This blog has been updated from the version originally published in 2024.

Sarah Ash, Subject Advisor for Health and Social Care and Child Development

The deadline for submitting moderating work for Cambridge Nationals is on 15 May and as this deadline approaches teachers have been asking us whether the candidate work should be annotated. Sometimes they’ve been told by a colleague or read on a WhatsApp group that it isn’t necessary and that it doesn’t make any difference to outcomes at moderation.

In this blog I’ll explain why you should be annotating candidates’ work produced for assessment. 

Guidance in the specification

Our moderators tell us how often they receive samples of work that contain no annotations on the candidate evidence: nothing in the margins and often no comments on the unit recording sheets (URS) – only the marks that the teacher gave. If there is no justification of marks given by the teacher the moderator has to try to understand the decisions made.

Annotations on the candidate work and/or the URS are an opportunity for you to showcase the best evidence from the candidate in relation to the assignment and marking criteria, and to support your marking decisions. It also enables the moderator to clearly understand your thought process and hopefully agree with your marking. 

What we say in the specification

We have provided guidance in the specification about annotation of candidates work. Section 6.3.8 explains that centres must provide guidance on the URS to show where specific evidence can be found. This may be using the page number, column and/or by referencing file names and locations but it is in Section 6.4.2 that reference has been made specifically about annotating students’ work. It tells you that “each piece of NEA work should show how the marks have been awarded in relation to the marking criteria”.

JCQ guidance

Our moderators are trained and standardised to bring the marking of internally assessed units to an agreed standard by checking a sample of the marking of candidates’ work. They will always do their best for students, but JCQ guidance explains that if a moderator cannot find evidence to justify the mark awarded then you may have the work returned to you or it could be subject to adjustment. Annotation of candidate work could help to prevent this. 

In the JCQ Instructions for conducting coursework, Section 9 provides guidance on annotation. It says that “when coursework is marked, it must be annotated to show clearly how credit has been awarded”. This could be a summary comment on the work, key pieces of evidence flagged throughout the work or a combination of these. 

It also tells us that “indications as to how marks have been awarded should:

• be clear and unambiguous;
• be appropriate to the nature and form of the coursework;
• facilitate the standardisation of marking within the centre;
• enable the moderator to check the application of the assessment criteria to the marking.” 

In conclusion, it is good practice to provide some annotation with the evidence. If you choose to do this on the URS, indicate where the moderator can find the best evidence for that criterion. Make sure the comments you give are not a repeat of the criterion but flag what it is that the candidate has done well. Give the page number where this can be found in the work, and an indicator in the margin that will help the moderator to go to the content and see the level of detail. 

More help

If you are unsure about how to complete the URS, take a look at the video we have produced for Creative iMedia and Health and Social Care. Further support about how to administer Cambridge Nationals is available on the Administration pages of our website and on Teach Cambridge where you can take part in our eLearning course, Essentials for the NEA.

We also recommend attending professional development events to learn more. Many of our events are free to attend and there is a wide range of training options. For specific questions, such as how or where to annotate, you could consider attending an Ask the Moderator event where you can question our subject experts. Alternatively, contact your subject advisor via support@ocr.org.uk.

Hopefully this blog has helped to explain how annotating your learners’ work is an opportunity for you to showcase the best of their evidence and communicate with your moderator the marking decisions you made. 

Stay connected

Please let us know if you have any questions or if you would like a chat to us about this blog or delivering health and social care or child development. We also welcome ongoing feedback from schools and colleges. 

You can email us on via support@ocr.org.uk or call us on 01223 553998. You can also book a Teams meeting with us directly. 

You can sign up for subject emails to keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and resources.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use the online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information. 

About the author

Before joining OCR in 2018, Sarah was a teacher and Subject Lead of Health and Social Care and worked in secondary schools and sixth forms in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. She was a sixth form tutor and moderated on a previous Level 3 HSC qualification. She has also worked as a teacher in a social care setting for young people aged 16-18 transitioning from living in care to becoming independent. At OCR Sarah has been involved in the redevelopment of Cambridge Nationals in Health and Social Care and Child Development, and the redevelopment of the Cambridge Advanced National (AAQ) in Health and Social Care.