Redcastle Family School Policy on Marking
We believe that a common consistent marking policy is fundamental for every child's learning.
AIMS
· to inform the child in order to:
praise achievement
reinforce learning
involve the child in the setting of future goals
· to inform the teacher for assessment and future planning.
· to inform the parents of level of achievement, progress, and appropriate expectations.
· to inform other agencies.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
· consistent practice throughout the school which is appropriate to the task and the age, ability and confidence of the child.
· an understanding of the purpose of correction by the child.
establishment and acceptance of expected standards of work.
· ability to accept and learn from criticism.
· Identification of a child's level of ability, rate of progress and direction of future learning
· consistent reward system.
IMPLEMENTATION
The level of marking may vary according to the ability and maturity of the child and the actual task set. The use of rubbers is not encouraged. For marking in Foundation, Key Stage 1 and in Key Stage 2 green ink is used by staff and the children mark in purple pen.
1. English (and written work in other curriculum areas)
Marking in English includes four main areas, spelling, handwriting, structure and genre.
Before the children start a piece of work, they will be told the focus for the work. Learning Objectives are written by pupils (where able) on work in some form. All work must be dated with the date written on the top right hand corner of the page and underlined. Miss a line and write the L.O.(centered) and underline with a ruler. Where applicable work may have an additional title, with a line missed between the L.O. and underlined with a ruler. In Year R, there will be mainly one focus at a time, but by the time the children get to Y6, there could be several. Although the level of marking may vary for individual children according to age and maturity, the following guidelines normally apply:
Spelling
R Emergent writers
One key word chosen for correction
Y1 Key words corrected with the correct spelling written above.
Y2 Key words and specific topic words are corrected with the correct spelling written above.
Y3 Underline lightly in pencil incorrect spelling and write correction above, progressing to the identification of 4 spelling errors to be underlined and marked with sp for children to self-correct with the aid of dictionaries and spelling lists.
Y4 Underline lightly in pencil incorrect spelling of common words or 4 key words related to topic and write correction above, progressing to the identification of errors to be underlined and marked with sp for children to self-correct with the aid of dictionaries and spelling lists. Put a wavy line under exciting words and, if spelt incorrectly, write the correct spelling, praising pupil for having made such a fabulous attempt at an adventurous word.
Y5 Underline all incorrect spelling of common words or 4 key words related to topic and write correction above, progressing to the identification of errors to be underlined and marked with sp for children to self-correct with the aid of dictionaries and spelling lists.
Y6 With the exception of SEN children where errors will be corrected above, it is the expectation that all errors will be marked with sp and children will self-correct using dictionaries and spelling lists.
Teachers of KS2
· Keep a spelling log of common errors that the children are making.
· Make a mark against misspelt words that have been taught in spelling lessons to remind them to review the appropriate unit.
· Include the common errors in the two minute check activity in the Get Spelling session.
Handwriting
It is expected that all staff handwriting is of a sufficient high standard which will be a model for the child to follow. Comments will be legible and clear in meaning. Handwriting is taught using the Penpals scheme on the Interactive Whiteboards.
R Encouragement of correct letter formation
Y1 As above, plus awareness of ascenders and descenders and size of capital letters.
Y2 As above, plus definite focus of joining up letters in line with key spelling patterns.
Y3-Y6 As above, plus developing an individual, legible joined up style of writing, appropriate to purpose.
Grammar
In order to support the children in their Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test in KS2, it is imperative to help them use correct punctuation in their own writing. Encourage children to rewrite a small section using the punctuation they omitted.
R Capital letters and full stops are corrected.
Y1 Secure the use of capital letters and full stops.
Y2 As above, plus question marks and exclamation marks and introduce commas to separate items in a list.
Y3 As above, plus speech marks.
Y4 Introduce paragraphs, colons to indicate a list, commas to separate clauses, apostrophes and brackets in stage directions.
Y5 All of the punctuation secure for complex sentences. Paragraphing and brackets secure along with the apostrophe. Introduce the ellipsis. Full speech punctuation, new speaker, new paragraph.
Y6 Use of semi-colon, dashes, hyphens and the ellipsis.
Standard symbols for marking to be shared with pupils;
I / Independent work / GW / guided writingSW / Shared writing / PW / Paired work
sp / spelling error / T / Teacher support
TA / Teaching Assistant support / ^ / omission
// / new paragraph / adj / adjectives
con / conjunctions / C / Capital letters
/ Fantastic word choice, add correct spelling to your log and learn it. / / See Teacher
If a mistake is common to many children, a group or class lesson on the specific difficulty is given. If it is not possible to correct the work with the child present, it is usual for a comment or question to be written after each piece of work. It should be noted that appropriate marking strategies are used according to whether the work is in draft form or final copy.
Mathematics
Before the children start a piece of work, they will be told the focus for the work. Learning Objectives are written by pupil (where able) on work in some form. All work must be dated with the date written on the top right hand corner of the page and underlined. Year R, there will be mainly one focus at a time, but by the time the children get to Y6, there could be several.
An incorrect answer is marked using a cross or a dot and is corrected. If a piece of work requires right or wrong answers (e.g. a series of calculations) we encourage children to become involved in marking their own work so that any misconceptions may be addressed immediately by the teacher. A tick by the learning objective shows that the work has been checked.
Science
Before the children start a piece of work, they will be told the focus for the work. Learning Objectives are written by pupil (where able) on work in some form. In Year R, there will be mainly one focus at a time, but by the time the children get to Y6, there could be several.
A tick is used to acknowledge accuracy and the understanding of the concept at the level required.
Homework
Homework is marked during a timetabled lesson by the Class teacher and Teaching Assistants and peers. A positive comment is made which values the child and the support which they receive from home.
Assessment for Learning (AfL)
As part of our AfL approach we have adopted at least one star and a wish. A star is awarded on each occasion where the child has been successful in meeting the text level objectives. One wish, an improvement point is made, which will move the child forward in their learning.
It is then crucial that the child is given time to make the improvement point.
Success Criteria
Children are taught how to achieve success in their work by achieving a list of small steps which is written and agreed by the teacher and children at the beginning of a unit of work. The children then use these lists to refer to throughout the unit of work to make sure that they include everything necessary to be successful. We are currently using this approach for our writing in Literacy lessons.
We are gradually developing a system of self and peer assessment guided by referring back to the success criteria and learning objective.
In all subjects, work is marked according to the learning objective and good work and effort is acknowledged with a star, a stamp or a sticker and house points.
Children who have worked particularly hard show their work to the Head teacher or Deputy Head teacher for praise and encouragement and a gold sticker! Medals and certificates are awarded each week for Reading, Writing, Mathematics, PE, Homework, Behaviour and for Overall Excellence.
The Head of English would like to be involved with praising any child, KS1, KS2 or EYFS, that shows excellent use of reading or writing and would welcome children being brought to her room if younger or sent up for encouragement.
Policy agreed by staff and Governors October 2014
This policy will be reviewed in October 2015