Primary homework

If you want to liven up a tedious governors’ meeting, introduce the subject of homework! It could change the most placid members of the governing body – especially parent governors – into a baying mob. It was on our agenda as an innocuous item about a questionnaire asking parents for their views on specific issues such as types of homework, how much children should have each week, how important they thought it was and so on. Within minutes we had a mini-lecture about whether we catered enough for bright children; a question asking what teachers were going to do to make homework more structured; a rather impassioned plea that it was such a waste of time that there should be no homework set at all and concern from a teacher governor that if homework was set more often there would be little time to mark it properly. And so much more that the issue wasn’t resolved and I was left feeling that we need to think more carefully about what homework actually means to us, to our schools and, more importantly, to children and their parents.

The DfES/DCSF view
What are we supposed to think about homework? In the 1998 DfES publication Homework Guidelines for Primary and Secondary School it clearly states that: ‘A good well managed homework programme helps children and young people to develop the skills and attitudes they will need for successful life long learning. Homework also supports the development of independent learning skills and provides parents with an opportunity to take part in their children’s education.’ The key phrase is, ‘a good, well managed homework programme’, but it is still difficult to understand how we can possibly meet all the criteria suggested in the statement. Homework can, for example, often consist of repetitive and undifferentiated worksheets that are easy for teachers to mark. This kind of homework is also easy for parents to complete when their children are involved in clubs, music practise and sports training and, let’s not forget that such sheets are easy for children to complete at their after-school clubs as they wait for busy parents to return from work. But, the guidelines do go further and emphasise the importance of:

• a clear homework policy devised after consultation with pupils, staff, parents and governors
• everyone involved in the whole homework process seeing homework as an integral part of the wider school curriculum
• homework being planned and prepared alongside classroom lessons and programmes of learning
• making sure that homework is established in the early primary years and built on throughout Key Stages 1 and 2
• recognising the importance of the support of parents in the whole process
• making sure that homework is marked in line with the school’s marking policy
• monitoring the quality of homework and how consistent the quality and quantity is
• devising innovative homework that doesn’t necessarily involve written responses but asks for practical activities and the use of research tools and ICT.

The implications are that if we can meet the DfES/DCSF criteria homework will cause few if any problems and everyone will be happy. But, if only life were that simple? We all know how unpredictable the consultation process with parents can be and linking a relatively simple task to be completed at home to a complex curriculum is never easy. If we have to increase the amount of marking each teacher has to do, homework must be seen to be helping individual children as well as raising overall standards. As part of the response to a recent consultation process in a colleague’s school a parent wrote: ‘Much of the homework my children have been given has been poorly thought out, irrelevant and vague, not to mention downright useless. I would contend that if something is important enough to learn it should be learnt under the supervision of a professional, ie in the classroom.’ A fair point perhaps or just an over-reaction or a disgruntled rant? If we follow this particular parent’s argument to as logical a conclusion as possible, we might suggest that if we expect children to use homework to learn something new – which we have to expect or it really is an unimportant waste of everyone’s time – then this will only reinforce the social and cultural differences that they bring with them to the classroom. And these as we know are largely due to the variations in the skills, knowledge, commitment and resources of individual parents.

What does the research say?
If, as some of the NFER conclusions suggest, there are significant class and cultural links then it is important to seriously consider how and when children actually complete homework. Many children will either not be able to finish it at home because parents don’t take them home until late or, and this is equally depressing, it is difficult for them to find anywhere at home where they can concentrate on work.

