Build a homework packing routine
Very low certaintyADHD evidence
Help your child practise a short, visible routine for packing homework materials.
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Name the homework-materials problem you and your child most want to make easier.
5 minutes
Agree one place for the materials needed for the next homework task.
15 minutes
Practise gathering and packing the materials together using a short visible list.
30 minutes
Try the routine with a real task and remove steps that add effort without helping.
A plan
Practise one materials routine
- Choose one recurring materials problem together.
- Give the needed items a home and practise the sequence.
- Review which prompt helps and simplify the rest.
How sure the science is
Very low certainty, ADHD evidence
- We barely know.
- Small or short trials, and people knew what they were getting.
- The true effect could be much smaller, or zero.
- Measured in people with ADHD.
- 11 trials
- 929 people
- children and teens
- teacher rated
- about 12 weeks
- measured on academic or job performance
EBI-ADHD 2025: teacher-rated academic performance, youth, short term, 11 studies and 929 participants; routine-only benefit is unmeasured.
The number, drawn
Why it matters
- The EBI re-analysis found organisational skills programmes gave young people a small benefit in academic performance, 0.311 SMD, with very low certainty.
- Teachers did the rating and it was short term, around 12 weeks, so durable benefit is not established.
- These were multi-part programmes, so a home packing routine on its own cannot be credited with their effect.
- CDC recommends routines, organisation and manageable steps for children with ADHD, which you can adapt with your child.
How to do it
- Pick one problem that keeps coming back, like finding materials or handing in finished work.
- With your child, give the essential materials one consistent place.
- Practise a short sequence: check what's needed, gather it, put it in the bag.
- Use a visible prompt and notice when a step gets done. If the routine doesn't fit, change it together.
Putting it into practice
In real life
- A child checks a short materials list before closing the school bag.
- Completed work goes in one agreed folder that is checked during packing.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeA parent builds a complicated system alone. Pick the smallest useful routine with your child.
- Common mistakeA missing item becomes a judgement on your child's character. Change the cue or the storage place instead.
Trusted guides
How we rated it
- Evidence grade
- C Small or mixed studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Worth knowing, not worth betting on.
- The number
- Full organisational skills programmes: small school gain, very low certainty (SMD 0.311) (Gosling and colleagues, BMJ 2025, EBI-ADHD, 2025)
- Benefit
- 38/100 An editorial priority for the general list, weighted by certainty. It does not predict what will happen for you.
- Effort
- Some effort
Sources
- Tier 1 guidelineBenefits and harms of ADHD interventions: re-estimated meta-analysis datasetGosling and colleagues, BMJ 2025, EBI-ADHD, 2025
- Tier 1 guidelineTreatment of ADHDCDC, 2026
- Tier 1 guidelineEducation (ADHD: while you wait)Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, 2026
- General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan.
- Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you.
- Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.