Before half-term, my Primary colleagues were asking for early access to ‘End of Year Reports.’ Dig into that request and staff were planning to assign time during their well-earned break to “get ahead.”
There is no doubt that Reports are a significant investment: writing, moderating, proofing, responding to enquiries. For Primary colleagues and teachers of foundation or carousel subjects this investment is amplified.
No doubt Reports contribute to the triad parent-pupil-teacher relationship (though there may be more effective communications).
No doubt parents and pupils deserve personalised, meaningful reports.
For sure – staff workload needs to be considered.
The comment bank dilemma
Reports deserve to be personalised and meaningful – hence some teachers and school leaders are profoundly against comment banks. However, for those teachers with potentially hundreds of reports to write, they offer a lifeline. So here is my concession.
Teachers write their own comment banks, in their own voice (moderated and proofed read), top and tailed with a personalised intro and outro. A comment bank with sufficient flexibility and variability takes an hour or so to write but it is well worth the effort. More effort offers more variability.
The main body of the Report can be framed or bookended: INTRO, Academic strengths. Academic subject for improvement. School Values. Activities and Clubs. Uplift and push. OUTRO.
This largely “Excellent” report from Olly’s Head of Year was generated in less than one minute.
It has been wonderful having Olly in Year 6. Olly has made excellent progress across the board culminating in some secure/excellent attainment grades underpinned by an impressive effort grade profile. Olly’s focus next year is on English (understanding narrative structures). Olly is embedding some of the key values and character skills we hold dear, such as being responsible, respectful, responsive and reflective. As he grows in confidence he is beginning to make the most of all the opportunities on offer at Boundary Oak. I am so proud of him, and he does it all with charm and a beaming smile. He goes out of he way to greet me each day, which always warms my heart. I know Olly will continue to thrive in the Seniors!
This “Developing” report for Freya was generated even quicker. You can see some comments are edited after pasting – with “beaming” changed to “warm” to reflect her character.
Freya has shown a real thirst for her learning. These are a good set of grades and Freya should be proud of the solid progress she has made this year. Freya’s focus next year is on Maths. Next year I would like her to take greater responsibility in her learning with a determined, resilient and relentless drive to improve and turn those effort grades from 2s to 1s. We have been thrilled with Freya’s positive steps to engaging with the wider opportunities available at Boundary Oak. Although some subjects don’t come naturally to her I want to see a concerted push next year, and turn all those effort grades to 1s. Before I sign off, may I thank Freya. Everyday she goes out of her way to greet me, which always warms my heart. Good luck stepping into Seniors.
These are not perfect but after pasted into the entry box, each individual report can be fettled.
These Reports are generated with Shaun Kirkwood Report writing tool. After trialling it with our Primary colleagues, we added an additional substitution.
- ### = Name
- #he/she = he or she
- #He/She = He or She
- #his/her = his or her
- #him/her = him or her
- #himself/herself = himself or herself
Step 1 – Build your comments
Step 2 – Build
