Marking school work

[Floatyboat]

So apparently the teaching unions think marking should not take place due to "health and safety". Surely this is straying into the territory of unhelpful disruption rather than constructive engagement with the government's wish to help kids.

There are so many work arounds to do it safely. Wait 48hrs to mark, wear gloves, wash hands etc

Given they are arguing this I can't help but think the unions are simply being unreasonable and not actually taking a balanced view.

Based on the government advice, OP.

But you are making things up when you keep saying unions are telling people not to Mark. I keep referring to the 12 point checklist (yes page 16 is the one) where it says about marking books not no marking. I have attached the quote from it.

So to anyone else reading. Please don’t think teaching unions are telling teachers not to mark full stop. They are clarifying guidance from the government who has said not to take books home and marking books would risk this. I repeat that teachers will continue to mark and give feedback. Just not handwritten in books.

@Piggywaspushed

Please source the government advice that said no marking.

It says "no marking" not "no marking of books".

There are approximately 70 billion dfE documents since the announcement. I am not going to wade through them for you.

You only need to watch the daily briefing to know children cannot bring in pencil cases or books from home or share stuff and that pencil cases and equipment have to be cleaned after each use.

Floaty,

But as a teacher I am guided by Government guidance, and specifically by my school's policies which are based on that guidance.

I am not required to follow what a specific union states, though I am glad that schools are considering their policies in the light of what unions are putting forward.

So, for me, it goes like this:
Government issues guidance.
Unions, from their standpoint of 'standing up for the health etc rights of their members', list things that they think schools should be thinking about when interpreting that guidance.
Schools make policy for their own settings, taking these things into account. they will also be considering their normal policies on marking and feedback, and the needs of the specific children at this time - so for example they may consider that the main purpose of Y6 being in school is about preparation for transition, or supporting the most vulnerable children, managing mental health etc rather than whether their writing is marked in detail.

Anyway, I am NASUWT. Looks like I am in your good books (which you will be happy to mark!)

Floatyboat. Do please stop quoting out of context. Hopefully people will see my graphic and be able to work it out for themselves

My child sends photo of work to class dojo or emails teacher to school electronic drop box as secondary but in seven weeks the only feedback received is well done or good work. No feedback for improvement given to him at all. I am giving him feedback for improvement as I am an early retired secondary teacher. A couple of his class friends parents have asked me to give feedback to their sons too as children get frustrated and demotivated working hard but no feedback for improvement. Some days my son is only set one piece of work.

Piggy, the bit I quoted is, genuinely, the only reference to books.

It's from www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools#planning-what-to-teach-and-how, the most detailed and most recent guidance to primary heads [there has been no equivalent document released for secondary, though it is mentioned that it should be released].

@cantkeepawayforever

That's totally fair and sensible. My point was that the union advice is counter productive to their broader aims and overly prescriptive.

I must admit I await the secondary guidance with trepidation. I expect it in Friday evening.

There is guidance about handling things though. It is just logical that no one can wash hands in between every book, and that a pile of books is avoidable cross contamination.

I think you would agree that's not militant unionization .

The thing is, I will have to clean the children's desks anyway - we were doing this 5x per day before lockdown. If they leave a book open for me to look at while they are outside in their specific part of the school grounds and I am wiping down, [yes, there are specific arrangements for adult supervision outside] and I then give them verbal feedback when they get back in, that is better and more timely feedback than would usually be done via marking

Right my ds is in secondary school heading for national 5

And apparently so far,
Jotters where his notes are written will be obsolete,
He will only be part time
He cant take pens calculators etc from home

Am.i the only one who thinks this is completely untenable. And no I don't know the answer other than in some ways we just need to say look the virus is here, get the kids back in as normal and teachers will have to open up to some risk in the workplace

I know it's crap but we can't change it and we need kids to be educated and properly

@frasersmummy

Is education worth risking overwhelming the NHS? I certainly don't think so. I suspect that schools will almost certainly be going back to normal while the virus is still circulating, but this shouldn't happen all at once, just in case it creates a second wave worse than the first.

fraser this is Scotland, right? How can you know this?

Wont all secondary kids be off til September Fraser's? That's what I thought anyway
As for marking, I would settle for some (any) marking or feedback from the online work. I'm surprised to read about all the secondary teachers doing all this feedback because out if the 7or 8 subjects my DC are doing they have had none whatsoever. When I have emailed to check the work is being submitted I get a generic response. And some more links. Yes, I know how to find BBC bitesize, thanks all the same.

I get, kind of, about not marking physical books ( ok I don't but I am willing to accept some teachers are that scared) so surely they can find other ways to work and give feedback that isn't on paper?

Yes I'm in Scotland. We have schools here too.
We may have different rules but as they are not published I am following the English advice as a guide to what will happen here

We will be giving verbal feedback (which is wholly more useful than written feedback) as well as continuing online feedback. I have marked every piece of work I have had submitted since my school closed.

I think some people on this thread are being deliberately obtuse. The unions don’t want us to mark physical books. That does NOT mean your child will get no feedback. Any teacher worth their salt immediately addresses misconceptions there and then verbally, rather than writing in their book “good, but you got that answer wrong in class!”

There are many different ways to give feedback; marking books is not the be all and end all.

fraser but Scottish schools are not opening soon

I think some people on this thread are being deliberately obtuse
That's the whole point of the thread bring started.
A question was asked, reasonable explanations, answers and challenges were given.
Instead of listening, OP is continuing to selectively present information and argue the toss so much it's hard to believe they have genuine intentions anymore.

@lola

Read what I've written I've expressed agreements with many statements made by teachers. I just think a top down blanket ban on marking is ridiculous and undermines the unions wider aims.

Taking books home to mark is probably what they are getting at here which seems sensible, no? Cross contamination with the teachers' own families?

Marking as you understand it in the feedback sense is not what they mean. That can go on regardless, and there are volumes of academic research on different types of effective marking which you are welcome to go away and read,

Boiled down, written marking in year R and year 1 is primarily for the teachers benefit anyway - which I have often remarked upon after spending hours writing comments which children can't read - and there are lots of ways you can keep records about achievement without writing comments in books.

So all told it's more goadiness I reckon OP

I just think a top down blanket ban on marking is ridiculous and undermines the unions wider aim

Just as well there isn’t a blanket ban.

If the union advice is followed it's a blanket ban.