Marking Policy

Cerne Abbas CE VC First School, Duck Street, Cerne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 7LA

‘The Small School with the Big Heart.’

Tel: 01300 341319         e-mail:office@cerneabbas.dorset.sch.uk         Website: www.cerneabbas.dorset.sch.uk

Marking Policy

Our vision is to be the best we can be.

We are committed to nurturing every child to thrive in a safe and engaging environment based on our Christian values of Peace, Trust, Friendship, Joy, courage and Forgiveness. We strive to develop happy and confident learners ready to face the challenges of their next steps.

All children should receive positive feedback that moves learning on and encourages dialogue and reflection, matched to their individual needs.  This should be reflected in the marking policy.

Aims:

• To use a coherent system throughout the school for checking and marking children's learning.
• To give praise and encouragement and to value children's learning.
• To provide positive feedback when the teacher assesses children's understanding and learning.
• To highlight strengths and areas for improvement in order to:-

1. help children improve 
2. plan future learning

• To ensure a consistent approach within the school that is understood by the children and parents.
• To ensure children are actively involved in their understanding of next steps in learning

Responsibilities:

• Live marking in a lesson is encouraged where possible to contribute to lessening the teacher's workload.
• All learning should be seen by the teacher who should indicate on the learning that this has been done, indicating how the learning was completed. eg. I – Independent, TA – Teaching Assistance, T – Teacher led, GG – Guided Group, S – Supply Teacher and P – learning with a partner.
• Comments should be positive, encouraging, questioning, constructive and extending.  All comments have the expectation that the child responds during Consider Time to extend, improve and reflect on their learning. 
• Children improve their learning using a purple pen in KS1 and KS2.
• AfL marking using Pink and Green highlighters will be used to highlight successes against the Learning Outcome or Success Criteria (SC). Sometimes a green highlighter is used to improve a child’s personal learning target.
• Throughout the school feedback may be verbal (clearly indicated by a V), particularly with the younger children and will highlight successes, areas for improvement and ways to improve. 
• Frequently children will be given time to improve one particular aspect of their learning either orally as a group, as appropriate, or independently responding to teacher’s feedback.  With very young children successes and improvements wherever possible will be highlighted alongside them during the learning activity to ensure clarity.
• Children will speak with clarity and confidence when understanding what the Pink and Green  highlights mean and be clear over how this is moving their learning on.
• At Cerne Abbas CE VC First we deep mark an extended write once a month in the children’s Once A Month Books. This involves tickled pink and growing green comments. The other writing is marked according to this policy with abbreviations and tickled pink and growing green comments if necessary. The expectation with Maths is to acknowledge all of the learning with abbreviations and at least a tick.
• In Early Years children’s next steps are written next to a picture of some steps in green.

Rewards and Awards

• Praise and encouragement should be used throughout the school as often as possible.
• Stickers will be used to encourage confident and conscientious learners.
• Special mention and Head teacher’s Awards for learning and dispositions of learners will be used to encourage active participation in learning.