working together - tallinn

Working together...helping your child make good progress!

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Working together: parents and carers and AFL Secondary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006 Ref: 0298-2006DCL-EN

IntroductionYou do not need to be an expert in any subject to help your child to enjoy learning and do well at school. By understanding assessment for learning and by doing just a few things at home you can greatly help your child.

Assessment for learning (AfL) in lessons is about teachers and pupils working together so that they understand:

1. what they have learned so far,

2. what they need to learn next and

3. how they can do this.

They also need to understand why this learning is important and how it will help them do well in the future.

Your child will get helpful feedback from their teacher so that they know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve, for example when teachers talk to your child or write comments on their work. Your child also needs to be able to recognise for himself or herself when they have learned something.

Learning at home is as important as learning in school.

Assessment for learning helps your child become a better learner. Teachers help pupils develop learning skills. You can help your child use and improve these skills.

What does assessment for learning (AfL) look like?Imagine you are learning to drive (again!). You know that you will have some lessons, you will need to practice and at some point, you will take a test. The test is not the only form of assessment … your instructor will have a goal for you for each lesson, for example, to be able to reverse safely. The instructor will:

1. start by describing the steps to make a successful reverse

2. ask you to have a go

3. discuss what you did well and what you need to improve.

This assessment of how well you’re doing helps you know what to improve and helps to plan your next lessons.


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Working together: parents and carers and AFL Secondary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2006 Ref: 0298-2006DCL-EN 2


School LogoGoes Here

Name of School Goes Here

(Character Count 1500)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia cathedras, quod perspicax concubine insectat umbraculi, iam syrtes imputat satis parsimonia concubine. Medusa lucide miscere Caesar, et syrtes conubium santet Aquae Sulis, utcunque Medusa insectat cathedras.

Apparatus bellis amputat concubine. Zothecas iocari catelli. Incredibiliter tremulus saburre conubium santet cathedras. Caesar libere deciperet fragilis concubine. Pessimus

gulosus fiducias celeriter senesceret satis lascivius suis, et Aquae Sulis praemuniet tremulus umbraculi, utcunque Augustus fermentet Caesar. Oratori insectat utilitas cathedras.

Octavius fermentet aegre pretosius concubine. Quinquennalis fiducias miscere rures, quamquam agricolae imputat utilitas umbraculi. Lascivius ossifragi vocificat matrimonii. Ossifragi senesceret incredibiliter perspicax oratori. Chirographi verecunde miscere adfabilis oratori, et lascivius agricolae adquireret pessimus adfabilis ossifragi.

Saburre vocificat syrtes. Aegre pretosius chirographi corrumperet concubine. Pessimus adfabilis cathedras frugaliter vocificat bellus agricolae, ut umbraculi incredibiliter neglegenter conubium santet fragilis suis. Adfabilis agricolae frugaliter insectat matrimonii,


Sharing learning goals with pupils

Helping pupils know the standards they are aiming for

Involving pupils in assessing their own and each other’s work

I know what I am trying to learn...

... and I know why I am learning this

I know how good this is...

... and I know how good it could be

This is a really good explanation ... I think you could

add a bit more detail to...

He’s right! And there’s another part I

could improve.

In schools assessment for learning looks like this:

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Providing feedback that helps pupils recognise the next steps to take

Promoting confidence that every pupil can improve

Involving both teacher and pupil in reviewing and reflecting on how well they have done and what they need to do to improve

You have identified the main reasons why so many people joined

the march… what else have you learned?

The layout is very clear – think about how you can make the most important points stand out…

Oh yes, perhaps a bolder font or…

That’s a very interesting idea…

Explain to me what you are thinking…

Well, it seems to me that…

That it was very dangerous to be involved in

protests but I don’t understand…

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Teachers plan for pupils to take responsibility for the learning.

How assessment for learning is part of everyday teaching and learning

Pupils can explain what they are trying to learn and why. They know when they are being successful and they help each other make progress.

Pupils assess their own progress and reflect on what they need to do to improve.

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Teachers regularly assess pupil’s progress and give feedback to help them improve.

Pupils are actively engaged in the learning. They discuss their work with each other and with the teacher.

