Give feedback effectively without creating an unmanageable workload

Example

School details

School name: Outwood Grange Academies Trust

Location: Multiple locations across the north of England and the East Midlands

Phase: Primary and secondary (this example is designed for secondary settings)

Number of pupils: 25,000 pupils across 44 academies

Contact details: Email the academy trust at enquiries@outwood.com

Impact and outcomes

Outwood Grange Academies Trust has created a culture where teachers give feedback effectively without creating an unmanageable workload.

Thanks to their approach, teachers are innovative in how they provide feedback. They’re empowered to:

give feedback and mark in a way that best suits their subject and pupils
use a wide variety of feedback strategies such as verbal feedback and live marking

Teachers are also more selective in what, why and how they mark. They:

focus on what makes a difference in written marking
mark for pupils - not leaders

Workload has also reduced and there is a better balance between time spent on planning and marking. Pupils are more actively engaged in checking their own work and responding to feedback.

Background from Lynn James, Executive Principal

We have reduced the pressures which increase teacher anxiety, ensuring teachers can excel and focus on what makes the biggest difference.

Our quality assurance process removes graded lesson observations and instead evaluates how well a subject’s curriculum secures pupils’ learning.

Pupils’ books become a reflection of effective learning, not a check of marking compliance.

Our approach to feedback and marking

We:

remove unnecessary marking
use a range of marking methodologies - one style of marking does not suit all purposes and all pupils

There are many effective forms of feedback and we use a variety of methods. We believe that:

feedback should be a regular, but not onerous, practice
teachers should select the best feedback method available to impact positively on pupil learning and future performance

We set clear and manageable expectations about how teachers can approach:

feedback in lessons
marking (for example, how regular it is)
identifying mistakes and errors
peer and self assessment

Department leads quality assure marking and feedback in discussions with teams.

Use immediate feedback strategies in lessons

We give feedback as close as possible to the point of action, preferably during the lesson. This is more effective than comments given later.

We use different types of immediate feedback strategies in lessons. Their usage is evident:

in pupils’ books due to improved work
by pupils’ conversations about their lessons
by observing teaching over time

Verbal feedback

Verbal feedback should be common practice in lessons, and you do not need to record when you’re using it - unless it supports the pupil in their learning.

Live marking

Give verbal feedback and mark aspects of pupils’ work in lessons.

Modelling and examples

Focus on how to get to the end product by showing pupils the process and construction.

Pupils need frequent modelling and examples to understand what is expected in the process and construction of their work.

Peer assessment and self-assessment

Use these effective learning tools regularly.

Offer pupils the opportunity to look at and learn from each other’s work, and the work of older pupils and experts.

Make marking purposeful and manageable

Be selective and only mark if it will have a meaningful impact. We do not expect teachers to mark all work or tick every page of a pupil’s book.

Each department has its own approach to marking relevant to their subject. They agree which tasks should be marked to check pupils’ understanding of the intended learning. This makes marking both purposeful and manageable.

Use professional judgement about how to make corrections

Sometimes teachers need to mark to make corrections to:

mistakes (when pupils usually do something correctly but did not do so on this occasion)
misconceptions (when pupils have not mastered or have misunderstood something)

Use professional judgement about how to make corrections, whether it’s reshaping your teaching or providing feedback.

When several pupils in a class misunderstand something, plan how to teach it again.

Decide whether a whole class, small group or an individual approach is required to overcome the misconception.

Give pupils time to improve their work before marking

We build ‘student response time’ into lessons – this is time where pupils can proofread, edit and enhance the work that will be marked.

This helps pupils:

strive for excellence
see the value of marking
respond to the feedback given in class or after marking

‘Student response time’ is a term we use across the trust to promote consistent practice.

Use codes in written marking to improve accuracy and standards

A capital ‘E’

This means ‘excellent editing ethic’. We use it to praise pupils for responsibly editing mistakes in their work. There may still be errors, but this could be because of a gap in their learning.

A circle

We use a circle to show that something is missing or inaccurate. For example, a mistake in a word or punctuation.

Parallel lines - //

We use 2 parallel lines on the appropriate line in the margin to show a new paragraph is needed.

NB

This means ‘note well’. We use NB followed by a comment on a grammar or technical subject point.

Sp

We use ‘Sp’ to show where there is inaccurate spelling. We put it in the margin and underline the inaccurate spelling.

Use your judgement as to whether the student can spell the word but made a mistake on this occasion, or whether they cannot spell it and need the spelling or rule.

A wavy line - }

We use a wavy line like a curly bracket when writing is unclear and needs to be rewritten.

Decide whether this is due to a mistake which the pupil can rectify alone or if they need support through written or verbal feedback.

Mark the presentation of work

Presentation standards and skills should be explicitly taught and modelled by the teacher, such as ruling lines, underlining headings, labelling diagrams, and using the correct layout.

We use the ‘proud’ protocol when marking the presentation of work:

‘p’ stands for ‘pen’ - use blue or black ink
‘r’ stands for ‘ruler’ – user a ruler for straight lines and rule off work when finished
‘o’ stands for ‘oops’ – draw a neat line through mistakes
‘u’ stands for ‘underline’ – underline the title and date
‘d’ stands for ‘pencil’ – draw in pencil