is homework gonna get banned in ireland

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President of Ireland calls on schools to stop giving pupils homework

Children should be able to use time at home ‘for other creative things’, says michael d higgins, article bookmarked.

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Schools should strive not to give pupils homework where possible, the president of Ireland has suggested.

In an utterance likely to be seized upon by children for years to come, in classrooms far beyond the shores of the Emerald Isle, Michael D Higgins argued that school should not extend beyond the final bell.

“Time in school … should get finished in school,” the president told pupils at a school in County Tipperary this week during a broadcast for RTE.

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President Michael D Higgins says homework should be banned in Ireland

The country’s favourite leader believes that school activities should end at the school gate and students should be encouraged to engage in more creative pursuits

• 10:39, 21 JAN 2023

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President Michael D Higgins has called for homework to be banned.

The country’s favourite leader has given hope to a new generation of students that the bane of their afterschool evenings could be scrapped. President Higgins argues that this would make time for young people to engage in more creative pursuits outside school hours.

The former Arts Minister believes that school activities should end at the school gate. He was speaking to RTE’s news2day current affairs and news programme for children on the occasion of the programme’s 20th birthday.

Read more: Children being 'corrupted' by drug dealing situation in Oliver Bond flats, Dail told

When asked what his opinion of homework President Higgins said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

To mark the show’s two decades on air, students from St Kevin’s National School, Littleton, County Tipperary put questions from RTÉ news2day viewers to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. In a wide-ranging interview, the children asked the President questions like, what was your favourite sport when you were in school?

When you were nine years old what did you want to be? And when did you decide you wanted to be President?

The students also asked the President about his dogs, his official trips abroad, his favourite subject in school, differences between now and when he was a child and his favourite book. The President also spoke to the children about his love of handball and the importance of friendship in their lives.

RTÉ news2day will broadcast some of the President’s interview as part of Friday afternoon’s birthday celebrations at 4.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ News channel and the full interview will be available later on Friday evening on the RTÉ Player. In a message to the children of Ireland and the viewers of RTÉ news2day, President Michael D. Higgins gave this advice: “To stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information.

“And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things... but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important. And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same.

“We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us.” President Higgins also encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

He encouraged them to speak Irish in a fun way and to feel free to use whatever bits of the language that they have.

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• President Higgins
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Norma Foley won't debate homework with President Michael Higgins after his call for it to be banned

Minister Foley finally broke her silence on the matter last night when she told the Irish Mirror that she was not going to get into it with the President.

• 06:00, 26 JAN 2023
• Updated 09:54, 26 JAN 2023

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Education Minister Norma Foley is refusing to debate the homework ban issue with Michael D Higgins after the President called for schoolwork outside of school hours to be scrapped.

Instead, she said it is up to schools to decide homework policy, which is at odds with the President’s call for schoolwork to be left at the school gate.

The controversial comments, made on RTE’s news2day children’s news programme, have had the country’s students, teachers and parents debating the issue since the remarks were made last Friday by the President.

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She said: “It would not be appropriate for a Government Minister to engage in public debate with the office of the President.

“Currently schools are free to have their own policy on homework and these policies are created in conjunction with senior management and staff, the boards of management, parents and the pupils.

“Schools are in of themselves places where creative pursuits are cultivated, nurtured and encouraged and that creativity may also be reflected in homework.”

Meanwhile, a Government Minister has said that it is “important” to include children in discussions about homework policies in schools.

It comes days after President Higgins’ call for homework to be banned at home and for all work to stay in the classroom.

Irish Mirror readers were also overwhelmingly in favour of banning homework, with 98% of our readers in favour.

In a landslide decision, 57,440 readers voted yes, while just 1,211 voted no.

In an interview with RTÉ’s news2day, President Higgins said that he believed that time at home should be spent doing more creative activities,

He said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things."

Minister Foley recently said that her Department does “not issue any guidelines relating to homework being given in schools.

“It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy”.

It followed a question from Fine Gael Minister of State Neale Richmond who asked if research has been carried out by her Department into the benefits of ending the provision of homework for primary school pupils.

He told the Irish Mirror that children should be involved in conversations about their schools homework policy.

Minister Richmond said: “I submitted the Parliamentary Question following a visit to one of my local primary schools.

“The pupils were genuinely interested in the policy relating to homework going forward and I agreed it’s an important discussion to involve pupils in.”