Pupils work hard and there is a learning buzz in the air. The enthusiasm comes from enjoying success.

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You can help at homeHelping your child at the end of the school day

Sometimes talking things through and learning together can make a difference. You are not expected to be an expert but someone to share ideas with or help think something out.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• What sort of day have you had? What did you learn in history?

• You were a bit worried about your homework in science – what did you do well and what do you need to do to improve?

• Let’s have a look at what the teacher has written.

• What does this comment mean?

• Is that what you expected?

• What are you going to do next to improve this?

Listen carefully to what your child has to say. Try to respond positively and encourage them to think about what helps them to learn. Try this:

• I’m really pleased that you did well in English today.

• How did you work?

• What do you think helped?

• Could you use this to help you do well in French?

If your child has struggled in a lesson to understand something, help if you can. If you can’t, talk about where to get help, either from the teacher the next day, or from a friend.

Remember:All subjects are important … try to value them all when you talk about them.

Your child can improve in every subject … help them to believe this.

Your child will have favourite subjects and teachers… show that you expect your child to work hard in all lessons.

Find out: • Your child’s timetable so you know what lessons they’ve had that day and what’s coming up tomorrow

• Which subjects your child likes most and which they are less happy about.

• For each subject, what your child is doing well and what they need to improve so you talk about things that can make a difference

Start with a subject they like or are

doing well inMove on to

subjects they find more

difficult or like less

Look for the positives and signs of success as well as things that could be

improved

Use success in one subject to help your child learn

better in another

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In English

Has written an accurate article which is relevant and makes good sense

In PE

Develop the skill of dribbling a football

In PE

Can run with the ball keeping it under control

In English

Plan, draft and improve a piece of writing with readers and purpose

in mind

(Character Count 1000)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia

cathedras, quod perspicax concubine insectat Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat

When teachers plan lessons they think first about what the pupils need to learn…. these are often called the learning objectives.

Teachers then decide what the pupils need to do and how the pupils will know when they are successful …. these are often called the learning outcomes.

This way of teaching helps children understand:

• what they can do well

• what needs to be improved and

• what has yet to be learned.

This helps them to identify the next steps in their learning.

How teachers help pupils reflect on their learning

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You can help at homeHelping your child to become an independent learner

There are different things that can help your child become an independent learner. Two things teachers do are:

1 Help children develop different skills for learning. As they become more independent they should be able to decide for themselves which skills to use in different subjects at different times. For example:

• Using a highlighter pen to pick out the important bits in a text

• Searching for information on the Internet

2 Ensuring children work together so they can help each other to make better progress.

These independent learning skills will not only help pupils make better progress in school, but will also help them learn outside school and later on at work and in their lives as adults.

Ways you can helpThe most obvious starting point for this will be helping your child with their homework.

Find out if the school recommends any books or software you can buy or borrow from the library which will help your child work at home. The school may be able to recommend some useful websites.

Tell me what this is all about.

When’s it due in?Can I do anything

to help?You worked

really hard on that homework

– what did your teacher say about it?

Try thinking that out loud – it

sometimes helps you get your head

round things.

Let’s work through this

together.

You could call Kylie to talk that through

if you’re really stuck.

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Remember:Homework is an important part of your child’s learning. Make sure your child understands what they are learning, what they need to do and what will show good achievement.

Pupils who continue to work hard and do well at school do so because they enjoy learning and want to achieve.

Don’t worry about not being an ‘expert’ - teachers don’t pretend to know everything.

Resist the temptation to ‘help too much’ and do it for them – ask questions which will help them find the answer for themselves.

Encourage your child to work with or talk to a friend.

Find out what support is available in school.

Doing homework well can take up a lot of time but it is important that you encourage your child to keep a balance between work and play.

