Maddy Barnes, assistant head and English consultant, explains why every school needs the Teacher’s Moderation Toolkit
“I can’t imagine not using it now”
We have been using the Moderation Toolkit for almost a full academic year and cannot imagine assessing children’s writing without it. The Teacher’s Moderation Toolkit consists of termly exemplification materials for Y1-6. There are two versions of the exemplification materials: those that are annotated with references to the national curriculum, and those that are not annotated, for CPD use or to share with children. Once purchased, the Teacher’s Moderation Toolkit is available as an e-book which maximises the opportunities it can be used for.
“It helps all staff make reliable judgements”
Accurate teacher assessment of writing is a priority for all schools. Tracking emerging data for all year groups is essential to know the ‘big picture’. All members of staff need to be able to make consistent and reliable judgements to ensure that the data is accurate. The Teacher’s Moderation Toolkit provides standardised writing per term, per year group. Teachers can refer to the writing materials while assessing their children. This is particularly helpful for teachers in one-form entry schools where it is not always possible to discuss assessment data with a year group colleague.
“It is a great tool to use during CPD sessions”
The Teacher’s Moderation Toolkit can be used to provide CPD for all staff. However, NQTs and teachers new to year groups may benefit more. When moderating their own pupils’ writing, teachers can often give the benefit of the doubt to pupils and may be biased in their assessments. However, assessing the writing that is not annotated in the book removes the knowledge of the child. Teachers are more likely to apply a neutral eye to this writing. Time can be spent cross-referencing the year group expectation guidelines with the collection of writing.
“It helps children use their previous knowledge”
In this ever-changing world of assessment, the Teacher’s Moderation Toolkit is written with reference to the national curriculum; therefore, it does not have an expiry date. It is crucial that teachers review the learning from the previous year(s) with their pupils so that they include features that were previously taught. Our year group expectation guidelines (‘A Year 4 writer…’) include a blue section that outlines content taught in previous years. Teachers can refer to this blue section in written and verbal feedback to ensure children use their previous knowledge too.
“The children enjoy using it”
In order for children to improve their writing they must have a thorough understanding of their year group expectations. Our Y5 children have greatly benefited from daily contact with the ‘A Y5 writer…’ resource. The children in both KS1 and KS2 have really enjoyed looking at writing from the toolkit on the whiteboard. Teachers have also used the e-book to challenge children to produce stronger writing than the examples, posing questions like, ‘How could you improve the sentence types used?’
Find out more about Teachers Moderation Toolkit by calling 020 37739620 or visit prim-ed.com
