We all recognise that giving and receiving feedback is an important part of continual improvement, allowing us to understand and celebrate what we are doing well, whilst reflecting on areas where we need we need to adopt different strategies and approaches to improve outcomes. Feedback should always be two-way communication and provide direction, affirmation and advice.

At the start of this term, Senior School teachers joined together to explore the nature of effective feedback, and identify ways to enable the students to achieve better outcomes in their learning. Through working in collaborative teams and engaging with the latest academic research, they developed a range of solutions, which would serve to support the learning development of their students across the academic year ahead.

A key piece of research supporting these discussions came from educational researcher John Hattie, which clearly identifies feedback as one of the most influential factors supporting student progress in school. He highlights that for feedback to be effective, it should give the student an idea of how they are currently performing; identify misconceptions and provide the student with guidance on how to improve and make further progress.

With these thoughts in mind, teachers have implemented a range of strategies, which reflect the context of their own subject areas and the needs of individual students. In addition to the more traditional methods of providing feedback verbally and within exercise books, teachers have also adopted technological solutions which enable them to offer real-time feedback within the classroom environment and remotely, helping to facilitate independent study. This enables the students to respond to feedback in a timely manner, ensuring that the initial learning experiences remains closely linked with any adaptations which are required. Through triangulating these methodologies, teachers have been able to provide comprehensive support and guidance, developing greater intellectual confidence and increasing levels of motivation towards extending their learning.

Feedback at Bedford Girls’ School is not only limited to interactions between teachers and students. As a learning community it is equally as important that we receive, listen and act upon feedback from staff and parents, through both formal and informal channels. Our recent parent survey which gathered perceptions about their daughter’s learning experiences has been used to shape our approach staff development, and our recent staff survey about the development of learner skills and attributes has served to inform the development of parent engagement.

In order for us to keep moving forward as a school, it is essential remain responsive to feedback so that we continually review and refine our practices to best support the development of our students.