It is time to “let kids be kids” and ban homework in primary school so they can spend more time with their families and playing outdoors, according to Shane Coleman.

A new study from Maynooth University has found that giving homework more frequently but in “shorter bursts” is the most effective way to help children learn – particularly when it comes to maths and science.

It found that homework assignments of just 15 minutes were just as effective as longer assignments – and increasing the workload to 30 minutes or longer showed no added benefits.

It also noted that the benefits were the same across different socioeconomic backgrounds, potentially addressing fears that homework is generally more beneficial to children from wealthier homes.

A teacher in class with students. Image: Roman Lacheev / Alamy Stock Photo

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Shane said there may be benefits to homework in secondary school – but it is time to give children a break by banning it at primary level.

“The best-performing country in the world in maths and science is Finland and they don't do homework in primary school,” he said.

“They believe kids should be kids and they believe things like having dinner with your family, getting exercise and having a good night's sleep are all more important than doing homework.

“The OECD research suggests the countries that have the least amount of homework have the best-performing students.”

He said homework is “exhausting” for children after a full day of school.

“I think let kids be kids; let them go out and play and when they get to secondary, they have enough time for study and all that kind of stuff,” he said.

Ciara Kelly in the Newstalk studio. Image: Rory Walsh/Newstalk

Fellow presenter Ciara Kelly said many parents want to see homework abolished because they are too involved with it themselves.

“This is a debate that is probably happening over kitchen tables right now, people tuning in this morning because the kids are back at school and the homework is coming home and parents feel an absolute obligation to get stuck in and help them and it is a flashpoint in a lot of families,” she said.

“It's a very big sort of stress ball for people and as a consequence, we increasingly hear calls to get rid of it.

“I think two things.

“It's very simple; I think homework is good for kids. I think practicing things like maths cements them in your brains.

“I think sometimes you have to step out of the classroom and do stuff on your own to really understand it, to really get a feel for it – I think that's good.

“I also happen to think that parents now who are under so much pressure because they are working are then coming home in the evening and they're tired and they're doing it at the wrong time of the day, really, because it's nighttime practically trying to do the homework with the kids.

“It was never meant to be thus. When I was a kid and my mum was a stay-at-home mum, she never did the homework with me.

“You struggle through it whatever way you went and the teacher corrected it and you learn better the next day.”

School clock on top of wooden calendar. Image: ALLASH / Alamy Stock Photo

She said homework is good for children when done right.

“I think setting kids tasks is good, I think giving kids a bit of responsibility and a chore to do is good and I think it's good for them educationally,” she said.

“But I also think, parents, step back. You're making a stick for your own back and that's one of the reasons that we want to get rid of it, because parents don't like it.

“Just let them at it but don't take it away from them because you don't like it. It's good for them.”

Shane said parents nowadays are simply “much more involved now with their kids” suggesting that as long as homework is assigned, they will end up helping them with it.