South Bank Primary School Feedback Policy

At South Bank Primary School, we recognise feedback as a vital part of the teaching and learning process and strive to maximise its effectiveness in practice. We are mindful of research on effective feedback, cognitive science concerning new learning, and the workload implications of written marking.

Our approach is informed by best practice evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the DfE Independent Teacher Workload Review Group, and other educational research.

Key Principles

• Feedback and marking are distinct: Effective feedback positively impacts pupil learning, but marking is only one method of delivering feedback. Marking traditionally done outside lessons does not always provide timely or effective feedback for pupils.

• Pupil ownership: Our policy assumes all pupils can work independently when given effective input. Feedback allows pupils to struggle productively and ensures they do the hard thinking, not the teachers.

• Culture of learning from mistakes: Pupils understand that errors are learning opportunities and that making mistakes is part of progress.

Our Feedback Principles

1. Focus on progression: Feedback’s sole purpose is to advance pupils’ progression through the curriculum. Marking is only worthwhile if it improves learning.

2. Holistic impact: Feedback aims to improve pupils’ academic, personal, emotional, and social outcomes.

3. No additional evidence for verification: We do not provide extra feedback evidence solely for external validation.

4. Empowerment: Feedback empowers pupils to take ownership of improving their work; adults do not do the hard thinking for them.

5. Timeliness: Feedback is given during or by the next appropriate lesson, making the ‘next step’ usually the next lesson itself.

6. Lesson planning based on common errors: Teachers analyse common misunderstandings to plan the next lesson rather than writing individual next steps for every pupil.

7. Revisit and consolidate learning: New knowledge is fragile; teachers revisit learning to ensure secure understanding beyond the point of initial teaching.

8. Oral feedback: Working with pupils in class and reading their work provides immediate insight into pupil understanding.

9. Pupil self-awareness: Pupils should clearly know:

   • What they are doing well in the subject.
   • What they need to improve.

10. Acknowledging effort: Marking should celebrate pupil effort and progress through manageable, meaningful praise without excessive written comments.

11. Manageable workload: Marking must be proportional, meaningful, motivating, and manageable, avoiding burdensome heavy marking.

12. Formative assessment: Improving formative assessment during lessons reduces the need for extensive written marking.

13. Professional judgement: Teachers decide when written feedback or verbal feedback is most effective, including simple affirmations like “Well done, keep this up.”

14. Address misconceptions promptly: Misconceptions are acted upon immediately, with feedback methods chosen by the teacher.

15. Subject and age appropriateness: Feedback varies by subject and pupil age, tailored to improve outcomes contextually.

16. Peer and self-assessment: Where appropriate, pupils engage in peer and self-marking to reflect on next steps.

17. Metacognitive development: Pupils are encouraged to reflect on how they can improve, developing metacognitive skills.

18. Professional trust: We trust our teachers’ professional judgement in delivering effective feedback.

19. Curriculum sequencing and ambition: Our carefully sequenced curriculum and high ambitions for pupils are supported by ongoing questioning, chunking learning, repetition, and reinforcement to embed knowledge in long-term memory.