Feedback, Marking and Presentation

Feedback

We believe that constructive feedback – written and oral enables pupils to become reflective learners, helping them to close the gap between what they currently do and what we would like them to do.

We believe that marking and feedback should:

• Be accessible for the children
• Relate to the learning intention
• give recognition and praise achievement
• provide clear strategies for improvement
• allow time for reading, reflection and response
• allow for face to face marking
• Be manageable for the staff
• inform future planning

Methodology

Oral feedback

It is important that children receive oral feedback from a member of the teaching team regularly. This dialogue should focus on successes, areas for development and set targets for future learning. Oral feedback is the most effective form of feedback when it takes place as part of a dialogue between pupil and staff.

Summative feedback/marking

Where closed tasks or exercises allow for an answer to be right or wrong, the children as a class or in groups, may mark their own. Where appropriate, staff should discuss these tests, so pupils may learn from their errors.

Formative feedback/marking

Not all pieces of work can be quality marked. Teachers will decide whether work will be simply acknowledged or given detailed attention.

Detailed marking

Detailed marking should focus on the learning intention of the task and the student’s personal targets. Detailed marking may be done alongside the child and must be shared with them, allowing time for reflection.

Written comments should include positive comments and areas for improvement. These should be specific. They might include suggestions for improvement or an instruction. Types of improvement prompts include:

• Reminders (e.g.) which words were we focussing on today?
• Scaffolds (e.g.) Can you find an alternative word here?
• Examples (e.g.) Write an adjective here

Spelling, punctuation and grammar need not be marked in every piece of work.

Marking and feedback in the EYFS/ lower KS1 and for SEN pupils

Where possible this should be verbal, although acknowledgement of this may be recorded in the book using VF (verbal feedback).

Staff may also use: stickers and stamps and short written annotations.

Teachers will use their own methods to convey this at age appropriate levels.

Children’s response

Pupils should be given opportunities to read and respond to feedback. They should be able to seek clarification of comments.

They should be also encouraged to self-evaluate their own work and to evaluate the work of their peers. In every case positives should be found, as well as areas for improvement. Again, pupils will be encouraged to be specific in their comments, stating exactly what they liked about a story, for example.

Feedback

Children should not doodle, scribble or otherwise on or in their books.

Worksheets should be kept to a minimum. Where worksheets are used, they should be cut where possible to neatly fit onto one page of an exercise book (not folded or overlapping centre of book, and no edges sticking out from book). They should also be printed in black and white ink unless it’s absolutely necessary that they are in colour.

No child should scribble out mistakes in their books. If they are using pencil they will be allowed an eraser to rub out any mistakes made. Children using pen should put one neat line through any mistakes they make (using a ruler if the mistake is multiple words on the same line or brackets).

Maths Books

Marking

All sums children complete should be marked with either a tick or a cross. Any comments/feedback written in maths books should be relevant to the lesson’s learning objective and/or provide feedback to help the child improve their work next time. The E,D,S and M notation should be written beside comments.

Teacher comments should be written neatly on the lines. Any numbers written backwards should be corrected by the teacher.

Presentation

Children should write one digit per square to ensure that place value of numbers is clear when completing sums and also to keep work neatly laid out.

English Books

Marking

When marking Literacy work, the comments made should be relevant to the focus of the lesson identifying what the child has done well and what they could improve on next time. Comments can also be made relating to the child’s writing targets where appropriate; such as ‘Remember your target is to use a variety of connectives in your writing.’ The E,D,S and M notation should be written beside comments.

Teacher comments should be written neatly on the lines.

Where spelling mistakes are made (high frequency words or teacher’s discretion of what a child should know), teachers should underline these words and write them correctly in the margin so children can see how they should be spelt. It is not necessary to correct every spelling mistake, usually 3 are highlighted.

All feedback given to pupils should be written neatly on the lines underneath children’s work. Pupils may get challenges to complete.

Extended written pieces

Pupils will be given time to edit and improve extended writing. These will often be assessed using suitable checklists or the assessment frameworks required in Year 2 and 6.

Presentation

In English, children should write the long date on top line of a page/piece of work, underlining it with a ruler.

As with maths, if children haven’t completed the majority of a page in previous work, they should leave an empty line, rule off that work and continue on that page.

All English books should have a margin on left hand side of every page. Children should be taught to start writing from the margin on each line (unless told otherwise due to text type being taught).

Self-Assessment

Pupils in Key Stage Two will self-assess their learning using the criteria of the assessment system. They can describe themselves as being emerging, developing, secure or at mastery by using the initial letters.

Pupils in KS1 or with SEN may use a smiling or sad face to describe their feelings about a particular lesson.