Why a growing number of parents are demanding the return of the kitchen table routine

For more than a decade, primary school students have enjoyed the slow death of the dreaded after-school homework sheet. But the party might be over.

A growing number of parents are pushing back against schools’ “no homework” policies, demanding the return of the kitchen table routine.

At St Charles Catholic School in Ryde, principal Frank Cohen said that for every parent who opposes homework, “there are probably three who very much insist they want it”.

“We find that the majority of children need that routine and discipline,” he said.

There’s a twist: weeks five and 10 of each term are designated “no homework” weeks, designed for students to prioritise out-of-school activities and home life.

For nine-year-old Deanna Noory, it’s a welcome relief. Asked how she fits it all in, Deanna furrows her brow: “That’s the problem! That’s why I look forward to no homework week,” she said.

The pressure is pushing some public primary schools to reverse their progressive policies.

“We’ve realised there is this appetite among some parents for homework,” Kegworth Public principal Phil Toovey said in 2023, after the school backflipped on its controversial homework-free stance.

For parent Ivy Lee, who grew up in Malaysia, the Australian approach has been jarring. Shocked to learn her son’s public school did not have homework until year 3, she moved him to the local Catholic school.

“Homework is a foundation,” Lee said. “If there’s no revision, no homework, you don’t know what they are good at. You can’t see their strengths and weaknesses. We have nothing to follow up with,” said Lee.

Australian Tutoring Association CEO Mohan Dhall said parents are bridging the gap by enrolling their children into tutoring to ensure they continue learning at home, leading to “bizarre” consequences.

“In class, kids will be doing their tutoring homework because they are so far ahead of what’s happening in school,” Dhall said.

“Parents say ‘I want my child to be disciplined, therefore if it’s not coming from the school, I will take it upon myself’,” he said.

The parent-led pushback for homework contradicts academic data. University of Sydney education expert Nikki Brunker said research shows no benefit to homework in primary school, calling it a detriment to family life and play. However, she is not surprised by the backlash, citing a post-COVID shift towards “conservative, behaviourist schooling”.

Brunker said for many families, homework is simply how they were taught to stay in touch with school.

“Homework’s the known,” she said. “It’s a connection to school … without homework, sometimes it can be very difficult to know what your child is doing at school.”

The NSW Department of Education allows schools to decide their own policies. However, state guidelines say that formal homework should not be given at kindergarten level, advising that young students instead “may be given books to read at home”.

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