When a primary school child refuses to do homework, the quickest way out of the battle is usually to make the task smaller and more predictable: the same short slot each day, a first step so easy it can’t be refused, and a clear end. If it keeps happening, talk to the teacher.
It also helps to know the rules, because they leave more room than many parents think. In England there is no national guideline on how much homework a primary school child should do. Each school sets its own homework policy, and the Department for Education leaves that decision to head teachers.
Why does my child refuse to do homework?
Refusal often isn’t about the homework itself. Working out which reason is behind it tonight tells you what to change:
- Tiredness or hunger. After a full school day, and perhaps a club, there is not much left in the tank.
- A task with no visible end. ‘Learn your spellings’ can feel endless when you are seven, because nobody has said when it is finished.
- Fear of getting it wrong. A task that looks hard is easier to refuse than to fail.
- Something better on offer. A screen, a brother or sister, the garden.
- Something else going on. A bad day, a falling-out with a friend, too many changes at once. Homework is where it comes out.
The same child can refuse for different reasons on different days, so it is worth asking, calmly and away from the table, what makes homework hard for them.
How much homework should a primary school child have in England?
There is no national figure. The Department for Education has said that it trusts head teachers to decide their school’s homework policy, and that schools are not obliged to set homework at all. The same statement adds that good homework policies avoid excessive time and focus on quality rather than quantity, and that homework at primary school is likely to be shorter.
In practice, the answer for your child is in your school’s homework policy, usually published on the school website. It normally says what each year group is set, how long it should take and how it is checked. Common primary homework includes daily reading, logged in a reading record, weekly spellings, times tables and number facts, and now and then a project.
If homework regularly takes much longer than the policy suggests, that is useful information for the teacher, not a sign that your child should just try harder.
How to stop homework battles: what helps
None of these is magic, and not all of them will suit your child. Pick two or three and keep them for a couple of weeks before judging.
- Pick one slot and keep it. Same time, same place, most days: after a snack and before screens, for example. A routine means there is less to negotiate each evening.
- Food and a break first. A few minutes to eat and unwind after school makes the start much easier than going straight from the school gate to the table.
- Make the first step tiny. ‘Just write the first two words.' ‘Just read me the first page.' Starting is usually the hardest part; once your child has begun, carrying on is easier.
- Give it an end. Agree on ten minutes, then stop, even if it isn’t finished. Knowing there is an end makes it easier to begin, and your child learns that homework doesn’t swallow the whole evening.
- Offer a choice inside the task. Spellings or tables first? Pencil or pen? Kitchen table or desk? A choice gives back some control without reopening the question of whether homework happens.
- Be the coach, not the marker. Let your child find their own mistakes. An answer with one thing wrong is an ‘almost’, and it tells you both what to work on next.
- Notice the effort. ‘You kept going on that tricky word’ says more than ‘well done’, and it doesn’t depend on getting everything right.
- Keep your own calm. If you are both getting cross, stop. A note to the teacher is better than a row, and tomorrow is another go.
What if my child says the homework is too hard?
Start by reading the instruction together. Many tasks look bigger than they are, and a child who has misunderstood what to do will refuse rather than say so.
Then do the first question or the first word together, and step back. If it is still too hard, stop. Write a short note to the teacher in the homework diary or reading record: what your child managed, and where they got stuck. It is not your job to teach a new method from scratch at 7pm.
Try not to do the homework for your child. It is tempting on a hard evening, but the teacher then sees work that doesn’t match what your child can do alone, and the difficulty stays hidden.
Should I let my child skip homework?
Occasionally, on an evening that has gone wrong for other reasons, skipping is often better than a fight. Tell the teacher with a short note.
If it becomes regular, look at the school’s homework policy together with the teacher. Head teachers decide what their school expects and what happens when homework isn’t done, so the school is the right place to agree what is realistic for your child.
When should I talk to the school?
Talk to your child’s teacher if:
- homework regularly takes far longer than the school’s policy suggests;
- most evenings end in tears or shouting;
- your child finds it hard to concentrate on anything, not just homework;
- reading or spelling stays very hard despite regular practice.
The NHS says that if you are worried ADHD may be affecting your child, you can talk to one of their teachers, who will usually involve the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO); the SENCO can discuss support in class or with homework. The NHS page on ADHD in children and young people explains the signs and the next steps, and GOV.UK explains how support for special educational needs works. A difficult evening now and then is normal; a pattern is worth raising.
Where Kamelo fits in
Kamelo was made for those evenings. You photograph the homework diary, check what Kamelo read (about thirty seconds), and your child practises for about ten minutes with a little chameleon, on exactly the spellings, times tables or poem the teacher set. The session has a clear end, there is no timer by default, a mistake is an ‘almost’ that comes back later, and nothing is ever marked in red. After 8.30pm, Kamelo gets sleepy and suggests bed.
Kamelo never does the homework for your child: a written exercise like ‘Maths p. 34, ex. 3' simply becomes something to tick off. Kamelo is planned for the UK in January 2027; the app page explains what it does and doesn’t do.