Homework: how can I help?

As soon as your child starts school, you’ll be hit by weekly and then daily doses of homework. Whether it's Key Stages or GCSEs, you may need a little help working out when it's best for you to help and when it's best to leave them to it...

When should I help?

It's important to help, but you can overdo it. In their younger years, schools want parents to work with children on their homework – answering their questions, explaining, but not actually doing it for them.

As they get older, they need to be more independent - but it helps if you know what they’re doing.

And remember, they need to feel that they can call on you for help.

• How dads affect their kids' educational success

Encouragement

You have huge power to build their confidence - a key element in learning. Specific praise focusing on particular aspects of homework can be more effective than general praise.

Comments like, "I like the way you have done this..." often work better than "Such a clever little sausage!"

The early years

Your child will probably start homework in Year one (age five-six), but you can help before then.

The most important thing is to read with your child for 20 minutes a day. This will boost their reading and promote an appreciation of books. Make it fun.

• Toddlers

How much homework should my child expect?

Government guidelines suggest:

• Years one and two: one hour per week
• Years three and four: one and a half hours per week
• Years five and six: 30 minutes per day
• Years seven and eight: 45 to 90 minutes per day
• Year nine: one to two hours per day
• Years 10 and 11: one and a half to two and a half hours per day
• School

It's best to make sure that your child does their homework in a quiet place (so not in front of the television) at a specific time each day.

If you don’t understand the homework then you should speak to your child's teacher, or buy a Key Stage study guide for the subject (ask the school which one).

Another option is to go a learning website such as BBC Revision, or Learn.co.uk

It's also worth looking into study support, that is a term which covers out-of-school hours learning schemes; it includes homework and study clubs, mentoring and accelerated learning.

• Supporting my child's education: what can I do?

Private tuition

Not all teachers are up to scratch, which might mean your child is losing out. Some parents, particularly those wanting their children to try out for selective secondary schools, employ a tutor once-a-week to fill in gaps.

The easiest way to find out what is available is to Google tutors and your home town.

What else can I do to help?

• keep reading with them even up until their teen years
• encourage younger children to observe surroundings – street signs, advertisements, nature, buildings
• use your local library
• visit museums, and even art galleries
• play board games with them as an alternative to television
• help them to do research on the computer... as soon enough, they'll will be helping you!
• Teaching your kids to use computers

Author

Gavin Evans is a father of two daughters - aged 17 and 13 - and lives in North London. 15 years ago he changed gear from being a full-time reporter to full-time parent and part-time journalist. His writing on issues affecting fathers has been published in a wide range of publications including The Guardian, The Independent, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan, The Times and The New Statesman. He has written five books on sport, a chapter on men in Your Pregnancy Bible and is completing his first screenplay. Gavin also regularly posts blogs at www.gavinevans.net.

Your tips

Got any other good ideas for dads? How do you help out with homework without actually ending up doing it yourself? What do you do when the work goes straight over your head? Use our comments system below to share your tips.