Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions we hear most often. Most link to a fuller article if you want the whole method.
How long should homework take in primary school?
There is no national rule in England; each school sets its own homework policy. Many primary schools expect daily reading of about 10 to 20 minutes plus one or two short tasks a week, such as spellings or times tables. If homework regularly takes much longer than the school intends, or ends in tears most evenings, tell the class teacher. Our guide to a homework routine that lasts shows how to keep the time short and predictable.
Should I help with homework or leave my child to it?
Help with getting started and with organisation, then step back. Sit nearby, read the task together and ask questions rather than giving answers: "What does the question want?" "What did you try first?" Doing the work for them, or correcting every mistake before it goes in, hides from the teacher what your child can and cannot do yet.
My child keeps putting off homework. What can I do?
Find out what the avoidance is about: a task that feels too big or too hard, boredom, tiredness, or worry about getting it wrong. Then make the first step tiny and agree a fixed time and place so homework is not a nightly negotiation. See a child who keeps putting off homework.
How can I help my child learn times tables?
Ten minutes a day, one or two tables at a time, always mixing in earlier ones. Say the facts, write them and answer them out of order. In England, children are expected to know facts up to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4, when they take the multiplication tables check. Our weekly times tables plan sets out a schedule.
Why does my child's maths look so different from how I learned it?
Mostly the vocabulary has changed: "carrying" and "borrowing" are now "exchanging". Schools also tend to use drawings and practical equipment before the formal layout, so children understand why a method works. The formal methods themselves are much the same as many adults remember. See column methods for parents.
How should we practise weekly spellings?
Spread the practice across the week instead of cramming the night before. A few minutes most days using look, say, cover, write, check, plus a moment spotting what the words have in common, works for most children. Learning spellings at home has a four-day plan.
What are the KS2 SATs, and can my child fail them?
They are national tests taken in May of Year 6 in England, in English reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling, and maths. Results are scaled scores from 80 to 120, and 100 or more means the expected standard was met. Children cannot fail a year because of them, and they do not decide which secondary school a child attends. See revising for SATs without stress.
What is the best way to revise for secondary school exams?
Test yourself rather than reread. Answering questions from memory, using flashcards, or writing down everything you know before checking your notes is far more effective than highlighting. Spread each topic over several sessions with gaps in between. Our articles on retrieval practice and revision timetables show how to plan it.
How should past papers be used?
Start with single questions on topics you have revised, then move to full timed papers nearer the exams. Mark strictly with the mark scheme, note every lost mark and why it was lost, and use the pattern to decide what to revise next. See using past papers properly.
My child gets very anxious before tests. How can I help?
Find out exactly what is worrying them, keep routines normal, and make sure they sleep and eat. Practising in calm, low-stakes ways makes the real test feel familiar, and a simple breathing exercise practised in advance can help in the moment. If anxiety is severe or affects daily life, speak to the school or your GP. Helping a child cope with exam nerves has more.
Are online games and printable worksheets actually useful?
They can be, for short, regular practice of something already taught. Games and quizzes are a form of retrieval practice, and many children will happily do ten minutes of a game where a page of sums would cause a row. Worksheets suit written methods and handwriting. Neither replaces reading, talking about learning or the work set by school. Our free materials page has plans and checklists to copy.