Minister Foley told her Government colleague that the Department of Education has not commissioned research on the matter.

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President Michael D Higgins calls for school homework to be scrapped

President Michael D Higgins stopped by St Kevin's National School in Tipperary where the pupils interviewed him about his dogs, his time in school and his view on homework

• 15:01, 21 JAN 2023

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President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has said he supports the scrapping of homework.

He addressed students of St Kevin's National School, Littleton, Co Tipperary, this week in an episode of RTE's news2day programme.

The President said that schoolwork should be completed in school time so children can use time after school to pursue more creative activities.

Read more: Ireland weather: Met Eireann pin point the end of the cold snap as temperatures skyrocket next week

“People should be able to use their time for other creative things,” he said.

"I think as much as possible that [homework] should happen in the school and I think it’s more relaxed than it used to be.”

He said that not all lessons are learned from books, but that the responsible use of phones is something that he hopes the younger generation will be acutely aware of.

The children of Ireland "have a great value of friendships" and this makes it even more tragic when there is an "abuse of phones for bullying", the President said.

The pupils were also curious about some of the other residents of Aras an Uachtaran - dogs Brod and Misneach.

"He's probably a very famous dog now," said President Higgins of Brod. "He will be 11 in February, which is a very good age for a Bernese Mountain dog and Bród is wonderful.

"He came here at six weeks old, so he's lived all of his life at the Áras..

As for Misneach, he said: "He came during Covid and because I couldn't collect him because of the ban on inter-county travel, he didn't come to me until he was five months old.

"He also didn't have a good journey here, so he's actually shy. He's a beautiful dog."

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• Most Recent

The President Of Ireland Wants To Get Rid Of Homework & Honestly, He's Onto Something

“The time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school.”

Do you know who doesn’t like homework? Kids — and certain presidents. In an impassioned plea to the people of his nation, President Michael D. Higgins has called for a ban on homework across Ireland. And if small children were given the right to vote tomorrow, I feel fairly certain I know whose name they would be supporting on the ballot.

Higgins, who is himself a former Arts Minister of Ireland and therefore, in my opinion, knows a little about the subject, spoke to Ireland’s news program for kids RTE’s news2day at St. Kevin’s School in Tipperary about a number of subjects. What he wanted to be when he was a kid himself. What was his favorite sport in school, which he said was handball. When did he decide he wanted to be president. And then, the mutual bane of their existence — homework.

“I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things,” Higgins told his interviewers, four children hanging on his every word.

While it remains unclear if Higgins has begun any official paperwork to ban homework, which would ironically be homework for him, his sentiment resonated with his many fans. Children and social media users alike in fact. One person tweeted their appreciation of the fact that Higgins was “running his nation like the little Hobbit he is.”

Another social media user wondered if Higgins was really a “forest sprite.”

This social media user found the idea inspiring , writing, “We need a national conversation on how to bring more play, creativity, imagination, movement and positive experiences into our children’s lives. Banning homework would be a great first step.”

Higgins ended his interview with a message to children about the importance of fostering their friendships and telling them to “stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information. And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things... but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important.”

I think he’s on to something.

• Data tracker

Students and parents plead case for homework ban

School children and parents pleaded with the Minister for Education Norma Foley to step in and introduce a homework ban.

In letters to the minister, kids wrote about how they were being forced to give up hobbies because they were given so much work to do after school.

The correspondence followed comments by President Michael D Higgins in January that a ban on homework should be considered.

In one letter, a school child wrote about how seven hours of school each day was “plenty of education” and that more work on top was unnecessary.

“I do not ask for homework to be completely banned but for it to be reduced to a certain limit. Otherwise, if there is a constant build-up of homework daily, it can cause stress and even a lack of exercise which will affect a person’s well-being.”

Another said they felt homework was a “waste of time” and that a ban should be introduced.

They wrote: “Kids should be doing more creative things with their time after school. Many kids have had to stop doing hobbies they have because of it.

“It is a burden to parents, kids, and teachers [and] so for the above reasons, I think you should BAN HOMEWORK!”

Homework annoys teachers

One hand-written letter, decorated with a Minnie Mouse bow, said homework was “annoying for teachers and pupils”.

“I play soccer and love writing stories, but because of homework, I have no time for doing these things. For teachers, it gives them more copies to correct and they have to go through the trouble of deciding what [homework] to give.”