(School box: Recommended books/software/websites or reference to the appendix. School website (there may be a discussion forum site, e.g. where pupils can discuss their homework) Max 80 words, 400 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras

vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia cathedras, quod

(School box: Brief information about homework policy, possibly referencing appendix Max 100 words, 500 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus

bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia cathedras, quod perspicax concubine insectat umbraculi, iam syrtes imputat satis parsimonia concubine. Medusa lucide miscere Caesar,

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Pupils have ‘curricular targets’, which say what it is they are trying to learn in each subject over a term or longer. These targets are discussed with pupils and are included in their school reports. They provide a longer-term view of what they should be learning, and help them to become more independent learners because they know what they are aiming for.

Examples of curricular targets are:

Teachers refer to curricular targets from time to time and discuss progress towards them with individual pupils. When the teacher says what pupils will be learning in each lesson they are providing the steps towards these longer-term targets. Pupils are more motivated to learn when they understand how well they are doing and what else they need to do to achieve their targets.

Ways you can helpFind out from your child what his or her curricular targets are for each subject and talk to them about their targets. They will be in their school reports and the teachers will also be able to tell you what they are.

Try to make talking about your child’s targets an important and special time. Here are some questions to get you started.

• What does this target mean?

• What do you need to do to achieve it?

• Which target is the biggest challenge?

• Why do you think that is?

• What could you do to get around the problems so you can achieve it?

• Here’s a target we talked about last time. How’s it going?

• This target ‘needs to contribute more to discussions in lessons’ seems to come up in French, geography and history…why are you finding that difficult?

• Let’s see if we can think of some ways to help you improve it.

Remember:It’s important to discuss your child’s curricular targets with the teachers at parents’ evenings. This is your chance find out exactly what they mean, what your child needs to do to improve and how you can help at home.

If your child is worried about achieving a target then they should talk to the teacher about it. If this doesn’t help you should phone or visit the school and talk to the teacher with them.

You can help at homeHelping your child to review progress towards their targets

Always start with subjects they enjoy or do well in

Move on to the trickier areas

If they’re unsure, encourage them to talk

to their teacher

Try to finish positively so you child is up for making the effort to

do their best

In English

Can use punctuation to make the meaning of their writing clear and to guide the reader

In Design & Technology

Can combine ideas from different places to come up with a creative design for a product

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(School box: Outline of the school’s target setting policy, possibly referring to further information in an appendix Max 200 words, 1000 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere

corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia cathedras, quod perspicax concubine insectat umbraculi, iam syrtes imputat satis parsimonia concubine. Medusa lucide miscere Caesar, et syrtes conubium santet Aquae Sulis, utcunque Medusa insectat cathedras. Apparatus bellis amputat concubine. Zothecas iocari catelli. Incredibiliter tremulus saburre conubium santet cathedras. Caesar libere deciperet fragilis concubine. Pessimus gulosus fiducias celeriter senesceret satis lascivius suis,

(School box: School reporting policy, including reporting dates, possibly referring to appendix Max 100 words, 500 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi

fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis

(School box: Who parents should contact if they have any concerns about their child’s progress Max 50 words, 250 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes,

iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit

(School box: Information about school’s parents’ evenings, e.g. when they take place, how much time they will have with each teacher, how many teachers they will be able to see Max 100 words, 500 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes,

iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei

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Written feedback is all the written comments, stickers, ticks, levels or grades that teachers may put in pupils’ books when they mark them.

Parents, carers and their children are often unclear what the effort and attainment grades given by teachers actually mean.

Understanding written feedback

© Copyright 1994. United Feature Syndicate, Inc

Research shows that levels or grades should not be used as part of normal everyday marking, which should concentrate on providing helpful comments. Furthermore, when grades and comments are given, pupils tend to concentrate on the grades and don’t go on to read the useful comments.

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Teachers cannot give detailed written comments on every piece of work and so need to choose which work they are going to write comments about.

Remember that teachers also talk to pupils about how they can improve their work. They also teach the pupils how to assess their own and each others’ work and how to

help each other improve it. In other words, written feedback from the teacher is not the only feedback pupils get.

The most important thing of all is that children, and their parents and carers, understand the written feedback they get. To help with this, all the teachers in a school agree how they will mark the pupils’ work.

