Should The Homework Guidelines Be Scrapped?

Michael Gove Scraps Government Homework Guidelines

On 4th March 2012 the DfE announced that the guidelines for schools on setting homework that were introduced by the last Labour administration in 1998 are going to be scrapped.  As a result school heads will be given much greater discretion in the amounts of homework that they set. Education officials believe that head teachers should be able to make decisions free from |“unnecessary bureaucratic guidance”.  Labour’s guidelines are based on the length of time that children should spend doing homework each week. The recommended levels of homework increase as the student gets older and rise from one  hour each week for 5 to 7 year olds to 2.5 hours per night for 16 year olds.

Responses to the announcement have been mixed. According to the Telegraph opposition to the guidelines has been growing for some time and has been |“fuelled by an anti-homework movement in the United States and research questioning the efficacy of such assignments, particularly in primary schools”.  The campaign in this country has been spearheaded by television presenter Kirsty Allsop who welcomed the news by saying |“Getting rid of the guidelines might free up teachers to think a bit more creatively about it”.  Frittenden Church of England Primary, in Kent, has replaced homework with an optional weekly 45-minute homework club. Head teacher Elizabeth Bradshaw said: |“We had feedback from parents, or notes to the teachers, saying ‘my child is very worried that they haven’t completed it on time’, or the child would come in to the classroom in tears because they had left it in the car. We simply wanted to remove that stress and focus on the learning for that week in a homework club where it is done, marked, and informs the learning of the next week.”

Among those expressing concern at the announcement are Chris McGovern who is a former head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education who warns that the DfE’s decision is sending the |“wrong message” to schools. He went on to say |“The danger is that schools will use this as an excuse to dilute the amount of homework. Middle-class children will do their homework anyway. Guidance for children who are coming from more deprived backgrounds is probably more important.”

Should The Guidelines Be Scrapped?

In our experience both sides have valid arguments to a certain extent. As things currently stand there is a wide disparity between schools in the quantities and quality of homework being set. Some schools are expecting students to carry out tasks that are either of low quality or simply way above the child’s ability levels. For example, we know of one High School student whose sole homework for the week was set by her English teacher and required her to count the number of adverts shown during children’s television. Another of our students, a Primary School child who could barely read, was expected to independently carry out research on the Internet. Conversely, we have spoken to one parent whose daughter was being set homework that was too easy for her. Yet another student spent a great deal of time and effort on a creative writing task only for the teacher to give it nothing more than a cursory glance thus discouraging him from putting a similar level of effort into future pieces of work.  We are also aware that a number of schools who set homework policies in line with the guidelines fail to abide by their own policies.

It is understandable therefore, that some responsible parents who do try and support their children in their efforts to complete homework on time believe that homework in general and for Primary School students in particular, is a waste of time. We can also understand why it is causing friction within the home. It is our opinion however, that scrapping the guidelines completely and giving schools full autonomy will do nothing to rectify the currrent problems with regard to homework. Those schools that are already providing homework which is both age and ability appropriate will continue to do so. They will set good quality tasks whenever necessary and mark them fully as well as use them effectively as part of the overall learning process. Those schools that have a poor track record with regard to homework will see no reason to change and there will be no incentive for them to improve homework standards.

What Is The Answer?

The first thing to consider is that if the standards of homework in America are similar to those in England then any studies that throw doubts on its efficacies will be flawed. Secondly, good quality homework that is set for the right reasons ie; in order to further the student’s education can be an effective learning tool. This will be particularly true if targeted appropriately according to age and ability and marked properly. Finally, setting small amounts of homework from an early age will help to encourage positive study habits in preparation for the various exams a student will encounter during their school career. Our recommendations are as follows:

1. All homework must be ability and/or age appropriate. School lessons are differentiated according to ability levels within the class and it is only logical that similar considerations should be made when setting homework.
2. Attendance of homework clubs should be compulsory for all students who are inconsistent in their completion of homework. This may apply to students from deprived backgrounds whose chaotic home-life can hinder their ability to complete homework effectively or whose parents lack the skills to support them in their studies. It may equally apply to split parent families where the child divides their time between both parents’ homes during the week which makes a homework routine difficult to manage. It should also be made possible for parents who are experiencing problems to approach the school and enrol their child in the homework club voluntarily.
3. Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment at Buckingham University, said: |“I’m all in favour of trusting schools but I hope that Ofsted will check that appropriate amounts of homework are being set.  We agree with his viewpoint to a limited degree. We believe that homework should be overseen by Ofsted as part of the school inspection process and be used to assess the overall standard of schools. However, homework guidelines, as we have already highlighted, should not be based upon the time taken to complete it.  For instance, if the same piece of work is given to two different children at opposite ends of the ability spectrum then the length of time taken will vary drastically.

By putting these measures in place we feel that all the issues raised by parents and those in authority can be addressed effectively. In addition, homework quality will be standardised in order to maximise its effectiveness as an educational tool whilst providing indiviual schools with the freedom to be creative in meeting the needs of their own students.