A secondary school student said that if “sleeping isn’t for school” then “work isn’t for home”.

They explained how they did between one and two hours of homework every evening after school and sometimes more.

“When I would finish, there would be barely any time for me to relax before I had to go to bed to get enough sleep to get up in the morning,” said their letter.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, our president Michael D Higgins also thinks that homework should be banned so if you don’t want to listen to me, listen to our President.”

Another suggested there could at least be a compromise so that students would not be given homework for over the weekend.

“[This would relieve] students of mental stress,” they said.

Help parents

One young student said they were left with no time to help their parents, or to learn how to cook or do other activities around the house.

They said: “We all do activities like swimming, dance, and all other sports. It’s hard work and it’s stressful and it’s unfair.”

A single parent also wrote in to explain how one of their children was getting two hours of written homework every day.

They said: “We need time to teach them life skills such as sewing, cooking, how to work the washing machine, change their own bed sheets and personal care.

“These teachings are very hard for parents with zero [time] left in the evenings. There is no time for them to spend with siblings and parents because they are so tired.”

In responses, the Department of Education told the letter writers that homework policy was not within its powers.

In emails, they said: “The Department does not issue direct guidelines relating to homework being given in schools. It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy.

“In keeping with good practice, the process of drafting a homework policy should involve consultation with teachers, parents, and students.

“However, the Department does acknowledge that homework can play an important part in helping pupils prepare for forthcoming class work and in reinforcing work already covered during class time.”

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President of Ireland calls for homework to be banned

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. (Source: Getty)

The President of Ireland has made his thoughts known about homework, saying it should be left at the gate and children should be able to use their leisure time for "creative things".

Speaking to RTE’s news2day - a current affairs and news programme for children, Michael D Higgins answered questions on a wide range of topics, the Irish Mirror reports .

When pressed on his views about homework Higgins said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

Higgins, a former arts minister, told children “to stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information.

“And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things... but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important.

“And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same.

“We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us.”

Higgins also encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

While the role of president in Ireland is mainly a ceremonial one, it does have some sway over how the government operates.

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Banning homework: Taoiseach says schoolchildren get too much homework but doesn't call for ban

Varadkar said he'd have to speak to Minister for Education, Norma Foley, about the matter

• 15:07, 30 JAN 2023
• Updated 13:12, 20 JUL 2023

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he will talk to Minister for Education, Norma Foley, on the issue of getting rid of homework.

Varadkar on homework

While Varadkar didn't say he supported call to ban homework for schoolchildren, he did tell Newstalk that he felt some children get "too much" homework.

Asked about the homework debate today, Varadkar said he'd have to speak to Foley about it.

"We haven't had a chance to discuss it," he said.

Varadkar added that he "definitely" think kids have "too much homework".

"You could have a long day in class, get home in the early evening and then face three hours of homework.

"I remember that when I was a kid, staying up very late to do homework.

"I think there's definitely a place for homework but we need to make sure that there isn't too much of it."

The debate was sparked by President Michael D Higgins saying he was in favour of getting rid of homework.

Support for banning homework

Speaking on RTÉ last week, Higgins argued that getting rid of homework would allow young people more time to engage in creative pursuits outside of school hours.

The president was asked for his thoughts on homework and responded that he wasn't in favour of it.

"I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things."

When Varadkar was asked if he minded Higgins making a public comment on homework, the Taoiseach responded that the president's comments are "always welcome".

School policy on homework

Minister for Education, Norma Foley, has said she won't debate the homework ban issue with President Michael D Higgins.

A little over a week ago, Higgins told the nation's children that he was against schoolwork continuing beyond the school gates, in an address broadcast on RTÉ's news2day.

Foley said it was up to schools to decide on their homework policy.

She told The Irish Mirror that she wasn't going to get into it with the president.

"It would not be appropriate for a government minister to engage in public debate with the office of the president," she said.

"Currently schools are free to have their own policy on homework and these policies are created in conjunction with senior management and staff, the boards of management, parents and the pupils.

"Schools are in of themselves places where creative pursuits are cultivated, nurtured and encouraged and that creativity may also be reflected in homework."

In a recent poll, it was revealed that Irish Mirror readers were overwhelmingly in favour of banning homework, with 98 per cent of readers voting in favour of a ban.

In a landslide decision, 57,440 readers voted yes, while just 1,211 voted no.

