LEARNING TO LEARN
Discussion & recommendations
Within this project I was interested in considering
whether our current system could be more effective
with regard to improving pupil outcomes. One of the
first key considerations to be addressed is who the
reports are for. Reports tend to be presented as though
for parents/guardians, if so, what is the desired purpose?
Is it to reassure them their child is doing well, or to
persuade them that we know how their child is doing,
or to provide them with targets to work on with their
child? If for the students, then what is the desired
purpose? Given that reports often come towards the
end of an academic cycle are they a celebration of
achievement, or rather about targets for improvement?
A second consideration is whether the reports are
aligned with the schools’ ethos and values. Currently
reports perhaps send the message that the school is
all about academic achievement. Could they better
represent the four pillars of academics, sport, arts and
service? And what does “effort” really mean? Could it
be better broken down into character traits we value in
our pupils, or into learning skills we believe pupils should
be developing?
A third consideration is teacher workload. If reports
are highly effective then the value of investing time to
create them is obviously high too. Currently teachers
spend a huge amount of effort completing reports for
their classes, with students/parents often overly focusing
on the grades, and not detailed comments. The question
asked by the DfE review group is why keep doing
something if you have no evidence that it is working?
For consideration
I recommend that a working group of staff and
students is formed to discuss all matters related to
reporting at Sevenoaks School. In my mind we have
a real opportunity to update our reporting in a way
which has a significant effect on pupil outcomes,
engages parents in a more meaningful way, and
reduces teacher workload while improving quality
of teaching and learning through reports becoming
a much more effective form of feedback.
References
Education Endowment Foundation (2016) A Marked Improvement? A review
of the evidence on written marking. Education Endowment Foundation.
Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-
summaries/evidence-reviews/written-marking/ (accessed 08.08.19)
Hattie, J. (2008) Visible Learning. Routledge.
Independent Teacher Workload Review Group (2016) Eliminating unnecessary
workload associated with data management. Department for Education.
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-teachers-
workload/reducing-teachers-workload (accessed 08.08.19)
Selwyn, N., Henderson, M., Shu-Hua, C. (2017) The possibilities and limitations
of applying ‘open data’ principles in schools. Cambridge Journal of Education.
Vol. 47 Issue 2, p167-187. 21
The fourth and most important consideration is whether
the reports are an effective form of feedback. Is our
reporting task, process, self-regulation or self-feedback
focused? Comments like “well done” are common
examples that evidence suggests are ineffective. Is
our feedback specific enough and timely? Given there
is often a time delay between teachers writing the
comments and students or parents reading them,
comments may no longer be valid. Currently there is also
little opportunity for student involvement in reports for
providing teachers with feedback on gaps in knowledge
or skills, and expectations about their own progress.
A final consideration is whether the reports are efficient
data drops. Is there too much duplication? Most
teachers will have their own markbooks and written
feedback on assignments. Could technology be used
so that comments and grades are only collected and
presented once by teachers in real-time?
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