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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: research based evidence

36 replies

Verbena37 · 06/10/2015 15:49

Hi,
After searching long and hard, I still can't find any evidence that affirms that primary age children MUST do homework.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of an actual recent policy (not DFES guidelines) that's says primary kids have to do homework?

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futureme · 09/10/2015 09:22

I think its more that its directed time isnt it? Making a poster is fun and can be done in school surely. So much homework is just busywork. If you only had homework occasionally of the sort of "interview grandma" that's less of a chore than 4 sheets to fill in each week with work on top.

There's already so much time taken up by school that I'd rather my child made a poster because she fancied making one (as she often does!) rather than it be a chore on top of the things she wants to do with her time.

Autumnsky · 09/10/2015 10:50

To Millymolly, 75% level 4 cetainly is not so good, that's my point. For similar background children, our school is a relax one, so we only got 75%, sometimes 80%. But the other school, they have structured practice( home work or school work), they push more, so they achieve 98%.

As for ouself, as long as the school is safe without bully, DS is happy, then it is fine. As I am confident that DS would definitely achive level 6 in math, 5 or 6 for English.

Autumnsky · 09/10/2015 11:00

I had thought making poster is quite a creative way for doing homework, I never had this kind of interesting homework when I was a child.

I did think about this homework thing yesterday, unfortunately, children who enjoy homework are normally children who don't need homework. Children is struggling with homework are normally children who need to practice a bit more.

RubberDuck · 09/10/2015 14:08

Autumnsky: unfortunately not that creative anymore. My ds2 started secondary school this year and in one week had THREE posters he had to make for different subjects There was quite a lot of eye-rolling by the third!

futureme: this course (or associated book) is fascinating for the science behind memory and learning, if you're interested: www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn I took it just before starting an OU degree, and it's really been invaluable.

RubberDuck · 09/10/2015 14:11

And really, we should be teaching our kids to learn smarter, not longer. Work/life balance is incredibly important, not just for our learning goals.

Autumnsky · 09/10/2015 14:33

Work/life balance is important indeed. However, I have got this feeling in MN, if anyone think children should be doing a bit homework, practice, learning after school, then the children has no life, is pitied. But if a child spend 3 hours a day dancing, learning music, sports, everyone seems to say, you should support their interests. They have what a good life.

Do we hope a country full of dancer, musician, sportsman? Is this an ideal country?

RubberDuck · 09/10/2015 14:41

It's still possible to do bugger all in your evening when you're 7 and do well in education, you know :)

futureme · 09/10/2015 15:45

Id think a child was over programmed with all that autumnsky, unless home Ed!

Rubber duck. Ironically I teach a module on memory and another on learning.....

futureme · 09/10/2015 15:49

Poster work is set all the time in school! If its a one off its interesting, if its 3 x a week every week its too much.

Its often end of topic to summarise learning and becomes front page for the folder.... Or way of presenting information on a topic... Make a leaflet about x place (geography) or poster about stopping smoking, or poster about x .....

RubberDuck · 09/10/2015 15:54

futureme: awesome! I'd love to study more in that field.

shebird · 09/10/2015 16:44

I am happy for DCs to do the following homework- reading, spellings, times tables or any work that reinforces what they are doing at school through practice at home.

I have no time for internet research, making things, models of castles or Viking helmets or basically anything that involves a large amount of parental input with little benefit to the child.

They do not always have enough opportunities to practice new skills at school. Some kids can find it difficult to concentrate in a noisy classroom and some need a bit more practice than others. It is also a way to keep parents involved and aware of what their child is learning and they can identify things that they might be struggling with.

It is also good to get into the habit on doing some homework or secondary school will come as a big shock

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