Benefits of homework

Minister Foley recently said that her department doesn't "issue any guidelines relating to homework being given in schools.

"It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy".

It followed a question from Fine Gael's Neale Richmond who asked if research has been carried out by her department into the benefits of ending the provision of homework for primary school pupils.

He told The Irish Mirror that children should be involved in conversations about their schools homework policy.

Minister Richmond said: "I submitted the Parliamentary Question following a visit to one of my local primary schools.

"The pupils were genuinely interested in the policy relating to homework going forward and I agreed it's an important discussion to involve pupils in."

Foley told her government colleague that the Department of Education has not commissioned research on the matter.

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'Please enjoy' - Taoiseach cancels homework for all children in Ireland on March 24

Mary McFadden

23 Mar 2022 6:01 PM

Children in Ireland have been excused from homework tomorrow by Taoiseach Micheál Martin as part of National Confidence Day. 

The Taoiseach announced he had cancelled homework for one day in a special message sent to Ireland from Washington DC, and encouraged acts of kindness instead.  

He said, "I’ve been speaking to your teachers, and they’re happy to let you off your homework for one day. All you have to do is one kind deed instead of your homework. That could be looking out for a friend, looking after someone in your family, it’s up to you, you choose. So please enjoy." 

The message is part of a special show created by Starcamp called 'I BELIEVE IN ME', which will be shown in all classrooms across Ireland tomorrow (Thursday March 23). 

It was created in the wake of a Starcamp survey which found almost 50% of parents feel their children are less sociable since the introduction of restrictions, with 43% experiencing new anxieties, fears or worries. 

The Taoiseach's message is one of several, including messages from Rory O'Connor from Rory's Stories, comic books artist Will Sliney and and magician Keith Barry. 

As part of his message, Mr Martin asked children to believe in themselves and their abilities and thanked them for all their hard work.

He said, "There is so much more we can all achieve if we believe in ourselves more and I’m asking you to believe in yourself today and every day." 

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President Michael D Higgins says homework should be banned in Ireland

President Michael D Higgins has called for homework to be banned.

The country’s favourite leader has given hope to a new generation of students that the bane of their afterschool evenings could be scrapped. President Higgins argues that this would make time for young people to engage in more creative pursuits outside school hours.

The former Arts Minister believes that school activities should end at the school gate. He was speaking to RTE’s news2day current affairs and news programme for children on the occasion of the programme’s 20th birthday.

Read more: Children being 'corrupted' by drug dealing situation in Oliver Bond flats, Dail told

When asked what his opinion of homework President Higgins said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

To mark the show’s two decades on air, students from St Kevin’s National School, Littleton, County Tipperary put questions from RTÉ news2day viewers to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. In a wide-ranging interview, the children asked the President questions like, what was your favourite sport when you were in school?

When you were nine years old what did you want to be? And when did you decide you wanted to be President?

The students also asked the President about his dogs, his official trips abroad, his favourite subject in school, differences between now and when he was a child and his favourite book. The President also spoke to the children about his love of handball and the importance of friendship in their lives.

RTÉ news2day will broadcast some of the President’s interview as part of Friday afternoon’s birthday celebrations at 4.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ News channel and the full interview will be available later on Friday evening on the RTÉ Player. In a message to the children of Ireland and the viewers of RTÉ news2day, President Michael D. Higgins gave this advice: “To stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information.

“And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things... but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important. And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same.

“We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us.” President Higgins also encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

He encouraged them to speak Irish in a fun way and to feel free to use whatever bits of the language that they have.

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Schoolchildren and parents urge minister to introduce homework ban

The Department of Education told the letter writers that homework policy was not within its powers. File picture: PA

Schoolchildren and parents have pleaded with Education Minister Norma Foley to step in and introduce a homework ban.

In letters to the minister, children wrote about how they were being forced to give up hobbies because they were given so much work to do after school.

The correspondence followed comments by President Michael D Higgins in January that a ban on homework should be considered.

In one letter, a child wrote about how seven hours of school each day was “plenty of education”.

“I do not ask for homework to be completely banned but for it to be reduced to a certain limit. 

Otherwise, if there is a constant build-up of homework daily, it can cause stress and even a lack of exercise which will affect a person’s well-being.

Another wrote: “Kids should be doing more creative things with their time after school. Many kids have had to stop doing hobbies because of it." 

