We hope that homework is seen as a co-operative enterprise between home and school. A crucial role can be played by parents in supporting, monitoring and actively encouraging their children, especially in the early years.

It is not possible to say exactly how long pupils should be spending on homework, but set out below are very rough guidelines.

Infants: 10-15 minutes per night e.g. simple reading activities.

Primary: 20-30 minutes per night e.g. reading, follow-up tasks, practice

Homework is an essential part of your work. It helps you to make sure that you have learned what have done during a lesson and to prepare you for work to come. It should also help you to work independently at research and planning.  Not all teachers set written work or reading; observation, making, collecting, research, preparation, learning, even thinking are all homework activities. Other activities are: preparing a talk, watching television programmes and reporting on them, or gathering newspaper articles.

Always write down the homework set. Do not put homework off; it will only cause problems. Always do your homework to the best possible standard. Ask your teacher for help if you are having difficulty, or explain why you could not do it. Ask your parents to look at your work and tell them about it. Above all, do not try and avoid homework or try to deceive your teacher. In the end, this will only waste time for yourself and others.

Revised Nov. 2012.