REPORt WRITING

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Report Writing

Teachers’ Standard, Part One: Teaching

8.  Fulfil wider professional responsibilities.

“Communicate effectively with parents with regard to pupils’ achievements and well-being

All pupils in years 7 – 11 receive an annual report.

Report writing is time-consuming if you intend to produce a useful document which is professionally written and well thought out.

Ø  Avoid

Vague comments, “Carol has had a good year.” Clichés. Jargon. Repetition. Spelling errors.

Ø  Prepare in advance

Have ideas in draft, compiled throughout the year.

Ø  Meet the deadline

Remember that other colleagues have to read and comment on the reports. You soon can get the reputation of being ‘The late one’ if you delay beginning the task, pressure will build.

Ø  Set yourself high standards

Have a dictionary handy and remember “spell-check” on computer does not pick up such things as ‘practice’/’practise’. Draft each paragraph. Check through your work or get a trusted colleague to check your work. Have you got evidence to back up your remarks if parents see you later on?

Ø  Be positive with your comments

Find something good to say about each pupil without being patronising. Suggest targets as a way for improvement. Be careful about mentioning poor work or behaviour which has been ongoing for several months, and has not been drawn to parents’ attention. You should have used sanctions and parent/school liaison to ensure joint remedial action.

Ø  Computer use

Careful about ‘copy and paste’ e.g. Carol is making great progress but sometimes forgets his equipment.

Ø  Targets and Grades

Remember that effort cannot be excellent if the projected grade/level has dropped, without a clear explanation.

Take a pride in report writing and make it worthwhile for all

Your task.

e.g. Poor report

CAROL RUSHTON – ALW

Carol has had a good year. She is rather quiet in class but always contributes when questioned. Her exam result was fair – she had a lot of trouble speaking. She has missed 10 out of 15 homeworks this term so could improve this. She needs to practice her speaking!

How could you improve this? Here is the information

1.  Carol doesn’t speak – you have to drag a response out of her.

2.  She does not like speaking French.

3.  She had not bothered to use the revision plan for the ‘writing’ or ‘speaking’ examinations.

4.  She has not been doing her homework and the 5 pieces were poor quality.

5.  Practice = noun

Practise = verb

Now write a ‘good one’ for Carol. Here is the information.

She is a Yea 9 pupil who is in set 3 out of 4. She finds French difficult and is just below her Key Stage 3 target. Had lots of home problems – not much work done, and no revision. Chosen to study French next year and has real strength in Listening and Reading activities. Shy when speaking but loves interactive computer work