Summer homework between Y6 and Y7

[Willyoulistentome]

Do kids moving up to secondary school for Y7 get homework to do in the summer holidays from the new school??

No, they don't here.

Nope. Not here either.

no

I have never heard of any, although some Year 7s round here seem to go back a day before the the other Years to help with settling in.

Thank God for that.

Mine never did, but I heard of a local school that did.

Yes, my ds's state school set a whole extensive booklet of homework with detentions for failing to hand it in by the end of the first week. They had to do a review of two books read over the holidays, write a piece about themselves, do a fair bit of maths and some other bits and pieces for geography and history. Ds quite enjoyed it when he got his head round it which wasn't immediately but it had all been done by the start of school.

A friend's ds at a different local state school was set one specific book which had to be read for discussion in English when they started plus some maths.

One of our local high schools sent out a suggested reading list but i think it was completely ignored.

We just got a booklet all about what to expect on the first week.

Oh bloody Hell. How can they set a load of stuff to do if they don't know what the individual kids are capable of yet? Even reading one book will be a push for my son with SN.

have you asked the school?

Our high school gives work out at the transition day -a choice of 10 activities, they have to do 4 and they are all projects

Our local (state) school sets the new Y7's a rather large project to be done and handed in by the end of the first week. It's supposed to be fun, but caused a lot of panic and heartache for the pupils in my ds's year.

Fortunately for ds he didn't go there, so was the only one of his friends that didn't have any homework over the summer. (He has ASD and a real problem with doing school work at home.)

I'll ask when i find out in a couple of weeks which school he has got.

Projects. That fills me with dread. He had AS and I am convinced he had ADD too. He can't focus on anything long enough to order his thoughts . It takes him hours to get anything written down, and what he does write is pretty useless, sadly. I know that sounds mean, but I'm realistic.
Oh dear.

Hopefully, if they set anything at all, I can persuade them to give him pages of sums. That would be ok. Anything where the answer is not ' right or wrong', and he has to decide what to write is an absolute nightmare.

No once sats are over, or entrance exams and before the hard work of secondary starts I think it's important that they have a last summer of pure childhood. Saying that mine was sent some maths on line via my maths just to keep their maths fresh but very optional

Willyoulisten, if it's likely to be a real problem for your ds I would speak to the SENCO and ask her advice. In fact a meeting with the SENCO would probably be a good idea anyway if he is going to need additional support and/or homework dispensations.

I understand completely what you mean about it taking hours to get anything down on paper and preferring work where the answer can be either right or wrong - rather than interpreted, iyswim. My ds is exactly the same.

Thanks Moose mama. I've already spoken to the SENCOS at all three of the schools which he may get. They've all said he may get him work in core subjects only, if it's that bad. (which it is), but to see how he goesinitially.

I'll speak to the second at whichever school he gets in more detail. I hope he can do it at school with some support rather than subject us all to three hours of crying, screaming and knocking chairs over every night.
Fun, fun, fun.

Auto correct took over a bit there. I hope it made enough sense.

That's the same as ds's school. Pupils who have a real problem with homework do core subjects only, but they have to try doing the full timetable first and see how it goes. Ds in on core subjects only now - I think. (No-one has told us this, but he seems to have suddenly stopped getting all the subjects he was getting and when I queried whether his homework was being recorded correctly I was told it was.)

Your evenings sound like mine. 20 minute homework can take 4 hours when you take into account the screaming, wailing, throwing himself around. He doesn't knock chairs over, but he does lock himself in the bathroom.

Unfortunately ds's school doesn't have a homework club, so we have no alternative - and he doesn't get home from school until 5.00 pm, having left at 7.20 am, so he's already exhausted and testy before he starts. We try to leave as much of it as possible to the weekend, as at least he's not already wired before he starts that way.

Yep. Your evenings sound like ours. He gets 5 nights homework a week. But one is 'reading' (like THAT ever happens). Supposed to take no more than 1/2 an hour a night. Well it takes more than that to even get a pencil into his hand if it's a literacy homework. I understand 'normal' kids will be on something like an hour a night in Y7.

I asked if he could have extra English literacy lessons instead of French. I'm a languages graduate myself so am a 'fan', but I see learning French as a total waste of time for my DS who can hardly get his thoughts down in English. I was told he needs to give it a bash. Fair enough, but I hope they will recognise he would be better off with extra curriculum support time than a nice to have subject.

DD1 (now yr12) did. State comp. Some kind of project about themselves which ranged from half a page to full blown booklet with photos etc. Run as a mini competition. Think they also had an induction day or 2, but she missed them as on trip with junior school.
Heard they still do similar.
DD2 (yr6) hoping to go to same school (roll on 3/3).
Guess every one will get the info re holiday work for their allocated school shortly after that.

Great. Minicompetition. Another way for a low ability child a chance to feel like a failure before they even have lesson one.
Sorry to sound so negative. I've been subjected to a lot of 11+ gloating/ braying at the school gates recently.

Yes, they sound very similar.

Ds couldn't learn French in primary no matter what they tried and now has to do both French and Spanish in y7. I don't think he's managed to asorb anything in either subject as yet. I'm hoping they'll let him opt out of languages next year, but everyone has to do one in y7.

Not long ago his French teacher set them the task of doing a family tree. He did it, but in English, because his teacher hadn't said she wanted it done in French. Despite them learning all the French words for family/relations over the previous few lessons, it didn't occur to him that the task should be done in French, because no-one told him it should. I struggle to get it across to them just how literal he can be and therefore how specific they need to be with instructions.

Yes I know what you mean re taking things literally. I have asked his teacher this year to make sure he understands the quantity she is expecting, as 'write about someone you admire' will be taken as 'I admire Messi. He's a good footballer'. (The End).

If I try to suggest a little more explanation or detail is in order, he kicks off ..'I don't haaaaave to'.

The future looks bleak.