One handwritten letter, decorated with a Minnie Mouse bow, said homework was “annoying for teachers and pupils”.

“I play soccer and love writing stories, but because of homework, I have no time for doing these things. For teachers, it gives them more copies to correct and they have to go through the trouble of deciding what homework to give.” 

A secondary school student said that if “sleeping isn’t for school” then “work isn’t for home”.

“When I would finish homework, there would be barely any time for me to relax before I had to go to bed to get enough sleep to get up in the morning,” said their letter.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, our president Michael D Higgins also thinks that homework should be banned so if you don’t want to listen to me, listen to our President.” 

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A single parent also wrote in to explain how one of their children was getting two hours of written homework every day.

They said: “We need time to teach them life skills such as sewing, cooking, how to work the washing machine, change their own bed sheets, and personal care.

“These teachings are very hard for parents with zero time left in the evenings. There is no time for them to spend with siblings and parents because they are so tired.” 

Department response

In response, the Department of Education told the letter writers that homework policy was not within its powers.

In emails, the department said: "It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy.

“In keeping with good practice, the process of drafting a homework policy should involve consultation with teachers, parents, and students.

“However, the department does acknowledge that homework can play an important part in helping pupils prepare for forthcoming class work and in reinforcing work already covered during class time.”

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Poll: Should homework be banned at primary school level?

THE GREEN PARTY’S election manifesto was launched at the weekend, and one of its standout points was a proposal to phase out homework for primary school pupils.

Some academics have argued that there is no evidence to support the benefits of giving young children homework, and others have suggested that it may even be detrimental to their development.

The move was previously explored by an Oireachtas committee, while at least one Irish school has already stopped giving homework to primary school pupils.

Poll Results:

• I don't know/No opinion

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Afternoon angst: is homework really necessary?

Forcing primary school children to do set homework does not improve academic outcomes and causes stress to both children and their parents, say educators.

US analysis of research found that, for children aged under 11, there was no link between homework and improved academic achievement. Photograph: iStock

It’s hard to know who hates homework more: teachers who have to set and correct it, children who have to do it or parents who struggle to make sure it’s done.

Yet, most persevere, with the belief it’s a necessary and beneficial part of schooling. Or is it?

The current system of primary school homework in Ireland is a "scandal", according to one Dublin teacher who has studied the effectiveness of home assignments.

It is failing children, teachers and parents "and you could say it is failing the country", says Martin Stuart, a teacher who specialises in learning support at Talbot Senior National School in Clondalkin, Dublin. "Kids are not enjoying the learning and they are more stressed than they should be."

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After reviewing international research for a post-graduate diploma at DCU, Stuart led a revamp of his school’s homework policy through consultation with other teachers, special needs assistants, pupils and parents. Schools are free to devise their own approach to homework and while they are not obliged to have a published policy on the matter, the Department of Education says having one and reviewing it regularly would be considered best practice.

“It is not teachers’ fault that homework is the way it is at the moment,” says Stuart. He blames the department for its lack of guidance for teachers and support for parents.

“This scandal includes the department’s apparent indifference to overwhelming research that homework has zero effect on achievement for under 11s,” he says.

Reference to such research is included in a new study commissioned by the National Parents Council Primary (NPC). Entitled "Parental Involvement, Engagement and Partnership in their Children's Education during the Primary School Years", some of its findings will be presented at the NPC's annual conference in Dublin this Saturday, June 8th.

Academic achievement

One US analysis of research found that, for children aged under 11, there was no link between homework and improved academic achievement. Another study pinpointed how positive outcomes for homework depended on its appropriateness and suitability for the child, as well as clarity of content and purpose.

The literature on homework suggests the key to academic success does not rely on the amount of homework but rather on how students engage on homework

"The literature on homework suggests the key to academic success does not rely on the amount of homework but rather on how students engage on homework," comment the authors of the Irish study, which was funded by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

This is not the first time the parents’ council has tried to kickstart debate around homework. It conducted an online survey of more than 5,000 parents in 2016, the results of which illustrated the extent of homework angst in Irish homes.

Some 58 per cent of parents of children in the four to seven age group said doing school assignments at home caused the children stress some or all of the time. That rose to 65 per cent among parents of older primary-school children. Almost one-third of parents (31 per cent) said homework caused grief for the whole family.

