More often than not our children tell us they have too much homework but it is important to take into account what exactly the government and the Department for Education have set down as the appropriate amount of homework to be done by children at home.
It is also worth noting at this juncture plans which are afoot to reduce the amount of homework that children have to do and these plans are nearing finalisation.
Why Does My Child Need to do Homework?
Homework is set for a number of reasons; the main reason being that it encourages children to learn on their own and also to improve their own independent learning skills. In other words homework is set to encourage children to work on their own and not simply rely on a teacher setting them work within a classroom environment.
In addition to this homework is designed to help back up what is learned in the classroom and to show that the child in question is capable of understanding – and is understanding – what is being taught to them within a classroom environment.
How Much Homework Should My Child Be Bringing Home?
Depending on the age of your child will depend on how much homework he or she is set during the course of a school week. Of course it is important to remember that homework is not only a means of allowing your child’s teachers to see how they are doing; it is also designed so that you – the parent – can also see how they are progressing.
As we have already mentioned the amount of time spent during the course of a week producing homework depends entirely on the age of your child.
Turn your subjects, deadlines and free time into a clear, realistic homework and revision timetable so nothing gets left to the last minute.
Try our Homework Timetable Builder free, here on this site →Primary School Children
If your child is attending a primary school they will be expected to produce between thirty minutes to two and a half hours worth of homework in the school week. This breaks down as the following:
- Year 1 & 2 : 60 minutes per week
- Year 3 & 4 : 90 minutes per week
- Year 5 & 6 : 30 minutes per day
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Secondary School Children
By the time your child has reached secondary school education he or she will be expected to produce between one to two and a half hours of homework per day. This may sound a lot but you should also take into consideration that during their time at secondary school they will also be expected to produce coursework and revise for examinations.
The times break down as follows:
- Year 7 & 8 : 30 to 90 minutes per day
- Year 9 : 60 to 120 minutes per day
- Year 10 : 90 to 250 minutes per day
This may perhaps sound like a lot as we have already mentioned but you should take into consideration that coursework for GCSE examinations also play a large part in the amount of time spent on homework whilst in secondary school education.
Motivating My Child When It Comes to Homework
As many parents know trying to keep a child interested in something like homework especially when there are such things as video games, television shows and the Internet to distract them can be difficult. It is important to remember that your child has a limited attention span especially when the subject might not be something that particularly grabs their attention.
With this in mind it is reasonable to allow them to take breaks if they are struggling and also to spend time alongside them trying to offer guidance and support where possible.
If you are in any doubt as to the amount of homework your child has then you should contact their form teacher or head teacher and ask as to how much homework is being allocated during the course of a week; this is not an infringement on their ability to learn but simply a helping hand at a time in their life when it is needed most.
She had a term in secondary school in England and had about at least 5 pieces of homework a week.
Why is there such a big difference between English and the welsh system.
My son has no homework at his primary school in Wales. In England he had English and maths homework once a week.
A concerned parent
My son gets very little home work in year 10 and what he does get he completes at school in about 15 mins at lunch time now and again.
He has his own study plan and works through key subject areas to advance his knowledge. I as his parent discuss challenging areas and focus on areas of complexity so he is ahead of the game. Exams aren’t until year 11 so there is no exam pressure, zero stress and success is measured by feeling at ease and learning how to study and enjoy understanding the concepts.
In year 11 I’m aiming to reduce study time around exam time as the learning has happened over a 2 year period and feeling stressed can cause a mind blank under exam conditions. This is a dangerous strategy to take people.
If you learn foundation, knowledge sticks.
Learn early and chill
I still have to do homework. I've had to stop three out of school clubs and am unable to join any after school ones. Yet my teachers still (metaphorically) bite my head off if I tell them I'm struggling. I've only just joined secondary school and they are already stressing me out. I'm also practically falling asleep in class because of it all, I'm awful in mornings when i am tired so am often late to school. I've so far avoided detentions but I can see my teachers getting frustrated.
Half of the homework seems pointless, time consuming, and frustrating such as finishing work that was too long to be done in an hour. Most of these consist of essays that force you to regurgitate information and never actually learn anything.
If they receive 4 hours plus of homework per day, then their day will consist of: School
Dinner
Homework
Shower (no time for a bath)
Bed
I really don't see how that can be restructured, other than having dinner during or after homework.
4 hours of homework per day is completely unacceptable and the likely cause is substandard teaching. 1.5 hours maximum is more than enough.
I also find it surprising that Admin are advising kids to give up extra-curricular activities, in order to do excessive amounts of homework. Would they be happy working from 9am - 10pm, 5 days a week, with no doubt more to do at the weekend?
There has to be a balance, with time for kids to relax and unwind, otherwise they will become extremely stressed. They are still children and that should not be forgotten.
we get 50 to 60 mins to do homwork at the end of the school day because we finish school at 5.00 o'clock.
we get 70% of this amount taken away 2 weeks before the christmas and end of year exams because we are expected to do 45 mins of revison and night ( 120 mins of revision on the weekend).
The anount of homwork was about 2 hours less a week last year and 20% less revison.
Year 10 and will have 1 hour more homwork and 100 mins of revision every week and 200 mins a week before exam week.I don't know about year 11 but I think it's manly revision.
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