Marking and Presentation

Policy

This policy was adopted/updated: April 2016

This policy will be reviewed: as needed

Statutory policy : Yes

Markingand Presentation Policy

Introduction

This policy states how important marking and feedback is in achieving high quality learningand demonstrating progress by learners. It is a clear reflection of our rationale, aims and the purpose ofmarking at Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School.

Rationale:

At Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School we know that consistently high quality marking and constructive feedback from teachers ensures that pupils make rapid gains in their learning. Marking makes a real difference to children’s learning as it is important for all children to know what they are good at and how and what they need to do to improve. All teaching staff at Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School must commit to providing relevant and timely feedback to children, orally and in writing.

Marking is a statutory, legal requirement for teachers; for TAs/HLTAs: it is a non-negotiable school requirement.

Purpose:

Marking at Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery Schoolvalues children’s learning, evaluating how well the learning objective has been understood,helping to diagnose areas for development or identifying next steps. Marking must therefore be impactful, leading to individuals achieving high standards and making excellent progress.

Aims:

  • Ensure that children know, understand and can apply their next steps of learning
  • Deepen a learning conversation which will aid progression
  • Use marking as a tool for formative ongoing assessment
  • Provide consistency and continuity in marking throughout our school so that children have a clear understanding of expectations and achieve high standards
  • Improve standards by encouraging children to make progress following on from their last piece of work
  • Develop children’s self-esteem through praise and by showing we value their achievements

All teachers will adhere to the following marking non-negotiables; all HLTAs and TAs will implement the Policy requirements which will be overseen by teachers:

  • The Marking Code must be used
  • As are as possible please ‘hot mark’ as opposed to ‘distance mark’ as the former impact is more positive on learning and progress.
  • All pieces of work must be marked, with all work marked at the close of each school week
  • All pieces of work must make the learning objective explicit in the title
  • All work must be dated
  • All work must be marked with correct spelling used by adults
  • Pink and Green highlighter pens will be used at all times for marking:Green = great Pink = think
  • Written comments must be completed in blue or black ink. The use of red or other coloured ink when marking children’s work is not permitted.
  • As far as possible, adults must mark work with children as this is the most impactful way of supporting learners
  • Marking must show intervention by an adult when a child has been working in a guided group session e.g., on-going feedback, challenge/extension, reinforcement, application of correct models
  • Marking feedback will be used to inform planning and make adjustments to planned lessons
  • Teachers must provide time in lessons to review work from previous lessons and complete any actions from their identified Next Steps
  • Examples of great work with marking feedback will be displayed weekly on a Maths and English board e.g. an enlarged snapshot from work shown through a visualizer, flip chart paper or a child’s book
  • Children must be involved in the marking process where possible e.g., working alongside an adult, providing feedback on their learning (self- assessment), showing how they have actioned their Next Steps
  • Marking will ensure children are clear about their successes and their next steps of learning
  • Marking feedback will ably support progress so that feedback comments are not repeated several times, e.g.,full stops; cursive handwriting
  • Adults must use the handwriting model as appropriate to the child’s level. See Handwriting Policy for more information.
  • Key pieces of work will be leveled half-termly. As a minimum, this will include a piece of extended writing, a piece of maths demonstrating problem solving skills and a piece of topic/art work.

Presentation of work

It is vital that children take pride in the presentation of their work which must be legible and correctly laid out. Work must have a title reflecting the learning objective and a date. It is permissible for a staff member to do this so that valuable time for the child to show what they know, understand and can do is not diverted on housekeeping tasks.

If work is not acceptable, staff must return it with a clear explanation of requirements and a modelled sample so that the child is clear what to do.

Requirements:

  • All work to have a LO
  • All work to be marked with follow-up steps actioned
  • Handwriting modeled accurately by adults
  • KS1: for maths, one digit in a square more when child is able to control handwriting
  • Layout of child’s work must be consistent: writing adjacent to the margin, date, LO displayed, neat presentation
  • All pages to be used in sequence with the adult providing a post-it marker for those children who find this a challenge
  • Rubbers or a single neat line drawn through mistakes
  • Literacy and Maths working walls must be at the front of every classroom and updated with good examples of children’s work weekly
  • Work done in workbooks during lesson introductions must state ‘notes’
  • All books will have the child’s full name and subject area detailed on the front of the book modelled in the correct handwriting formation
  • Work is NOT to be routinely done on whiteboards as work which shows progress is wiped away unless copied and placed into the child’s workbooks. Workbooks are to be used for practice work

Responsibilities and Review

All teaching staff have responsibility for implementing all aspects of this policy. The Senior Leadership Team and subject leaders have the role of monitoring teachers’ and HLTAs’ and TAs’ marking by visiting classes, book looks, moderation and work samples.

Fortnightly book scans will be undertaken

Staff review of policy will be undertaken annually.

Appendix 1 – School Marking Codes


EYFS and KS1 Marking Code

(revised April 2016)

☺ / Great work
V / Verbal feedback
/ Now try (active – do now)
NS / Next step(next time as a carry forward step)
whnt / Underline spelling/punctuation errors with correct model for child to copy
I / Independent work
G / Guided group work
S / Support given
SD / Self Directed Activity
P / Paired Activity
/ Real Life Context application (from April 2016)
  • Pink and Green highlighter pens will be used for marking feedback: Green = great; Pink = think
  • All work will be marked using the above codes with sharply focused Next Steps
  • All work must be dated
  • Common spelling mistakes must be highlighted for practice
  • Marking needs to be in the correct handwriting style
  • Children must action NSand this must be monitored by adults
  • Children must action
  • Guided group work which is different / has a different learning contention from the rest of class must have learning objectives stated in booked.

PLEASE NOTE: Phonics/alphabet charts/numeracy resources are available for children at all times on tables so it would be difficult to record on every piece of work if they have used them. The expectation is that they will always use them rather than occasional use.

Appendix 2 – Examples of outstanding marking

Great Examples of Marking…

and examples which are not acceptable