[egg&chips]

IMHO homework is educational smoke and mirrors. The government have paid for "research" to show how beneficial it is to learners' progress, and so the research shows that homework IS beneficial. Because of this, it is touted far and wide as one of the main features of a successful school and of good teaching and learning. Parents who care demand it (and rightly so if it is helpful). However, the sad truth of the matter in the vast majority of cases is that those who do the homework rarely need to and those who need the reinforcement that homework can provide often don't do it. It's like parents' evening when the kids parents who don't need to worry turn up, but those who you are desperate to see don't come and can't be bothered to make alternative arrangements. I know that working parents have issues with such things but there are many ways and means of taking an interest in your kids' schooling