No age is a good one at which to be humiliated in front of your peers. But while adults have largely learned ways of coping with it, children of seven or eight can be badly affected. At that age they can be cheeky and obstructive, but they can also be extremely vulnerable.

So while the importance which the head teacher of Ley Top Primary School at Allerton attaches to homework is understandable, given the need to work within government guidelines, the method employed to make sure pupils complete it is in danger of backfiring.

Many children would be mortified to be told to stand up in front of their school assembly and have their name called out because they forgot their homework. The mother of Arron Majid is right to be concerned at this embarrassing treatment her son had to suffer for what she describes as a "one-off" incident when he fell foul of the school's new policy.

It might well be that seeing Arron go through his ordeal might make other youngsters more determined to do their homework and hand it in on time. However, as educational psychologist Brian Harrison-Jennings points out, it could cause a great deal of anxiety too. Those children who, for whatever reason, fail to complete their homework (not all children come from homes where they get the necessary support and encouragement) will be in fear of going to school the next morning.

Ley Top's "stick rather than carrot" policy, introduced with the best of intentions, is one that could do more harm than good.