Three years on, the NCP's chief executive, Áine Lynch, hopes that with this new research in an Irish context by a team at the Marino Institute of Education, "we have a sense now of where we need to go".  "We know from all the research that the home-learning environment is really, really important for children in terms of their outcomes," she says. "When we look at the attitudes towards homework, we are almost setting up the home-learning environment to be one that is negative."

The notion of just abolishing homework for younger children is gathering popular support. But the parents’ council believes that if homework is used properly to link home and school learning, it can have a very positive impact on children.

“They will see that their home and school is connected and they will see that the important adults in their lives are connected.”

Stuart is not in favour either of scrapping homework for under 11s. Rather, he sees great potential if schools would only change their approach.

“If you give kids choice, they can excel and they want to excel. Then they are very proud of themselves and they love showing off and they love learning.

“But if you give everybody the same homework, and aim for the middle of the class, then you are going to have many kids who are becoming discouraged, so that is demolishing their natural love of learning.”

Reduce stress

That’s why “enjoyment” is an explicit aim of his school’s new homework policy, which was ratified by the board of management last October. It is intended to reduce stress and increase the level of learning among the approximately 300 pupils.

“Instead of guidelines for how long homework should take – as teachers always underestimate that – we have introduced time limits,” explains Stuart, who will speak at the NPC conference. “So, children and parents are free to stop after 30-40 minutes in 3rd and 4th class and after 40-50 minutes in 5th and 6th class.”

The question of providing choice is up to each individual teacher in the school’s 14 classes, ranging from 3rd class to 6th class. While some teachers offer options, others don’t yet.

"It's the number one thing kids want," says Stuart, who has set up a website (effectiveforall.blogspot.com) to share his findings and ideas.

Homework choice can come in the level of challenge and/or in the content. Or it may be in the way students demonstrates their learning. For example, some are creating YouTube videos, such as an “eye witness” report from the French Revolution.

“Nobody told them to do that, or suggested it,” says Stuart. “They are having fun, really getting into it and learning lots.”

The role of parents in effective homework is to be a sounding board for their children, he says.

“They are not meant to be teachers and they shouldn’t be expected to police homework. But what would be beneficial, and this is proven, is asking questions that help children clarify and summarise what they learned, such as ‘What did you learn in maths? Tell me. Show me’.”

The Clondalkin school is in the process of consulting parents for a review of the new policy one year on but Stuart can report that “there have been very few parents coming in during the year complaining about homework”.

Martin Stuart with pupils at Talbot Senior National School in Clondalkin, Dublin. Photograph: Tom Honan for The Irish Times.

All the indications from pupils’ feedback so far is that the attitude to homework is improving.

“We have found enjoyment is up, but not enough, and stress is down, but not enough,” he says. “The kids like the content more, which is great, but still not enough. We still have lots to do.”

To improve matters, you need to ask the right questions of children and really listen to what they’re saying.

Kids are crying out for more exercise homework and art homework – fun activity that also boosts learning

“Kids are crying out for more exercise homework and art homework – fun activity that also boosts learning.”

Stuart believes that questioning of the traditional approach to homework offers a huge opportunity. If Minister for Education Joe McHugh wants to be “a hero”, it wouldn’t take much for his department to produce guidelines, he suggests.

“There are already research-based guidelines out there but Ireland doesn’t have any so teachers aren’t taught them. Teachers do what is traditional to them and, unless you’re taught something better, it just continues as is.”

What teachers need, he continues, is a summary of research and guidelines on how to do homework; exemplars on what is and isn’t good; a menu of ideas for various class levels and subjects and a way to assess what the pupil has done.

The department’s inspectors, he contends, never ask about homework because, in the absence of any guidelines to follow, they are not required to.

A word-search on the 10 most recent whole-school evaluation reports of primary schools on the department’s website shows that nine had no mention of homework, while one suggested a school needed to get more feedback from parents on issues such as homework.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education confirms there are no department circulars or guidelines regarding homework for primary school pupils. “While inspectors might talk to teachers and pupils about homework, the evaluation of the implementation of homework policies and practices is not an integral part of the inspector’s evaluation process.”

Currently, he adds, there are no plans to formulate guidelines/policy on homework in primary schools.

Stuart believes that in years to come, Ireland will have official homework guidelines. So why not now?

“I want children to experience the love of learning; to experience success and not discouragement. To have homework that is enjoyable and not stressful,” he adds. “It wouldn’t take much.”

