Marking Policy. We believe that the most effective way of marking for all pupils is through dialogue.

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1 Marking Policy Policy Date: Spr 2011 Review Date: Spr Aims Marking is an essential part of planning, assessment, teaching and learning. Responding to pupils work through constructive comment acknowledges achievement, promotes positive attitudes and behaviour and leads to an improvement in standards. Teachers follow an agreed system and consistent procedures in responding to pupils work in order to give clear messages to pupils, parents and other teachers about individual progress. Evidence of our response to children s work can be found recorded in books and on display, but much of Key Stage 1 work is practical and much response is verbal. A great deal of verbal praise is given. We use our judgement as professionals in a constructive way when working with young learners to take them forward. We believe that the most effective way of marking for all pupils is through dialogue. 1.2 The aims of marking are To show pupils that we value their work To encourage, motivate, support and promote positive attitudes To provide constructive feedback and recognise achievement, presentation and effort to promote higher standards To provide information for assessment and inform planning To correct errors and clear up misunderstandings To allow pupils to reflect on their past performances and to set new targets together with the teacher. 1

2 1.3. To achieve this we ensure that marking Is constructive and gives positive feedback with appropriate praise given Is related to needs, attainment and ability Is related to a specific target, learning objectives and success criteria which are shared and made clear to the pupils in advance Ensures that pupils know how well they are doing and what they need to improve to make further progress Provides pupils with opportunities to self assess and be involved in peer group assessment Sets targets for children to ensure pupil motivation and involvement in progress and encourages dialogue between teacher and child Follows consistent practice throughout the school 2. Teaching and Learning Styles and Curriculum Planning 2.1. Marking informs planning and provides information for assessment. It has the potential to be a powerful, manageable and useful on-going diagnostic record of children s achievement that feeds into future planning. 2.2 Marking is for the direct benefit and improvement of the children s work. Marking is therefore undertaken by the teacher to inform the children of the progress they are making and targets they need to work towards. 2.3 Corrections support the child s learning and we remember that too many can overwhelm and demoralise the pupil. The ability of the individual pupil and the effort that they have put into a piece of work will always need to be taken into account when marking. Teachers use their professional judgment when deciding how many corrections to mark. 2

3 2.4 Teachers may plan to mark groups of work, so that they can focus on developing particular objectives with targeted groups. 2.5 Time is given to pupils to reflect upon marking to ensure that they benefit from it. They are also given the opportunity to discuss their work with the teacher. 2.6 This policy reflects and reinforces the aims that marking will assist learning by motivating, highlighting and target setting. This reinforces what the children have learnt and identifies the next steps. 3. The Foundation Stage 3.1 At this age, marking and feedback is verbal and targets are noted in the Foundation Stage Progress Tracker. We also use Learning Journeys to record achievements and the next steps that children must take. Assessments are recorded on the Early Years Foundation Profile. 4. Marking in Curriculum Areas Work will not always be marked in detail, but it will be checked. This simply indicates that work has been seen and can be done as the teacher moves around the room. There may be times when it is appropriate for a T.A. to annotate work. Work is marked and returned as soon as possible, i.e. same day or next day. Homework is marked as rigorously as class work. Care is always taken to preserve the integrity of pupils work. Marking includes verbal and written feedback. The date and learning objective is written when appropriate (recorded by the children where possible). Marking, where possible, is done in the classroom with the child or a group. 3

4 4.1. English More detailed marking in monitoring the children s progress in reading and writing is needed in line with the Assessment Policy. 4.2 This particularly applies to the marking of Special Books and Optional SAT s writing and reading tasks, with a level of attainment given and targets identified Numeracy as above, in line with the Assessment and Numeracy Policies Science as above in line with the Assessment and Science Policies 4.5. ICT and other curriculum areas Less detailed marking will be needed in these areas and verbal feedback used, although should remain in line with assessment and other curriculum policies PE Where possible recordings of children s performances should be made to enable self and peer group marking to take place. Observations are recorded and used for future planning by the teacher. 5. PSHE and Citizenship 5.1. Children are involved in their own assessment and contribute to target setting. Children s progress and involvement in the school, as well as reflections in their Learning Journeys and Logs, is recorded on reports to parents. 6. Spiritual, moral social and cultural development 6.1. Children are involved in peer group marking to evaluate their 4

