Homework. To do or not to do? That is the question that many students and parents face as the daily juggle of school, extra-curricular and work make finding time and energy to complete the assigned tasks sometimes impossible. Indeed, many parents and even educators argue that it is to no real benefit when the stress of getting through it all hardly seems productive.
Recently, the Queensland Government has announced a new initiative which involves the implementation of new Homework Centres in our state. The Palaszczuk Government is investing $8 million over four years to fund centres in state schools, with onsite teacher-aides to supervise up to 24 students per session. Designed to help support families in communities where the need has been recognised, below is a breakdown of what this new initiative means for the families in Queensland it is available for.
What is a Homework Centre?
Homework Centres will provide a FREE supervised and suitable learning environment in which students can complete their homework before they go home. They will be managed by principals, supervised by teacher aides and held up to 3 hours per week for 30 weeks per year.
The exact days and times that Homework Centres will operate will be determined by each school in order to meet the needs of the school community.
What will students do at the Homework Centre?
Students will be able to complete their homework tasks under the supervision of teacher aides after school. Personalised tuition or academic counselling will not be provided. As well as their school-based learning, students may also participate in other activities designed to support their health and wellbeing, such as reading.
Each school will plan their Homework Centre sessions to ensure they consider the age, learning and development needs of the children attending.
A healthy snack will also be provided.
Who can attend a Homework Centre?
Any student of a state school with a Homework Centre can attend. Participation is voluntary.
Schools will be responsible for managing registrations for their Homework Centre.
Which schools will have Homework Centres?
Principals of state schools with a community need to support families with after school programs were encouraged to nominate their school to operate a Homework Centre.
Regional selection panels determined the locations for the centres, based on local community need. To find out if your school is included in the initiative, check out the list here of Homework Centre locations.
When will these Homework Centres be available from?
The Homework Centres will be open up progressively at the listed schools throughout Term 3, 2021.
We think that any initiative that offers free educational support to students is a great one but hope it doesn’t contribute to further pressure to either teachers or students. We would love to know, is your school listed to have one and if so will you be making use of it for your children? Are you disappointed your school isn’t participating?
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