Lynch echoes Stuart’s comments on the need to pool ideas for more creative homework, rather than leaving it up to individual teachers.

“You go into schools and there are many, many examples of teachers doing really good things, but they’re just in that class,” she says.

“We spend a huge amount of time and resources on developing the curriculum in school yet we know from the research that up until between ages seven and nine, what happens in the home has more of an impact on the learning outcome for children than what happens in school and we don’t spend any time on how to support teachers to support this link.”

Home-learning curriculum

The NPC would like to see development of a home-learning curriculum, with more creative learning linked to the home rather than just doing more of the same from the classroom. To devise homework that draws on the many learning opportunities outside school.

“Some of the things that are already happening in families, when they are done with intention, are really good teaching opportunities,” Lynch says. “The thing is the teachers are not being supported to find those opportunities and the parents are too busy to notice them.”

For example, asking the child to teach the parent something they learned in school that day. “If they teach it, the learning is ingrained.”

Lynch also reminds parents they can have a say in schools’ homework policies through their parents’ association (PA), which should be meeting the principal regularly. She would like to see PAs putting it on the agenda for discussion in the wake of the conference.

After all, it’s in everybody’s interest if homework can become much more about the “buzz” of learning, rather than a dreaded weekday drudge.

The NPC's education conference "Tomorrow's World: Parents supporting children's futures" takes place at the National College of Ireland, Dublin 1, this Saturday, June 8th, 10.30am-4pm. All parents of primary-school children are welcome to attend and admission is free. See npc.ie to register

Tears and meltdowns: parents’ homework stories

Hilary Lawrence never found it easy to get her eldest child to do maths homework and they would often end up in an hour-long stand-off in the kitchen, with her pleading with the six-year-old to "just do it, why are we still here, why aren't you just doing it . . ."

After a particularly bad evening, when both had been crying "I can't do this anymore", she mentioned it to her daughter's teacher at the Educate Together School in Carrigaline, Co Cork. The teacher was shocked and said this was never the intention and if her daughter wouldn't do it after 10 minutes, she should just stop and report back.

Lawrence can laugh at the memory now as she explains this was a turning point for her adopting a more relaxed attitude to the completion of homework by her two children, now aged nine and 11. She tries to avoid having any arguments over it now.

“Generally, they are very good. They’ll come home, take a break and then do homework.” But if there are days where they’re very tired and cranky and it’s becoming a battle, Lawrence will tell them they needn’t do it but suggests they do something else, such as reading, writing a story or drawing pictures about something they are particularly interested in.

She will then write a note to say homework wasn’t completed and to explain what was done instead. “They are happy enough about that because it’s not happening every day.”

Teachers have always explained “homework is a revision thing”, she says, “so obviously it’s not vital to the future of their education that they do their homework. But when they get to secondary school it won’t be revision, it will be part of the learning process. So, I think the important thing is that they learn the responsibility of coming home and having to do it.”

She recognises there are issues with the current nature of homework, which is why she is flexible about it, but she still values it as a way of showing children the importance of independent learning and how nobody can do it for you.

Meanwhile for Miriam Meredith, the mother of four children aged 20, 10, nine and four, issues over homework was one of the reasons she took her two middle children out of school to educate them at home in Co Laois.

Matters came to a head for her second youngest child, who has a diagnosis of ASD and ADHD, while he was in second class. He was doing fine academically at school but he would really struggle with homework that involved things like putting words into sentences, or comprehension.

“It could take him over two hours to do homework,” says Meredith. She explained this to staff at the school who all said that wasn’t right but she felt nothing was being done in the long-term to sort the situation.

Although she gave her son movement breaks every 10-15 minutes, as he would get at school, he was still having meltdowns over homework, which was taking up all afternoon and meant he couldn’t go out and play with friends. He would be shouting in frustration that he didn’t want to do the work and asking why he had to do it.

“It was really out of character for him,” she says. It got to a point last June where she felt neither of the children was happy at school and that “life was too short for this”.

Considering the grief homework was causing, Meredith’s decision to home-school her children might sound counter-intuitive but she reports her son “has come on so much” over the last year. “I get things that would capture his imagination.”

When he was in school, he had an aversion to reading but now he really wants to learn. “A lot of the books that were sent home he had no interest in.”

Children need time running around, she adds, “exploring and figuring things out in a natural setting”.

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