The Finding Common Ground project brings up all kinds of interesting conversations with families:
Foster parent: "I don't get X to do homework - school is hard enough for him already - home needs to be a safe space"
Parent of a child with educational needs: "When he comes home he just explodes - he has been masking all day - homework is just not going to happen"
Numerous families: It is a "daily battle" to get any homework done. The tension causes real difficulties within the family - "we can't go on like this".
Parent of child with EBSA (Emotionally-Based School Avoidance): Children with EBSA or high school anxiety are being put in detention for not doing homework - in the name of "consistency".
But homework is important .... The Education Endowment Foundqtion (EEF) is very clear that homework is a low cost high impact strategy for improving attainment (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/homework). There are lots of debates about the best form of homework, but overall the education profession are in favour of homework. Why wouldn't we be - it improves student progress!
There is a tension here.... Parents and carers want the best for their child, but they live 24/7 with the balance between wellbeing of the individual and the whole family and the academic progress of the young person concerned.
So what should a parent ask for and what should a school do? This is about an open and honest conversation between school, family and young person. It is also about the "power of pilots" - the strategy of a short-term change and then the review of impact, If homework is serious issue for the family, in terms of individual or family wellbeing, then being open with the school about the issue is a first step. Amending homework requirements is a "reasonable adjustment" for a student with educational needs, but, even if such needs have not been identified it is a "no-brainer" for the school to reduce or remove homework for a few weeks and, with the family, to review impact. What is the loss in progress, what is the improvement in wellbeing?
So... We all know that homework is a "good thing"; we know that independent study is a vital life-skill; we also know that parents and carers often tread a difficult line with individual mental health and wellbeing. Temporary amendments to homework requirements are a clear and obvious way to support individuals and families. Why is this commonsense approach so rare?
James Harris
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