Assessment

Assessment

  • Pupils should be given appropriate feedback on their learning from the formative assessments carried out by class teachers.
  • Class teachers should be able to use formative assessment to support planning and implementation of a curriculum designed to meet the needs of learners.
  • Teachers and school leaders should be able to use assessment to help ensure that the pupils who need specified intervention are quickly identified, appropriately supported and monitored so that all can fully achieve their potential.
  • School leaders should be able to use summative assessment as a tool for monitoring the progress and attainment pupils make, to ensure the school is helping all pupils achieve their potential.
  • Parents should be able to get a clear and accurate sense of their child’s achievement and progress as well as areas where they can support development.
  • Governors should be able to use the data to ensure the school is supporting pupils learning effectively.
  • The school can provide data for inspection teams to show how children are performing.
  • Local schools and schools with the SWAN trust collaborate to ensure assessment systems are robust through sharing of good practice and regular moderation.

As a school, we assess your child’s learning as an ongoing process.  We do this by using different forms of assessment: in-school formative assessment, which is used by the teachers to evaluate children’s knowledge and understanding on a day-to-day basis; in-school summative assessment, which enables schools to evaluate how much a child has learnt at the end of a teaching period.

Here are some examples of assessment that takes place at The Horsell Village School:

  • Day to day in-school formative assessment
  • Question and answer during class
  • Marking of children’s work, providing next steps
  • Observational assessment
  • In school summative assessment
  • Reviews for pupils with SEND
  • Nationally standardized summative assessment – Phonics screening, EYFS
  • National Curriculum tests at the end of Key Stage 1 (SATs)

Teachers give more focus to providing children with feedback which clarifies those aspects of the curriculum where their knowledge and understanding is secure and those areas where there are gaps.  The National Curriculum is founded on the principle that teachers should ensure children have a secure understanding of key ideas and concepts before moving onto the next phase of learning.

Each year the children will have a new set of age-related requirements for each subject, to complete in order to achieve the ‘National Standard’ for their year group. Teachers are required to give data for their class across the year to ensure that children are on track to make good progress. We use an online programme called Educater, to track across the National Curriculum.

At The Horsell Village School we appreciate that each child is an individual and will work at different stages within the National Standard. To recognise these differences, we have created stages within the National Standard so as to give an accurate and fair assessment.

KS1 (Y1 & Y2):

  • Working below – pupils working significantly below the National Standard will work at an appropriate year group level.
  • Working Towards – working just below age-related National Standard
  • Working At – A secure understanding of the national curriculum
  • Exceeding – a complete understanding of the national curriculum and greater depth objectives.

To meet age related expectations, children should reach ‘Working At’ by the end of the appropriate year.  To move from ‘Working At’ in one stage to the next is 3 steps progress, which equates to an average of 1 step or 1 point of progress each half term.  This is on-track or expected progress.

Early Years Foundation Stage

In Early Years teachers assess children on entry to Reception, in the first half of the Autumn term. From September 2021, they will take part in the National Baseline Assessment. Teaching staff observe and work with the children in a variety of task and play based situations to facilitate assessment judgments to be made against a set of statements.  This enables staff to support children where necessary with appropriate intervention and monitor their progress as they advance through school.

In Reception, children are continuing to be assessed against the Foundation Stage Profile.  Evidence for judgments against each of the statements is collected through observations, recorded work and discussions, and depending on these judgments children may be described as having achieved the ‘Good Level of Development’ measure at the end of the Reception year.  The school engages in regular moderation of these judgments within our partnership of schools.  

Phonics Screening

The phonics screening check is a short, simple assessment to ensure that all pupils have learned phonic decoding to an appropriate standard by the age of 6. All Year 1 pupils in maintained schools, academies and free schools must complete the check.

The phonics check is to support teachers in identifying the children who need extra help so they can receive the support they need to improve their reading skills. These pupils will then be able to retake the check in Year 2. If the pupil does not pass the phonics screening test for a second year they will not undertake the check in Year 3. The Year 3 class teachers however will be made aware of these children to provide additional phonics support.

The phonics screening check comprises a list of 40 words and non-words (alien words) which the child will read one-to-one with their teacher.

Standard Assessment Tests (SATs)

SATS tests are given at the end of Key Stage 1. They comprise a mixture of teacher-led and test-based assessments.

Key Stage 1

In Key Stage 1 SATs take place in year 2 usually in May. Each child is tested in reading, writing (including spelling and handwriting), maths and science. These tests are undertaken with the class teacher in small groups usually of similar ability children. We keep the process for the children very informal and we do not talk about ‘SATs’ and request you do the same to prevent any unnecessary worry or pressure.

The national average expectation is every child will achieve ‘met’ End of Year Expectations with some working at ‘greater depth’.

A writing task is set for the children, again undertaken in small groups, and from this the teacher uses a set of pre-prescribed assessment tools to level the work.

All Key Stage 1 tests are marked internally. The reading and maths papers are checked by other members of the school for consistency and accuracy. To ensure writing levels are accurate rigorous moderation is undertaken internally with all teaching staff, the SWAN Academy Trust, other primary schools, and the local authority. Every few years’ external moderators will visit the school and moderate a sample of children’s reading, writing and maths levels.

The children’s SATs results are then used to support teacher’s assessments.

Once the children’s outcomes have been validated parents will be informed of this information is shared with parents towards the end of the Summer term.

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