Is homework legally enforceable in state secondary school?

[Firecarrier]

Would appreciate any factual answers regarding this.

I'm not particularly interested in debating the merits (or lack thereof) of homework, I have done lots of reading around this subject and my desire is to tell his high school that I will not permit our evenings to be dominated by homework when he has been there all day.

They have a rather ridgid system with class teams which sends us pie charts etc showing behaviour points etc.

Their system means a child will get a detention if they do not hand a piece of homework in.

For clarity, my son's behaviour in school is not in any question whatsoever and he is doing quite well, it is literally just the homework and possible consequences I am asking about. I say this to clarify that this specific thing I am asking about need not negatively affect other pupils.

I am in England if it makes any difference.

Thanks in advance!

Do as we had to for our four and home educate?

If people genuinely don't want to engage with services offered they have to take responsibility and sort their own shit out. The system doesn't bend.

In our school if it isn’t done you get detention

So change schools then

Amen to that!

Oh, except homework is an essential aspect of learning, self-directed skills etc etc.

Fairly sure it's not legally enforceable but once it escalates through school consequences you could essentially be looking at an exclusion for not doing homework I suppose.

Just do the homework perhaps?

If he doesn't do homework now, and you don't enforce it, how do you think he'll cope with GCSEs? Or life in general?

Also, why is homework dominating YOUR evening?

I was a secondary school teacher for 25 years. I think homework isn’t as important as it’s made out to be and it’s just another stick to beat kids with.

Ks4 yeah. KS3 not really necessary. I’m aware this sounds like heresy😁

DD spends less than an hour a day on her homework. It benefits her (well the things like maths practice, and grammar etc...not sure if that physics wordsearch was beneficial). But it doesn't take over our lives...

However supporting your child education is important instead of telling them not to follow the rules.

It isn't legally enforceable, no. If he doesn't do it then there is no criminal offence!

But . . . . The school with have a homework policy and if he doesn't do it then he will end up with detentions etc. This will be stated in the contract you signed with the school at the start of y7.

I would stop worrying about whether or not it is legally enforceable and start thinking about why it is such a huge issue in your household. It should not be dominating your evenings. Why is it?

If there was a small state secondary school up the road of about 700 pupils instead of 1300+ with no homework or uniform I'd be hammering down their door to get DD1 in, as would a lot of other parents.

That's all very well if you have kids who can learn at home and who will engage with it. Plus the lifestyle which suits it.

If homework is causing a problem then I would suggest getting in touch with either the form tutor or the Senco.

No, homework is not legally enforceable.

As a teacher, we have always had some children who did not do any homework and this was agreed either with the Senco of with pastoral support, usually because of autism/anxiety etc. schools are often happy to do this, especially if homework is caysung exacerbation of mental health issues etc,

Also, there were usually some students who dropped it on a temporary basis - so for example if a parent had just died then they didn't have to do it if they didn't want to.

If you haven't been in touch with the school about Sen/my issues etc then the school will probably impose consequences which is often a detention. Again, your child does not have to go to that, but if they don't there is usually an escalation of consequences up to after school detention, Saturday detention, isolation etc

Not sure , is this ever been proposed to be made into law? Curious because secondary will be dawning on us

Don't forget, it's half term!

Doubt it’s legally enforceable no. If l was the school then l wouldn’t see the point in debating it but there are consequences. So would officially advise that it’s at your / your child’s risk if they don’t fulfil their potential and are always lagging behind. It’s not fair for the rest of the class to wait whilst your child reads what they should have done or the teacher explains it to them.

Don’t forget academic achievement often involves hard work. Rather than magic or the teachers doing their jobs properly

Of course it's not legally enforceable. Do you really think the courts are full of kids being prosecuted by their schools for not writing an essay on oxbow lakes?

However equally the school is free to set whatever punishment for not completing homework they want - detention, isolation. Maybe even expulsion, though that would be quite unusual.

Do you really think your teachers are setting you homework because they love marking it so much though? Use your common sense - homework reinforces learning. Better learning equals better GCSE grades equals better sixth form options equals better post school options - do you not want a decent job earning decent money?

So your child got a detention for not doing homework and you want to go kick off about it ????
Don’t be a dick

I mean that we often have an influx of posts from teenagers during the school holidays! I'm not convinced that this is a post by a parent. I'm a teacher BTW so definitely understand your point!

What about the Homework Act (Secondary) 2004??

People need to keep up with legislative changes

The school can enforce detentions/exclusions for not following expectations.

But maybe if you talk to them then a direct head on confrontation would not be necessary?

Obviously, if he doesn't do any prep, that will impact hugely on his education and that of the rest of his class, and at the end of the line, on his exam results, and life chances.

You can choose to not do it or support it but he won't get treated differently to other students so sanctions will stay the same. It will go down as debit points/red in Class Charts.
If they use C2/C3/C4 and it is an ongoing choice not to do it the he will end up in teacher/weekly/SLT detention and will be flagged on reports as red/unsatisfactory.
You'll look like a parent who doesn't care - they'll look like a lazy student.

FWIW I agree with you. I do however make sure my two get it done/toe the line as for some schools, it's a hill to die on. My own students - the policy is to log it so parents are told then issue a teacher detention. Sometimes I chase it. Sometimes I give extensions. I can say that for weaker students - those that are not regularly doing homework are the same who do badly on their tests but that doesn't mean a causation. More likely that literacy issues mean they are struggling to access either.

Obviously a school can't take a child to court for not doing homework however it is an important part of learning. Done properly (well thought out then marked and meaningful developmental feedback given) it reinforces learning and develop self motivation + study skills in children ready for exams etc.

Your child's school doesn't sound particularly strict to me, getting detention for not doing your homework seems fair enough. You won't be doing your child any favours socially or academically by telling their school they won't be doing any homework. School rules and systems are there for a reason - try not to be 'that parent'!

This.

You need to check your schools behaviour policy. It will be on their website. You / your son will have been asked to agree to these policy on accepting a place in school - whether you were aware of that or not.

If your son does not do homework, I would expect to find him in detention frequency. (And yes keeping him back after school - same day or otherwise - without you needing to give specific permission is allowed by government.).

In the end he could face fixed term and then permanent exclusion for multiple breaches of the behaviour policy. To reach permanent exclusion the head has to show he has breached the behaviour policy frequently (no homework would do this) and to allow him to return would be detrimental to others (teachers and others above have identified why this would apply.)

So no it is not 'illegal' however it will put his place in school ar risk.

Talk to the head of year. If your dc struggles to focus on homework then there will be options. Ds knows that he can go in and do his homework at lunchtime somewhere quiet and the teachers know how anxious it makes him. Knowing that there is that flexibility means that he then generally does do it at home but I can say to him 'oh well if you don't do it now you can go and work in Mr Jones's room and do it at lunchtime' it stops the argument and takes the heat out of it. He then generally decides that maybe doing it at home is better. Also remembering that it doesn't always have to be good. It just needs to be done.