Written question asked by Lord Blencathra (Conservative) on Monday, 1 March 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 March 1999. It was answered by Charles Clarke (Labour) on Thursday, 4 March 1999 on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment.

Dept for Education and Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has to evaluate the effect of introducing national homework guidelines.

Answer: Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to evaluate the effect of introducing national homework guidelines. [74789] Mr. Charles Clarke: Inspections of schools by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) look at the effect of homework polices on the quality of education provided and the standards achieved by pupils. Inspection reports will therefore provide important evidence about the effect over time of introducing national guidelines. We are also considering other ways in which the guidelines might usefully be evaluated, once schools have had time to develop and implement their own homework polices in the light of them.

Secondary information