Assessment

The following information summarises how we assess pupil’s achievement and measure attainment and progress of the new National Curriculum. The system was created by a small working party of local schools with external input and advice from an independent advisor who works for the DFE.

• For reading, writing and mathematics, the objectives of the National Curriculum have been grouped in to areas of learning to create an overall curriculum objective sheet for each year group. Where the national curriculum is over a two year period these objectives have been analysed and used to create objectives for individual year groups. Careful consideration has been given to progression.
• Ongoing formative assessment is continuously taking place with objectives being highlighted when a child is confidently displaying an understanding of the objectives.
• At the end of each term a summative assessment of the child’s attainment is made, leading to the generation of a grade descriptor – Entering a Year Groups objectives, working within a Year Groups Objectives, Working Securely at the Year Groups Objectives or Working at Greater Depth within the Year Groups Objectives. Teachers also use NFER tests and previous years SATs test to assist in their judgements.

At the end of each term the objective sheets are considered along with the teacher’s professional knowledge of the child. A grade descriptor is assigned to the child’s level of achievement with the guidance being ….

Up to 50% objectives = Entering the Year group

Between 50% and 80% of objectives  = working within the year group

80% plus of objectives = secure at the year group

Where children are secure with all objectives  and in the teachers professional judgement are able to use and apply their knowledge in a wide range of challenging contexts an award of working at greater depth may be given.

• Where a child is working at within their chronological age group they will correlate to  attaining / working at age expectation
• This data is entered into a SIMS mark sheet termly.
• SIMS has a numerical grading system built into it, based on the expectation that a child will make 4 points overall progress each year, to enable pupils’ progress and attainment to be tracked and measured. ( See charts below)
• Through any academic year a pupil who is making sustained and substantial progress will make four points progress. ( See Example Chart )
• Through SIMS the school generates tracking grids to look at individual pupil progress, cohort data to generate percentages working at each grade descriptor and uses filters to look specifically at groups of pupils the school has identified.
• SIMS generates a yearly progress for children based on prior attainment and the Percentage of pupil’s making sustained and substantial progress (4 points).

Key Stage 1 “Sustained and substantial “Progress”

Key Stage 2 “Sustained and substantial Progress”

Example of How a pupil may attain 4 Points – Sustained and substantial Progress in a Year

The following Table shows how a pupil may attain sustained and substantial progress, less than sustained and substantial progress and more than sustained and substantial Progress.

The achievement of all children from Years 1 to Year 6 is monitored using the above system.  Additional information is attained from the use of termly assessment tests and end of year tests. The school is mindful of the latest publications from the DFE regarding assessment and the latest performance descriptors and will review the assessment system being used at the end of each academic year.

Foundation Assessment

In foundation subjects children complete a cold task to ascertain their baseline knowledge of the area of learning to be taught. Planning will be adjusted in light of children's prior knowledge. A hot task will be completed at the end of each topic to ascertain children's progress. Teachers will use their knowledge of the child contribution and engagement in lesson and the work in their books, plus the hot task, to arrive at an attainment judgement which will be recorded - see examples below.

These records have been created by coordinators to show the key skills that have been learnt by the children. They are kept by the class teachers and given to coordinators at the end of the unit.