5 own and others achievements against the learning objective, in verbal or written form. They are encouraged to work with others in lessons. Opportunities are given, and children are encouraged to share their thoughts in a respectful way Self-marking this includes smiley faces and the traffic light system or 2 stars and a wish. These will be appropriate to the needs of the children. Responding to teachers comments is a skill and children will be taught how to reflect on these and respond to them. 7. Inclusion 7.1 Marking is a key process in identifying those children who are making good progress. We strive hard to meet the needs of all the children. Through effective marking the children are identified with special attention paid to more vulnerable groups EAL, SEN, and LAC. Those who show gifts and talents are noted on the Able, Gifted and Talented register and opportunities are identified to meet their needs. 7.2 Where marking shows that progress is less than expected the child may need an intervention programme to support their learning which is provided within the classroom in a group, such as Springboard or Talking Partners, or individually e.g., Dancing Bears. Sometimes classes work with an outside agency e.g. Pupil Referral Unit, 7.3 Where marking shows that progress falls significantly below expected progress the child may have special educational needs and these concerns are shared with the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo). The child may need an Individual Action Plan (IEP) with specific targets for progress. These targets are assessed and reviewed on a termly basis with the child and his/her parents. Further assessments may need to be carried out to identify the nature of the 5

6 child s difficulties. 7.4 Through marking, it may be found that some children may be facing challenges outside school. Where this is a real concern it is reported to the Senior Designated Professional for Child Protection. Others are placed on the Vulnerable Children s Register and are monitored closely. 8. Resources 8.1. The need for classroom resources is identified by the individual teacher and can be purchased through class budgets DFE, National Primary Framework and all other hard copy documents relating to AfL are stored in the Group Room Each classroom has a copy of Personalised learning a practical approach Other electronic documents are stored in Teachers Resources on the network. 9. Working with Parents 9.1 In accordance with our Behaviour Policy teachers establish their own reward systems, appropriate to the age and needs of the children in their class. These may be in the form of stamps, stickers and certificates including those given by the MDSAs. Smiley faces are issued by the Head teacher and are displayed in the hall. There is class valuing of work by celebrating and sharing assemblies, to which parents are invited. Teachers select children to be Stars of the Week which are also displayed in the hall, and rewards are given with parents present where possible. 6

7 10. Monitoring and review 10.1 The Assessment and Subject Coordinators roles are to monitor, evaluate and review the effectiveness of our marking procedures throughout the school. This is achieved in a variety of ways including reviewing planning, scrutinising work, discussions with staff and pupils, observing in lessons, providing appropriate and high quality resources and working together to provide sampling sessions where staff moderate marking across the school We are committed to ensuring that all staff develop and maintain their skills and are able to make professional decisions regarding assessment and marking. Staff are encouraged to identify areas in which they feel they may benefit from further training. Training needs may also be identified by subject leaders. Training may be provided in a number of ways including in school provision and attendance on courses. The subject leader will ensure that staff are aware of training opportunities. 11. Equal Opportunities This policy aims to provide equality of opportunity regardless of gender, ethnicity, colour, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation or marital status. 12. UNCRC We believe that every child has the right to an education, and the responsibility to listen to advice for improvement from teachers and others. 7

8 Agreed Marking Code Whilst accepting that written marking of work has to be tailored to meet the abilities and ages of each child and the subject being marked, we do believe that a common framework is helpful. The following agreed code will be displayed in every Key Stage 2 classroom so that all children are aware of the meaning of the various markings. Key Stage 1 teachers will use the code as an aide memoir as appropriate to the age of the child. Comments are written whenever possible, giving targets for future work. Sp Spelling error (Child self-corrects) T Incorrect tense ^ Omission // Start new paragraph X Incorrect (if a whole page is wrong e.g. maths then the teacher would stop marking and speak to the child) o Punctuation error F Correct? Does this make sense - Child draws a line through a word if it is a mistake. Missed full stop DT Discussed with Teacher LOA Learning Objective Achieved Other Related Documents National Curriculum Key Stages 1 and 2 Assessment Policy and the Assessment Cycle Teaching and Learning Policy Curriculum Policy All other curriculum policies Behaviour Policy 8