1. Before the judging session
The process of judging itself can be really good CPD, if you organise it well.
First of all, make sure you have tried the judging yourself and that it works (sign yourself up as a judge)!
Familiarise yourself with adding judges, and ask them to complete the sign-up process before the session. Check that every judge has received their unique judging link. Check how many judges you have available, and how many judgements each judge needs to make, adjusting the number if you need to.
Familiarise yourself with how to download your results, and make sure you know what the scores for pupils and the scores for judges mean.
Arrange a time and a place for everyone to get together to discuss the judging. The more teachers and teaching assistants you involve the better.
You can decide whether some or all of the judging will be done in this first get-together - if staff are carrying out some judging at this point, make sure that computers are available for all judges. It may be that there is not time for all the judging to be done, in which case staff can judge at another time of their convenience.
2. On the day
Before you begin, make sure everyone knows what they are looking for in the pupils' work. A very quick discussion and outline before you start can help reassure more nervous judges.
To start the judging, each judge should click their own unique judging link that they received via email. (If this isn't possible, a copy of their links can be viewed in the table on the Judges screen.) Everyone should make their judgements independently. The independence of judging removes any bias and makes sure every pupil is considered fairly.
An example of a judging screen is shown below:
Encourage people to take a few notes while they judge rather than discuss. A good discussion at the end of the process is great, but too much discussion during the process can slow people down.
If you have time at the end, it is really good to take a look at your results. Are you happy with the piece you have judged to be the best? The worst? How do you feel as you move down the rank order? Do you feel that you have rewarded what you feel is important in the work? Has the judging given you a feel for next steps in teaching and learning?
3. A note on moderation