Homework Guidance

As a parent or carer, you can play a vital role in your child’s education, including homework.

You can help by encouraging, discussing ideas and by ensuring your child has a good working space at home.

Reading is so important: it could be fiction, non-fiction, magazines, websites – anything! Reading to your child is really valuable for all children, so even a bedtime story counts!

Reading aloud with an adult is important throughout the primary years. Even if your child is a fluent reader, having a discussion about the story (for example, the characters’ personalities and actions, the ‘wow words’ used by the author, making predictions, answering a range of questions about their reading) is a valuable way to develop reading skills. Please encourage your child to read daily and nurture their love of books.

Times Tables

Practising times tables is extremely important as the times tables facts should be known by the end of Year4.

They need to be able to 'Rapidly recall' within around 5 seconds - they should not have to count through the tables facts to get there! They need to be able to say the answer to a multiplication or division question (up to 12x12), for example, 7×8=56 and therefore also 56÷7=8 and 56÷8=7.

Table practice takes place daily, where possible, in school. Daily practise at home for a short while is more effective than last-minute ‘cramming’.

Please see additional support on the 'Times Tables at Home' page.