A committee is to discuss if we should scrap homework in schools.

The petition to 'Eradicate homework for children in Primary School' was started back in January.

The Oireachtas Petitions Committee will discuss it later today.

The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) says the traditional form of assignments needs to be re-assessed.

Maria Doyle is president of the IPPN.

"We need to be realistic here, and children - particularly in senior classes in school - need to develop skills around study".

"Every single school has a homework policy which must be constructed with parental involvement, and it never ceases to amaze me that parents don't have a bigger say in what format this homework takes.

"In other words: what do the children enjoy doing, and what is it there for?

"It used to be there you see that home knew what was going on in school - now I think that day, that ship has sailed.

"Because now what children need to be doing at home is project work, research, that type of thing - where children are given tasks to do where it's not an extension of, or worse again, work that wasn't addressed in school".