Build a homework packing routine
Help your child practise a short, visible routine for getting homework materials ready.
Very low certaintyADHD evidence
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. See this row on the evidence map
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 The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of 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.