IT is a historic staple of education that has long induced groans of despair of an evening in homes all over the world, but homework is now facing calls to be banned from celebrities and politicians.

It’s still a big part of school life?

Homework is, for millions of children, a huge part of their education, with the assignments sent home designed to cement their in-school learning and also offer parents a chance to check-in with their children’s progress and abilities in a hands-on way.

However?

TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp sparked debate with a raft of tweets on the subject online in recent days, retweeting a comment about how it ought to be disregarded, saying: "One of the greatest regrets of my life is that I didn't do this for my kids. The tears, the time together lost, for many families homework causes real, daily unhappiness to no good end." She added: "How much difference would it make to a teacher's working day if the Gov said, 'From now on, homework is reading only, no more written homework that needs marking etc’”?

And she didn’t stop there?

Allsopp, who is mother to sons Bay Atlas, 16, and Oscar Hercules, 14, with her husband Ben Anderson, as well as two step-children from Ben's previous relationship, went on: “There is no data that says homework helps those under 10, teachers hate it, most parents hate, most kids hate it and, if my family is anything to go by, it takes up time in which we could have read…If you’re waking up this morning as the parent of primary school age children & thinking “shall we tackle the homework today or tomorrow?” Don’t. Find a book, cuddle up and read it together, or watch Winterwatch, or cook something with kids doing all the weighing & chopping.”

So what’s the latest?

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, has now given his thoughts, saying schoolwork should be left in school and children should be allowed to use their evenings and leisure time for “creative” pursuits. Interviewed on Irish news, he said “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”. The former arts minister, told children watching the broadcast “to stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information”.

It’s historic?

The first mention of homework as a concept in fact dates to ancient Rome, although it became a mainstream part of life in Britain toward the close of the 19th century. But in 2021, the Green Party in Scotland pledged to abolish homework in primary schools in its manifesto, saying the measure was aimed at giving children more time to play and socialise after lockdown deprived them of vital opportunities for interacting with peers.

AI?

According to Tesla and Twitter tycoon Elon Musk, an artificial intelligence programme banned by schools in New York could put an end to homework. The city’s education department has banned ChatGPT, found to produce fast, accurate work according to any particular style requested, sparking concerns it could be used by children to do homework. Musk responded to the ban’s announcement earlier this month by tweeting: “It’s a new world, goodbye homework!”.