learning at school!)

However my older 2 are able to do their homework independently and have learned to be organised enough to do it before it's due. My younger child is also approaching the point where he will be able to do his homework independently. (He needs help with reading the instructions at the moment)

I wouldn't bother harrassing the school for more homework. If your child needs extra help at home then best to do it yourself as you can find out what your child needs to practice and tailor any extra work to them rather than a teacher who might send home a random worksheet. I have learned it's about quality not quantity.

As for the lunchtime thing- was your child messing around? Was it supposed to be a timed thing? The teacher will want to see what he is capable of independently of your help

Can I just say that, first of all, I really resent the way you talk about the NQT. Becoming a teacher is a lot of work; you don't just waltz in the door in September. Not setting homework is not due to her being an NQT- it was the decision of the established teacher.

I would never ever send work home to be finished, and I would keep children in.

1. the work will probably be done by mum/ dad/ sister/ uncle etc so isn't worth the paper it's written on

2. the work won't get done

3. the work will be so dog-eared by the time it comes back it won't be presentable anyway

4. lots of work requires classroom resources to complete

5. if the lesson was long enough, and the child didn't complete it, they were probably messing around. So yes, they should miss their break.

I don't like setting homework, and I don't think it's useful on the whole. As a teacher, I can't rely on the homework to extend learning, as not all children complete it. The amount of homework set in your example seems excessive, IMO.

Ask for a copy of the school's homework policy - you might be surprised at how little it is!
If the teacher is not adhering to the school's policy - then you could have a word - if you feel that it would be of benefit. But homework for homework's sake, that is not maybe relevant or extending what they are currently doing, would be of little benefit. Reading as mentioned, would be better.
Our school also keeps some children in at lunch to finish work. This is for various reasons. Some because their behaviour meant that they did not do enough of their task in the time allocated, some like to finish a task and would rather do that than have playtime.
Some work is done directly in their school books - which are not sent home, as many would not be returned and then there would be no record left of their work that year - so finishing at school would be the only option.

I think it depends on how many children were in finishing their work, and why.

It's not unreasonable to expect a child who was mucking about to finish their classwork. It's not unreasonable to expect a child capable of more than they have done to carry on. It's not unreasonable to expect a child to redo untidy work.

It is unreasonable to expect a whole group or class to carry on with work that was clearly excessive for the allotted. time.

I doubt a teacher would be happy about keeping children in at lunchtime because its their lunchtime too.
But, you do sometimes need to make a point to the children that if they choose not to complete the work in the lesson time, then they will do it in their own time. Maybe they wasted time coming in from previous playtime and that ate in to the next lesson? Maybe the teacher knows they can do a lot better and want them to show it.

My DS is in Y5, he doesn't get any homework but does get 10 spellings to learn each week. He sometimes comes home telling me that he has to miss all of his playtime because X said this or Y did that. Its never his fault
I trust his teachers enough to make the right decision with managing his behaviour in school.

There are so many books and websites available that children can use at home even if they don't get hw. One problem with setting HW is chasing up those that haven't returned and also having the time to mark it on top of all the marking and planning that teachers already have to do.

I can't figure out where OP is coming from. She moans when they don't get worked hard & moans when they do. imho, OP sounds very U.

Why are you so mad keen on homework? It REALLY isn't the benchmark of a good education.

The school's approach sounds very reasonable and imo at age 7 or 8 or 9 homework should be optional. I also think that it is unreasonable for a parent to ask for very specific bits of homework. If you think DD is struggling of course you should try to work with the teacher to support her, but homework would't necessarily be part of that strategy.

Re the art class - the school day is crammed full, there is loads to cover and very realistically not enough time for some kids to do as much to their art projects as they might like (certainly the case for DS, ditto in creative writing). Bugger all to do with homework.

Similarly, whilst I'd be unhappy with my child being kept in all playtime, if they haven;t completed something because they were mucking about (or couldn't be bothered, or whyever) then it is fair enough to expect them to spend some time finishing off. Again bugger all to do with homework.

I agree totally with Juniper904. What had being an NQT got to do with it?
It is really frustrating that parents think they know better than qualified teachers.

There is never going to be total agreement on homework- as a teacher, you can't assess a child's understanding from a piece of homework as you don't know how much input has some from the parent. Also, parents can teach conflicting methods, confusing the child. Children spend long enough in school without going home to do yet more work when they are tired...I struggle to see the benefit.

Some parents like to do homework with their child, as they feel they are becoming involved in their learning. This is a lovely reason, so why not read with your child instead?

Let kids be kids, and let teachers teach.

Bad day Clairey21?

No? Isn't this a forum to discuss opinions?

Appologies. I am in a bad mood. It's just that this is the third dead thread you've resurrected in under half an hour to make almost the same comment on.

It's only a couple of weeks old, Blue. Hardly a zombie thread.

I don't like the homework my DD comes home with. She is year 3 and she normally gets one sheet of Maths and one sheet of English a week. The whole class gets the same sheet, it is not tailored to the childrens ability. Having said that I'm not concerned about this...there are a lot good books available online and in shops. Imho in KS 1 it is a good idea to practise numberbonds and tables. Also problem solving books are good. We read them together and talk about how work out the answer rather than her just solving the questions on her own. For English we read together despite the fact that she is happy to read by herself and talk about the story, predict what will happen next, best bits etc...

I like to be involved with my DCs education and keep taps on what my DCs can and can not do. I think it is a good idea to complement what they do at school instead of restricting to work done at school or work given home by the school.