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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Is this normal for year 7

50 replies

Firsttimegardening · 20/05/2023 16:31

Hi, DD is in year 7, at selective school and has just started enjoying secondary. Everyday she comes back from school and says she has too much homework to do. But when she sits down to do her homework she takes ages to do any task. I mean hours e.g King Arthur, she will read on google, BBC bite size for at least an hour or two and still have no idea what to write? If I leave her alone to write up she won’t answer the question and just be sitting there staring. I feel like she has some kind of a problem but not sure. Her maths is really good. She finds difficult to make friends and has been avoiding school canteen since she started.
Part of me thinks she is just not bright enough but when I watch her drift away on the couch/ dining table I start to worry about her.

OP posts:

GeorgeSpeaks · 20/05/2023 17:44

Is she indecisive? A perfectionist? She shouldn't be spending that long on homework in y7, surely it's 20/30 mins x2 or 3 subjects a night.

TizerorFizz · 20/05/2023 17:58

@Firsttimegardening She needs help to marshal her thoughts . Making notes helps Limiting sources helps. Making sure she drills down into the question helps. Trying to ensure she reads what’s necessary, and no more, will help.

TeenDivided · 20/05/2023 18:18

Personally I'd sit with her and help her focus her research - teach her how to do it.
If you teach her and she doesn't improve then investigate further.

Munchies7 · 20/05/2023 18:28

Sounds like she might had ADD

redskylight · 20/05/2023 18:37

Has she actually been taught how to research a subject and then produce a summary of the main facts (I'm assuming this is what she's doing)? If she hasn't then it's not necessarily something she'll work out how to do by herself. I'd sit with her and talk her through how to tackle the task.

TeenDivided · 20/05/2023 18:41

Munchies7 · 20/05/2023 18:28

Sounds like she might had ADD

Well it could be.

It could be dyspraxia / executive function issues. My DD really struggled with these kinds of tasks as she couldn't pick out what was important and what wasn't, couldn't skim read, and couldn't work with a blank page. It took her years to get the hang of it.

Or it could be that the DC hasn't been shown how to do this kind of task. Which is why the OP needs to start with that.

Phineyj · 20/05/2023 18:51

There are some good tips for this sort of thing in the book Smart But Scattered.

I have taught a few year 7s. Some are a bit clueless on the organisation front!

Regarding friends, suggests she joins a few clubs. Sometimes there are quieter things in the library like board games.

Original poster

Firsttimegardening · 20/05/2023 19:10

Thank you so much everyone for your responses. They start researching in school and then continue with the rest at home. I will try and limit the time and resources so she doesn’t get overwhelmed and distracted. It’s so hard because I work full time and have a younger son.

OP posts:

Original poster

Firsttimegardening · 20/05/2023 19:16

TizerorFizz thank you. Really appreciate the advice. I will try this out tomorrow morning when she is ready for her next homework.

OP posts:

HollyFern1110 · 20/05/2023 19:18

This so sounds like me during high school. I had plenty of knowledge in my head but somehow couldn't work out how to get that on to paper.

As an adult I have been diagnosed with ADHD (although I've never been hyperactive).

Wishihadanalgorithm · 20/05/2023 19:18

Ask the teachers to provide websites or resources to use for research. No teacher should just be saying “Go and research King Arthur.” That’s lazy of them if they do.

2bazookas · 20/05/2023 19:31

I mean hours e.g King Arthur, she will read on google, BBC bite size for at least an hour or two and still have no idea what to write?

It's not a copy and paste excercise. Home work usually consolidates information covered in class. Its to see how much of it she took in and understands . "What she has to write" is a response to the homework question.

You could help her by discussing the question to make sure she understands what response it requires; then encourage her to tell you about it, then write it down.

YouHeardTheRumoursFromInes · 20/05/2023 20:02

As a secondary teacher: get her into good habits. Often the biggest obstacle is getting pen to paper. Let's use your example: King Arthur. Physically write or type "King Arthur" on paper/a device. Around it, begin to spider diagram either prior knowledge from what's been taught in lessons OR (if a new topic) questions she wants to answer. Take a different colour. Start to investigate additional information or the answers to the questions. Write them as she goes - don't wait until she's finished the page; take notes as she reads so she doesn't forget or lose focus. This way, she is being actively productive and can see the progress she is making in the new colour. Once she has a good chunk of info, she can write it up into full sentences / paragraphs. I generally find once a pupil has actually started writing, ideas flow more freely and they can get a handle on the task better. Unfortunately, lots of pupils seem to think they need to know absolutely everything perfectly before they can start writing when this absolutely is not the case!

