Banning homework: Taoiseach says schoolchildren get too much homework but doesn't call for ban
Varadkar said he'd have to speak to minister for education, norma foley, about the matter.
- 15:07, 30 JAN 2023
- Updated 13:12, 20 JUL 2023
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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he will talk to Minister for Education, Norma Foley, on the issue of getting rid of homework.
Varadkar on homework
While Varadkar didn't say he supported call to ban homework for schoolchildren, he did tell Newstalk that he felt some children get "too much" homework.
Asked about the homework debate today, Varadkar said he'd have to speak to Foley about it.
"We haven't had a chance to discuss it," he said.
Varadkar added that he "definitely" think kids have "too much homework".
"You could have a long day in class, get home in the early evening and then face three hours of homework.
"I remember that when I was a kid, staying up very late to do homework.
"I think there's definitely a place for homework but we need to make sure that there isn't too much of it."
The debate was sparked by President Michael D Higgins saying he was in favour of getting rid of homework.
Support for banning homework
Speaking on RTÉ last week, Higgins argued that getting rid of homework would allow young people more time to engage in creative pursuits outside of school hours.
The president was asked for his thoughts on homework and responded that he wasn't in favour of it.
"I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things."
When Varadkar was asked if he minded Higgins making a public comment on homework, the Taoiseach responded that the president's comments are "always welcome".
School policy on homework
Minister for Education, Norma Foley, has said she won't debate the homework ban issue with President Michael D Higgins.
A little over a week ago, Higgins told the nation's children that he was against schoolwork continuing beyond the school gates, in an address broadcast on RTÉ's news2day.
Foley said it was up to schools to decide on their homework policy.
She told The Irish Mirror that she wasn't going to get into it with the president.
"It would not be appropriate for a government minister to engage in public debate with the office of the president," she said.
"Currently schools are free to have their own policy on homework and these policies are created in conjunction with senior management and staff, the boards of management, parents and the pupils.
"Schools are in of themselves places where creative pursuits are cultivated, nurtured and encouraged and that creativity may also be reflected in homework."
In a recent poll, it was revealed that Irish Mirror readers were overwhelmingly in favour of banning homework, with 98 per cent of readers voting in favour of a ban.
In a landslide decision, 57,440 readers voted yes, while just 1,211 voted no.
Benefits of homework
Minister Foley recently said that her department doesn't "issue any guidelines relating to homework being given in schools.
"It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy".
It followed a question from Fine Gael's Neale Richmond who asked if research has been carried out by her department into the benefits of ending the provision of homework for primary school pupils.
He told The Irish Mirror that children should be involved in conversations about their schools homework policy.
Minister Richmond said: "I submitted the Parliamentary Question following a visit to one of my local primary schools.
"The pupils were genuinely interested in the policy relating to homework going forward and I agreed it's an important discussion to involve pupils in."
Foley told her government colleague that the Department of Education has not commissioned research on the matter.
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President of Ireland calls on schools to stop giving pupils homework
Children should be able to use time at home ‘for other creative things’, says michael d higgins, subscribe to independent premium to bookmark this article.
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Schools should strive not to give pupils homework where possible, the president of Ireland has suggested.
In an utterance likely to be seized upon by children for years to come, in classrooms far beyond the shores of the Emerald Isle, Michael D Higgins argued that school should not extend beyond the final bell.
“Time in school … should get finished in school,” the president told pupils at a school in County Tipperary this week during a broadcast for RTE.
Children should be able to use their time at home “for other creative things”, Mr Higgens continued.
Reiterating his point, the 81-year-old president added: “I think as much as possible that [homework] should happen in the school and I think it’s more relaxed than it used to be.”
Mr Higgins was asked for his thoughts on homework by pupils at St Kevin’s National School in Littleton, during a broadcast celebrating the 20th anniversary of RTE’s children’s news show – viewers of which sent their questions in for the president.
Asked if he had a message for the children of Ireland, the president, who has been in office since 2011, said: “Stay curious about everything. Make sure you don’t miss the joy of getting information.
“And I think an important thing is friendship, and that nobody is left without friendship.”
Suggesting that children of Ireland place “great value” on friendship, Mr Higgins lamented that this makes it even more tragic when there is an “abuse of phones for bullying”.
Mr Higgins revealed that, having started school himself at the age of seven, his love for reading soon saw him decide that he wanted to be a teacher – and he attended teacher training as an adult before going on to spend 25 years in Ireland’s lower house of parliament Dail Eireann.
It is not the first time that Mr Higgins has offered his thoughts on children’s education. Last year, on his 80th birthday, Mr Higgins suggested that yoga should be taught in schools across Ireland.
Research suggests that Mr Higgins’ is far from alone in his views on homework, at least in the UK.
A 2018 survey of parents by British education regulator Ofsted found that more than a third did not think homework was helpful for primary school children.
Homework is a “huge cause of stress” for many families – and for children with special educational needs or disabilities it can be detrimental to their health, Ofsted was told.
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