Comments on marking and feedback (KS3/4)

The Sutton Trust toolkit has been highlighted by the Department for Education as a key resource for
improving attainment with all students, including Pupil Premium students. In the Toolkit, feedback comes
out as having a high impact for low cost and features top in the list of interventions. The following
information is based on a recent work scrutiny of the books/folders of 20 Pupil Premium students in KS3&4
(November 2013) using the new AfL policy. Over 215 pieces of work were looked at.

Information will be shared in greater detail on the January INSET day, however what follows is
a digest of the findings. Thank you to all the staff involved.

In the most effective examples of feedback there was evidence of:

Precise formative comments which identify strengths & weaknesses and how to
improve, or provide further challenge. Some colleagues use WWW (What Went
Well) and EBI (Even better If) while others use SWANS (Strengths, Weaknesses and
Next Steps) or other effective strategies.
Students acting on feedback (e.g. corrections, written dialogue with the teacher,
green pen self-review and improvement)
Tracking sheets which include space for levels/grades (current, negotiated, ATLs) to
be recorded each half term and targets to be set.
Following up on previous feedback e.g. where a pupil has been told to complete a
piece of missing work and it is still incomplete, this has been followed up.


Areas for school development are:

Ensuring marking is consistently formative across the whole school.
Marking for literacy symbols in the AfL policy used consistently across the school
Embedding green pen self-marking/corrections: pupils need to act on feedback if it
to have impact on their learning and develop their independence. Our AFL policy
states: Pupils should be given time to respond to teacher marking at least once
every four lessons.
All pupils have a tracking sheet in their book or file and this is consistent within each
department.

A few examples to share:

MFL department use AtL grades in lessons pupils give themselves an AtL grade for
how well they prepared for tests, etc.
Physics - how to be a good independent learner insert stuck in back of Year 7 books.
Science use target stickers when there are common areas pupils need to improve
on e.g. presentation.
Food Technology have SPAG levels printed in student booklets

Further examples will be shared in January