If there is potential ND, please disregard this as she will need more specialised advice/support.

doglover90 · 20/05/2023 21:00

Wishihadanalgorithm · 20/05/2023 19:18

Ask the teachers to provide websites or resources to use for research. No teacher should just be saying “Go and research King Arthur.” That’s lazy of them if they do.

Why are you assuming that the teacher already doesn't do this?

NeverDropYourMooncup · 20/05/2023 21:56

It's the consequence of primaries being pressured to teach to the SATs, rather than develop skills outside the governmental tickboxes.

She needs to establish what the task is first so she can structure what she's doing. What do they want of her?

'Something about King Arthur.'

What about King Arthur? Who's that?

'A king who was called Arthur'

Okay, I probably asked for that. The clue was in the name. Is he King now?

'No, he was King in...'

Is this of Great Britain?

'No, just England, Great Britain didn't exist then'

Was he a prince in a castle?

;No, he was...'

How did he become King?

'There was this wizard, and a sword and a stone and...'

That's really interesting. What did he do when he became King?

'He had a big table and it was round'

Why do you think that was? Could he have chosen that for any reason instead of a big, long one?

'Dunno'

Shall we look up 'King Arthur Round table'? and see if it says anything?

OK, so you can tell us about how he became King and how he ruled - what about the other people? What about this wizard? Do the stories have magic in them?

'There's this big lake...'

LittleOwl153 · 20/05/2023 22:02

Can she tell you what has researched? Is it the writing down that is the issue? Dyslexic DD can read anything, tell you all about a topic.... but cannot get it on paper!

Otherwise I'd suggest she needs a methodology like PP have outlined! She doesn't need to be spending that amount of time on homework poor thing.

RedFluffyPanda · 21/05/2023 09:41

I would not confuse " not bright" with " a bit lazy". She may still change.
I wonder how she manage to pass 11+ with this attitude?

Yerroblemom1923 · 21/05/2023 09:45

Always quick to play SEN Bingo, mumsnet never disappoints....in other news maybe she needs help with research skills and she hasn't been taught how to do this yet?

Lifeinlists · 21/05/2023 09:49

RedFluffyPanda · 21/05/2023 09:41

I would not confuse " not bright" with " a bit lazy". She may still change.
I wonder how she manage to pass 11+ with this attitude?

What 'attitude'? She's 11 and needs some help breaking a task down into manageable sections. Perfectly normal.
Even adults need such help sometimes.

redskylight · 21/05/2023 10:43

Nobody's yet picked up on the struggling to make friends. I think it can take time with some Year 7s but it might be worth having a chat with her tutor/pastoral care/head of year/whoever is appropriate at your school to see if there is anything they can suggest. You can also try to support your DC in making friends (suggesting she joins clubs, talking through strategies, having people round).
If she's miserable at school then she's unlikely to feel super positive about homework.

HawaiiWake · 21/05/2023 16:29

Avoid school canteen, is she eating enough? With sport etc maybe healthy diet will help with focus. Or is it a friendship issue? Could she study in School library with friends and maybe get homework done before going home? She can ask her friends for homework guidance.

RedFluffyPanda · 21/05/2023 20:37

@Lifeinlists

I understood that she is in a private school. Most of private schools require 11+ entrance exam.
11+ exam preparations = hours and hours of work every week; mockup tests, NVR, VR, essays. Hard hard work.

RedFluffyPanda · 21/05/2023 20:43

By selective we mean schools with entry exam...so it could be grammar and similar. Cannot imagine how she passed reading comprehension, essey...it is not only math that is included.

SeasonFinale · 21/05/2023 20:59

RedFluffyPanda · 21/05/2023 20:37

@Lifeinlists

Not all children need hours and hours of tuition to pass the 11+. An idea of the format and timings for papers is sometimes all that is needed.

RedFluffyPanda · 21/05/2023 21:30

@SeasonFinale
Then not 1 out of 10 would get a space in selective school but 10 out of 10 🤣.

What you saying is contradicting what I rewd in the starting post: she takes ages to do any task. Clearly it takes her a lot of time
There are not ages give to complete the 11+ test at the exam

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