What are your views on homework for primary school children? I am struggling to see the point.

[MehgaLegs]

OK reading, reading is fine. I am happy to sit and listen to them read. Spellings are good, times tables to learn also fine and DS3 in reception needs to learn his letters so flash cards and while you are at it here are some flash cards with Floppy, Kipper et al on them, learn those too please. Now DS2 has some maths, addition but not the way I was taught and then he must read this passage and answer the questions in full sentences. DS1 please bring in 50p for a cookery lesson, an old item of clothing to make a shopping bag, money for a disco ticket, books for the book swap and a lucky dip prize for the school fair, then get a dice and some counters and a pair of scissors, cut out all these dominoes and then play a making plurals game, followed by a maths game involving multiplication (again, nothing like the way I was taught)DS4 sit still and don't interupt.

If you have a problem with homework, raise it with your parent governor, so that the school can review the homework policy. Please don't tell your children that it is acceptable to not do their homework.

Also, don't feel pressurised to give them a lot of help. They are not assessing you, but your child. If your child has great difficulty doing the hw, or it takes longer than the allotted time, then write this in their diary.

School is not a 'them' and 'us' situation.

i think in infants it should just be spelling, reading, tables etc. can understand the reasoning behind it for juniors but i think it should be stuff they are capable of doing themselves albeit with a parent nearby incase they get stuck and then to go over it with them when they've finished to check they've got it right and understood. projects are all very good if you do have the internet cos they can then do them on their own, but very annoying if it involves you making trips to the library to get info for it.

although i suppose it depends how far away your library is. ours is a 10 minute walk away and my parents were happy for me to go their by myself from about y4. there was a bigger library in town that they would drop me off at and i would look for the books i needed and they would over sit at the table and wait for me or come back and get me after they'd done some shopping or whatnot.