NFER review conclusions
In 2000 the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned by Ofsted to review research into homework published since 1988, which was the year of the Education Reform Act. Their conclusions in Homework: A Review of Recent Research (2001) were sometimes surprising and can be partly summarised as follows:

• In primary schools there is little evidence that there is a positive relationship between time spent on homework and positive achievement.
• Pupils doing either very little or a lot of homework tend to perform less well than those doing a moderate amount.
• The more time spent on homework does not necessarily lead to better achievement.
• Generally pupils had positive attitudes to homework and positive attitudes to homework were associated with positive attitudes to school.
• Pupils generally disliked such tasks as ‘finishing off class work’ but preferred interesting, challenging and varied tasks with adequate deadlines.
• Girls are more willing to spend time on homework than boys.
• Setting individualised homework tasks is time consuming for teachers and does not appear to raise pupil achievement sufficiently to justify the additional time required; but – teachers of pupils with low achievement/learning difficulties should tailor homework to meet the needs of individual pupils and at the same time be sensitive to the issue that pupils may feel there is a stigma attached to receiving different homework from their classmates.
• Parents want homework even though it can be a cause of conflict between parents and children.
• Parent involvement in homework is related to cultural and socioeconomic factors.
• There doesn’t seem to be a relationship between the amount of parental involvement in homework and achievement at school.
• There is some evidence that pupils who spend time on a range of activities such as reading, homework and extra-curricular clubs perform better at school.

Part of the NFER research evidence included the study of 20,000 primary school children by the University of Durham in 1999 and further work by researchers from Kings College London. This was reported widely in the news at the time.  The press statements make interesting reading as part of the homework debate. For example: ‘homework makes little impact on raising standards in maths in primary school’ and ‘comparisons of children of similar ability and home backgrounds showed that those given more homework were likely to perform less well in tests for maths, science and English than their counterparts who are only given occasional homework tasks’ and ‘the department (DfES) advises parents that the purpose of homework is “consolidating and reinforcing skills and understanding” but according to researchers there is little evidence that homework is a reliable means of achieving this.’

What might the future look like?
After reading the summaries of relevant research what conclusions are we supposed to reach? Actually, it doesn’t really matter. It is as if all of us, parents, teachers, children and governors, have all been pushed and manoeuvred into accepting that homework is part of life’s rich tapestry. Historically it has almost always been given and it will continue as part of the fabric of our lives. No amount of research suggesting that much of it might possibly be a waste of everyone’s time is likely to alter the entrenched views that surround it so let’s be realistic about what we can do because it is, as we probably already know, here to stay.

There are basic primary school issues that are always important such as learning multiplication tables, reading, improving writing and spelling. Children can do some of this at home in a relatively simple and differentiated way. Other challenging ways forward could include: finding out information, preparing oral presentations or looking at history through the eyes of grandparents. Of course, homework clearly needs to be linked to class work and to the National Curriculum – but not always through unimaginative work sheets. There needs to be a homework schedule that is understood by parents, children and teachers. Homework diaries help everyone know when homework is set, when it is to be completed, how it is marked and whether it was completed satisfactorily. Set wider challenges in art and technology that families can complete together and use open-ended questions that parents can work through with their children. Completing homework well needs to be praised with rewards in assemblies that celebrate success and where parents, as part of the process, are invited.

Each classroom teacher has to manage the homework requirements that we and our governors have decided. If you have a contented staff and parents who are happy with what you are doing – fantastic! But if you are still debating it and finding conclusions difficult to reach then see our ‘top tips’ below.

Top tips for teachers

• Give the right amount of homework.
• Keep parents informed and up to date.
• Vary the kinds of homework.
• Involve parents but be aware of how much time and commitment they have.
• Mark the homework – use it to assess and praise children.
• Provide a place in school for children who will not be able to complete homework at home.

Top tips for parents

• Give your children a place to do their homework.
• Motivate them to complete it.
• Be a role model – don’t lie on the settee watching TV as they work at homework tasks.
• Monitor what they are doing and help where necessary.
• Be a mentor by helping when appropriate but not being over involved.

Top tips for children

• Pick a good time to do homework.
• Remember to make time for long-term projects so that you are not rushing at the last minute.
• Spend more time on hard homework than on easy work.
• If homework is too hard – ask for help. If it is too easy – tell your teacher.
• Find a good place to do your homework – not when you are watching TV.