MARKING AND PRESENTATION POLICY
HILL WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL MARKING AND PRESENTATION POLICY PRESENTATION At Hill West Primary School, a high standard of presentation is expected across all subjects of the curriculum. We expect our children to take pride in their work and present it appropriately to the task. Children will be encouraged to have consistent, legible handwriting that is age-appropriate and adhere to the school’s policy on handwriting. There is a standard layout (see policy) known to both child and teacher that will become automatic as the child progresses through the school. The minimum requirement is that the children and/or the teachers will:
When able, rule off the last piece of work Ensure each piece of work begins with a date and learning objective, written or typed When underlining - always use a ruler Use a pencil until handwriting is deemed (by the teacher) to be sufficiently fluent and consistent for the child to move on to using a BLACK BEROL handwriting pen Complete all numeracy work in pencil Use only BLACK BEROL handwriting pens Class teachers and TAs will mark in blue Supply teachers will mark in green
PROVIDING FEEDBACK Oral Feedback At Hill West we appreciate that the language of the classroom, especially the incidental talk that goes on while children are working, gives strong messages to the children about their achievement. We view individual difficulties positively recognising that it signals a new learning experience. We encourage an ethos in our school where speaking freely about learning is expected. This makes children more willing not only to articulate their self-evaluation, whether it be of successes or of improvement needs or help required, but also to give feedback to teachers and practitioners and each other more readily.
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Oral feedback is an extremely powerful form of response. Success and improvement against the learning objective of the task is one of the most effective focuses for feedback. This does not mean ignoring mistakes but treating them as opportunities for improvement and a focus for teaching and support. We recognise that a powerful model for oral feedback is whole-class or group marking of one piece. The teacher or practitioner takes the lead but invites children’s contributions so that the piece is marked through a process of discussion, analysis and modelling. Children are more able to take ownership of marking for themselves if they have been involved in shared marking. We plan regular sessions of this kind so that children can benefit from the experience on a regular basis.
Written Feedback
Researchers cited in Excellence and Enjoyment (2004) claim that traditionally marking consisted of a focus on four elements: Presentation Surface features (punctuation, grammar and spelling) Quantity of work Effort involved While at Hill West we recognise that these elements are of course important we acknowledge the need for more constructive advice and support. We believe that children need some situations in which their focus and the teacher’s feedback revolve only around the learning objective and related success criteria (WILF). We realise too that over-marking pieces of work can look impressive, but again research, cited in Excellence and Enjoyment (2004) shows that when there is too much written feedback it becomes largely inaccessible to children. It is more effective to have a smaller number of items linked to the success criteria as the focus for marking and feedback. Marking at Hill West takes place throughout a child’s piece of work but it is done in such a way that it does not detract from the work itself. Written feedback is always neatly written and presented, modelling the teacher’s expectations to the pupils. Written comments are made using the school script. These are printed in the Foundation Stage and Year One but in cursive from Year Two to Six.
MARKING At Hill West we mark work consistently To value the children’s efforts To encourage the children by demonstrating care and interest To give approval and motivation Policies/Marking and Presentation November 2015
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To point out misunderstandings or mistakes To provide the opportunity for children to respond or practise a particular aspect of their work to improve further To communicate when direct conversation is impractical To inform ourselves, the children and parents about the child’s achievements, progress and targets. To aid assessment and recording To inform our planning
Our model of marking focuses on success and improvement: shows success indicates improvement gives an improvement suggestion child makes subsequent improvement
Showing Success
The teacher finds the best elements in the child’s work that link with the learning objective / individual targets and then double ticks these for every piece of work.
Indicating Improvement
The teacher uses a wiggly line symbol to indicate precisely where an improvement could be made; this is then referenced in the marking. When a teacher identifies an incorrect spelling they will identify it and write sp in the margin; children will then be asked to practise the spelling using the P symbol.
Giving an Improvement Suggestion
The teacher writes down or asks for an improvement suggestion to help the child know how to make the specific improvement. We call this the Wish. There are four types of Wishes, each linked to an area of improvement: reminder (reminding the child of the learning objective) scaffold (providing examples of what they need to do) example (giving exact sentences, words or processes to copy) progress towards targets (reminding children of their target) With young children, with some children with special educational needs and for practical subjects these prompts are often given orally.
Making the Improvement
When appropriate, classroom time is given to children to allow them to read the 3*s and a wish and to enable them to respond to their IRP- I (initials), R (response), P (practise). Whenever possible, marking should link with the progress each child has made towards their individual learning targets.
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There are many ways in which we actually mark dependent on the subject taught, activity set and the purpose of the task. At Hill West we use a variety of ticks and crosses 3*s and a wish (1* and a wish in Reception) Success criteria (WILF) checklists stars, stickers and stamps
WHEN WE MARK Whenever possible, work is marked with individual children as soon as it is completed. However, often this is not practical, and in reality most marking takes place at some other time. We believe therefore that marked work is returned to the child ready for their next lesson so that the child knows what they have already done well and what they need to focus their attention on next, and provides them with an opportunity to initial, respond or practise an identified aspect of their task. Responsive marking also values children’s efforts and achievements. At Hill West we believe that all work should be marked. We expect: A minimum of one piece of literacy work to be marked with 3*s and a wish each week (1* and a wish in Reception) A minimum of one piece of numeracy work to be marked with 3*s and a wish each week (1* and a wish in Reception) Science worked to be marked with 3*s and a wish All other work to be marked with I, R, P to celebrate successes and indicate an improvement (unless not warranted but this will be infrequently). In Reception the I, R, and P will be introduced slowly over the course of the year when children are developmentally ready to respond to written marking. Children to respond to IRP tasks.
WHAT WE USE TO MARK At Hill West we have made a collaborative decision to mark pupils work using blue biro. This is a contrasting colour to the one in which the children write and ensures that marking is clearly distinguishable. It also provides a consistency across school. Supply teachers are asked to mark in green. It is the class teacher’s responsibility, or their year group colleagues’ responsibility, in their absence to ensure that this happens. It is essential that teacher’s marking models to the children correct letter formation and is presented neatly demonstrating high expectations for the children to follow. Regular monitoring of pupils’ work takes place termly at Hill West Primary as part of the school’s self-evaluation cycle Policies/Marking and Presentation November 2015
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Marks and Symbols I
√√
R
P
These symbols indicate there is an Initial, Response, or Practise task required from the pupil
Indicates the best elements of a piece of work
Can be used to indicate where improvement needs to be made
SP
Indicates that a spelling is incorrect
√
Indicates an answer is correct
X
Indicates where an answer is incorrect
*
Shows success
Indicates the ‘where next?’
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Approved/Ratified By
Hill West LGB
Review Date
September 2016
Policies/Marking and Presentation November 2015
Date: 17.11.15
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