Surviving summer term 1 with the SATs, phonic screening checks and possible moderations only means one thing: the report-writing season is upon us!

It's time to fulfil our statutory duty by collating each student's year of achievements, strengths and next steps into one report for parents to appreciate.

While parents will enjoy reading personalised comments about their child’s interests and social development, they will have little understanding of just how time-demanding report-writing is for teachers.

This article is a whistle-stop tour on what your reports must include to meet statutory reporting requirements, plus 5 top tips on how to save yourself time during this report-writing season.

What must reports include for parents?

Key Stage 1

• Teacher assessed English reading, writing, maths and science.
• A sentence on Year 1 SATs results.
• Comparison to cohort and nationally - are they below, working towards, within or above expected standard?
• Achievements, attendance, general progress.
• Year 1 or Year 2 phonics screening check results. 
• Strengths and areas for development.
• How to get in contact to discuss.

Key Stage 2

• SATs results for English reading, grammar; spelling and punctuation, and maths.
• Teacher assessment in English writing and science.
• Scaled scores from their SATs results.
• Achievements, attendance, general progress.
• Year 4 multiplication tables check results.
• Strengths and areas for development.
• How to get in contact to discuss.

Key Stage 3

• Teacher assessments across all subjects.
• Achievements, attendance, general progress.
• Strengths and areas for development.
• How to get in contact to discuss.

Key Stage 4

• GCSE grades in any subjects taken or other qualifications.
• Strengths and areas for development.
• How to get in contact to discuss.
• Achievements, attendance, general progress.

5 top tips on how to save time this report-writing season

In an ideal world, you would be able to write a personalised report about a child’s achievements, what they enjoyed, how they interact with their peers and how the parents can assist them at home. But with a minimum of 30 pupil reports to complete (or multiple for your subject), time isn’t a luxury you have.

Your school should have a format for you to follow, with efficiency and wellbeing in mind. These documents should cover the statutory requirements as well as allow for personalisation.

Here are 5 top tips to help cut your report-writing time this summer:

1. Chip away

No one wants to face a last minute rush to get through countless reports, so prepare as many weeks in advance as possible - ideally 3 weeks for 30 reports. Block off in your diary 4 reports to complete per day, taking less than 8 working days to complete with time to edit.

2. Order your reports

Finding your last 10 reports to write are those that will be most challenging can be deflating, to say the least. When deciding your 4 reports per night, choose 2 challenging reports first and then 2 reports you are excited to write.

3. Jot down ideas

Think of personalisation ideas with a post-it note for each child, and jot down areas of their learning they have enjoyed and are passionate about. We always find the areas best received are those linked to positive social skills: kindness, resilience, and confidence. Then when you write, you have removed some cognitive demand in advance.

4. Sentence starters at hand

Most teaching resource sites have sentence starters for free download to help with any brain fog you may experience when typing. Have a few copied and pasted into a document on your computer ready to use for efficiency.

5. Use your communication system to get more info - and to send the report out

A good communication system will include information about attendance, achievements and even attendance at extra-curricular clubs. 

And if it links to your MIS, you may even be able to send out the final report online - meaning no printing of paper reports and hoping they make their way out of school bags and into parents' and carers' hands.

If you want to find out more about the Weduc communications system and how it can support you, give us a call on 01509 221 349 or take a look at it here.