Year 2 - can school say homework is compulsory?

[Redcliff]

I mentioned to one of the other mums at school today that I heard our sons teacher had been keeping children in a break time to finish homework if it hadn't been done and she went a bit crazy - turns out that she never does homework with her kids and when she asked her son today (after I opened my big mouth) he said that he had been kept in for the last two weeks for at least one break time.

She told him they couldn't do this - is this right?

[thinking101]

it really beggars belief that parents sign kids up to schools even home/school learning contracts. Send their kids there then complain about policies and when the are enforced.

How terrible it is that schools enfrce their own policies with all the 'playground teachers'

[thinking101]

Why would any parent not assist in something, even if they do disagree, it marks their kids out as different and makes their school life just that little bit harder.

It teaches them it is ok to buck the system. They then wonder why they dont leave school with required GCSE grades later on. This after years of undermining their own childs work ethic by not supporting homework completion. Worse still with poor literacy and numeracy skills. They then blame teachers.

[capsium]

Home school agreements are meant to be negotiated with the whole of the school community. I've never heard of this happening.

A parent can sign with the best of intentions, however as their child grows and develops come to realize the home school agreement is not very inclusive of individual needs for example.

A lot of parents are teachers too and have just as many reservations.

It is OK to buck the system when the system is broken. However home school agreements are not legally binding.

Teachers are accountable for teaching the whole of the National Curriculum. If it is not taught adequately ultimately they will be blamed.

I do support my DC with homework however think that teachers really should be taking more responsibility and not expect and rely upon parents filling in any gaps.

[capsium]

Assisting homework is not a parent's duty, it is an act of love. It should be respected as such.

[capsium]

Maybe I should have said act of kindness...

Love suggests too much enjoyment for what sometimes is a frustrating and joyless task.

[Anniegoestotown]

Ds and I spent so long trying to write stories, letters and other stuff for homework that after we had finished we were both exhausted. All I can equate it to is getting degree level homework in Mandarin but not actually having started learning the basics.

Whilst they agreed that they thought he was dyslexic they didn't help him in the slightest. They refused to refer him to be tested and closed the SEN dept within weeks of him starting. They didn't even have the curtesy of telling me that he no longer had a separate lesson. Despite the fact that they had told me specifically how fantastic the SEN dept was. It was a df who worked at the school who asked me how ds was getting on now SEN dept was closed. It was the first I had heard of it.

What I am trying to say is if you have a child who is meeting all the targets and doing ok then doing homework in reception -year 6 is not going to make a jot of difference. If you have a child who is dyslexic etc then trying to keep up with the rest of the class by taking up precious time doing homework set for those that can read and write is just going to turn everyone against learning.

[thinking101]

No homework shod not be relied upon to teach gaps. Homewoek should:

consolidate
extend
allow further practice of a skill
reinforce

...exisiting learning that which has already been taught inthe classroom.

I think strictly speaking homework should not require parental input. As a parent I provide a time and place and a bit of nagging to get the homework done.

If parents feel homework is not meaningful then that is a different issue.

If a home/school agreement is not inclusive of individual needs -im assuming you mean learnign needs then this should be discussed head on. If the homework is not differentiated to take into account ability of a specific learnign needs then that needs to change.

[thinking101]

sorry for errors

[thinking101]

Oh and i provide books and internet access and activelyt encourage DS to look stuff up if stuck inc using a grammar dictionary (as I havnt a clue anyway) and a maths book.

[capsium]

tiggytape The law covers the things you mentioned, of course parents have to adhere to the law. This is a given. However this is true with or without a home school agreement, in this a home school agreement is irrelevant. No need for a home school agreement at all. Meaningless bit of paper. Added to this a child should not be punished for their parent's actions.

Progress, practice, consolidate? How can a child be listened to reading independently? Most parents do not mind listening to their child read but the more they do this the less schools feel they need to. My DC reads to me several times a week the school have gone months before without anyone hearing their reading individually. If I asked the teacher about reading progress they could tell me less than I knew myself. If schools felt less that homework was a parent's duty perhaps they would take more ownership over teaching themselves. Interview a relative independently?etc etc. Materials too are usually provided by the parent.

This is precisely why there are such vast educational inequalities. Schools do not teach the whole of the National Curriculum. Where parents do not or cannot help, a child is at a disadvantage. Homework does nothing to address this issue. More of the teaching taking place in school would.

[capsium]

My DC did not struggle once I had explained things that had not been taught adequately. After explanation and example giving and to all intense and purposes teaching at home, new concepts were grasped and work was independent.

Why should any assessment be affected by this? They ended up being able to do the work, once taught how to...

[capsium]

Child was able, once taught, not a child's 'particular issue' therefore.

[capsium]

Yet these same teachers want to tell parents what work to do with their children at home....

[capsium]

Thank God for the good ones is all I can say.

[PiqueABoo]

I haven't read it directly, but John Hattie wrote that meta-analytical book with effect sizes for various factors and apparently homework doesn't have that much effect at primary:

Hattie suggests that the reason for the difference between the d=0.15 at primary level at d=0.64 at secondary is that younger students can’t under take unsupported study as well, they can’t filter out irrelevant information or avoid environmental distractions – and if they struggle, the overall effect can be negative.

That's Tom Sherrington (KEGS, HTRT and serious homework fan) commenting and he goes on to say:

Even at primary level, students are not all the same. Older, more able students in Year 5/6 may well benefit from homework where kids in Year 2 may not.

[thinking101]

piqueaboo I think it is still of value to instill a good work ethic in relation to school into a child. It is a good habit to form.

[capsium]

It makes sense to me that homework does little to improve educational outcome.

Where parents can support learning it encourages teachers to do less in school.

Where parents cannot support learning, these children are at an educational disadvantage which means teachers have to take up the gauntlet themselves.

To me homework seems to be less about improving educational outcomes and more about lessening the load for teachers.

[mythbustinggov]

Home school agreements are meant to be negotiated with the whole of the school community. I've never heard of this happening.

The agreement and the policies should all be thrashed out by and approved by the Governing Body, which has representation from staff, parents, the LEA and the community. If you are not happy with something on the agreement - contact the Chair, or Head. ANd if you are still not happy - volunteer to be a Governor and lend your expertise to improving the school.

[capsium]

Yes, in some cases. They have to do more work when parents cannot support a child's learning at home. Think about it, learning in phonics, hearing reading, supporting maths. Work shops to teach parents how to support learning at home, explaining new maths methodology etc. Lists of NC levelled questions to ask your child in relation to their reading....homework is very definitely geared to serve the school's job of teaching the National Curriculum.

Home learning should relate to and enrich a child's home life. Books chosen by parent and child shared. Maths which supports practical everyday activities, as decided by the family. This enrichment is cultural and cannot be dictated by the teacher.

[capsium]

Myth The Governors are responsible for actively seeking out parents' views on any Home School Agreement. If there are language barriers this also has to be addressed.

[capsium]

I have no need to become a governor. I have managed to successfully navigate my way through many a school dilemma, and things have changed.

Not all parents are as confident though...

[mythbustinggov]

capsium Why do you think you need to be a governor to deal with your school dilemmas? Schools need good, articulate governors - not parents with an axe to grind. Parents who become governors to 'help' their DCs soon get disabused of the idea (unless the school is a basket-case).

[capsium]

Myth you were the one who made the suggestion.

"ANd if you are still not happy - volunteer to be a Governor and lend your expertise to improving the school."

I know I have no need to become a Governor.