The Meadows EBD School, County Durham, adopted AFL in its infancy. Seven years on, what they have learned is relevant to any school, anywhere. LEA adviser Ron Rooney is in the school watching how it works. After opening in a rush and reeling from a tough initial OFSTED, management jumped at AFL as a guiding principle for consistent teaching and learning that can be applied to pupils accustomed to failure, and with a wide range of emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. Year 7 tackle ICT with a simplified Assessment Grid, while a Year 10 group use a similar pattern of Success Criteria to practise some basic reading and writing skills. A talented Year 9 art group appraise their own work against GCSE descriptors with supportive oral feedback from their teacher, gently encouraging them to acknowledge their own potential.

Video Series: Secondary Assessment
Release Date 2006