(School box: School marking policy How the appropriate amount and regularity of detailed feedback and the form and place of grades, marks and levels has been agreed and is applied consistently across the school. This could include a couple of examples of written feedback in different subjects, and an appendix could include further examples; some pieces of marked pupils’ work with informative comments would be useful there Max 300 words, 1500 characters)

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia cathedras, quod perspicax concubine insectat umbraculi, iam syrtes imputat

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Answers to questionsThat parents sometimes ask

When I hear the word ‘assessment’ I think of tests. Is assessment for learning a type of test?Assessment for learning isn’t a type of test. Assessment for learning is about teachers using all the information available about how well each pupil is doing to help them understand what they can do to improve. Some of this information comes from tests.

What do tests tell us?Tests summarise what your child knows, understands and can do at a point in time.

This is assessment of learning.Results from tests are often in the form of national curriculum levels or attainment grades, such as GCSE grades A – E, or marks out of 10. They tell parents, teachers and the pupils themselves how well they are doing compared with other pupils in a class… in a subject… in a school… across the country.

So where else can teachers get information about how well my child is doing in lessons?As important as tests are, most assessment information teachers use is gathered from everyday lessons:

• From your child’s answers to the questions asked in class;

• From things your child says in discussions

• From their class work or performance and from homework

• From how hard they try and want to learn

How does all this help my child do well?Teachers use all this information about what your child knows understands and can do to help them see where they are doing well and where they could improve. This helps your child take more responsibility for their learning because they are clear about what steps they need to take to do better.

This is assessment for learning.

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Additional information

(School box: This is a cover sheet for any additional information / documentation you wish to provide with the booklet. You don’t have to provide any additional information if you don’t wish to. This is just a way of providing further information that you may think parents should have without having to include a lot more text in the main body of the booklet. In this box you should list any additional information provided with a brief explanation of each (e.g. what it is about, why it has been provided, why it is important/useful, how parents can use it, where they can find out more if they wish to … Maximum 500 words (2500 characters))

Rures conubium santet plane parsimonia ossifragi, etiam Medusa iocari syrtes, iam ossifragi insectat fiducias. Cathedras vocificat utilitas quadrupei. Umbraculi fermentet chirographi, et verecundus ossifragi suffragarit Octavius, iam apparatus bellis incredibiliter lucide circumgrediet zothecas, semper plane tremulus chirographi iocari suis, quod quadrupei libere corrumperet suis, ut saetosus apparatus bellis imputat parsimonia cathedras, quod perspicax

concubine insectat umbraculi, iam syrtes imputat satis parsimonia concubine. Medusa lucide miscere Caesar, et syrtes conubium santet Aquae Sulis, utcunque Medusa insectat cathedras. Apparatus bellis amputat concubine. Zothecas iocari catelli. Incredibiliter tremulus saburre conubium santet cathedras. Caesar libere deciperet fragilis concubine. Pessimus gulosus fiducias celeriter senesceret satis lascivius suis, et Aquae Sulis praemuniet tremulus umbraculi, utcunque Augustus fermentet Caesar. Oratori insectat utilitas cathedras. Octavius fermentet aegre pretosius concubine. Quinquennalis fiducias miscere rures, quamquam agricolae imputat utilitas umbraculi. Lascivius ossifragi vocificat matrimonii. Ossifragi senesceret incredibiliter perspicax oratori. Chirographi verecunde miscere adfabilis oratori, et lascivius agricolae adquireret pessimus pretosius concubine. Quinquennalis fiducias miscere rures, quamquam agricolae imputat utilitas umbraculi. Lascivius ossifragi vocificat matrimonii. Ossifragi senesceret incredibiliter perspicax oratori. Chirographi verecunde miscere adfabilis oratori, et lascivius agricolae adquireret pessimus

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The Department for Education and Skills wishes to make clear that the Department and its agents accept no responsibility for the content within this document added by schools, the actual content of any materials suggested as information sources in this document, whether these are in the form of printed publications or on a website. In these materials icons, logos, software products and websites are used for contextual and practical reasons. Their use should not be interpreted as an endorsement of particular companies or their products. The websites referred to in these materials existed at the time of going to print. Tutors should check all website references carefully to see if they have changed and substitute other references.

Ref: 0267-2006DCL-EN

© Crown copyright 2006

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