Helping With Homework: How to Support Your Child Without Taking Over

Homework tasks can offer great insights into what a child is learning at school, but they can also be daunting when they come to us for help. As a parent or guardian, you want to help, but you also want to ensure the student knows how to help themselves.

Why homework exists

The purpose of homework is to reinforce what has been taught at school. Start with this thought in mind and use it to regulate your interactions with your child in this area. Homework should be a constructive builder on content or skills taught in the classroom. Sometimes a task may seem random, but it supports your child in seeing its class-based roots and linking it to their general learning. Where this is not clear, ask the teacher for guidance.

Research shows that homework is particularly effective for older students — generally senior school upwards — but less so with younger students, where the relationship between attainment and homework has been found to be tenuous. Homework can cause friction between guardians and students at any age, so this is where you, as a parent or guardian, really need to minimise that tension.

Beyond subject content, homework can develop a range of broader skills — independence and organisation among them.

Set the environment

There should be a suitable workspace or area for homework at home. Preferably a space that can be organised by the student, quiet, and accessible to others if monitoring is required. Shared workspaces work well in this regard, as that space becomes a focus zone.

Homework spaces should not be afterthoughts if students are to be efficient. Not all families have these spaces available — a library can be a suitable alternative.

Enlist other students to help

At some stage, every parent will have that moment when they simply don't follow a piece of issued homework and are of no support to the child. It is fine to leave tasks blank — homework is not designed to test you, but to support student learning.

In these cases, ask the student to review their classwork or speak to a peer in the same class, or an older sibling. This should help confirm that the set homework is appropriate even if challenging. Monitor this strategy, as a call or visit to a friend can quickly become unwieldy.

Encourage students to attend homework clubs — these are supervised and safe spaces for peer-to-peer consultation. If homework can be completed before coming home, even better.

Don't just Google or ChatGPT it

Train your child to make the most of research when stuck. Too often, research just means asking Google or an AI chatbot. This is insufficient and does not build problem-solving capacity. There are bespoke homework help websites; many have short videos or quizzes to support learning — Khan Academy is a popular and well-organised example. Remember, homework is about learning, not just producing an answer.

Ask other adults for help

Occasionally, the support of another adult may be required. Prompt the student to ask the teacher for support — if this is the case, it should be done in advance of the task due date.

Adult supervision may simply be to keep the student on track and support them in planning out and reflecting on tasks if you are not available. An older sibling or trusted relative would suffice in many cases.

Where a course is genuinely challenging, specialist tutoring — online or face to face — or small group tuition is an option. These can be costly and may lead to reliance on an adult, which defeats one of the primary purposes of homework: building independence. Use with care.

Attend homework workshops

Home learning through homework is especially valuable in senior school. Most schools will arrange parental workshops to give tips and access to homework support. Some schools use apps or software that can send reminders and resources directly to you or your child. Make time to attend these and request a refresher when needed. If these are not offered at all, suggest they are.

Still struggling?

If you have tried the above and are still struggling to get your child to complete homework, consult the school or teacher. There are several possible reasons:

• Is your child too distracted in class?
• Does your child lack specific organising skills?
• Is the set homework of poor quality or unclear?
• Is this a flag that your child is not meeting age-expected standards?
• Could there be a learning or behavioural challenge that needs assessment?

These questions should form the basis of your engagement with the teacher and school to ensure you get your child back on track.

Reflect

• Do you know the homework expectations of your child's school — for example, the expected number of hours per subject per day?
• Do you need upskilling to support your child appropriately when it comes to homework?
• Are you willing or available to be part of a school homework club run by parents and guardians to facilitate peer-to-peer support?