Assessment

Assessment, recording and reporting in this school is an important and central part of teaching and learning, which involves the children whenever possible. We believe that assessment is an on going process, which takes place in a variety of different forms. As a school, we work hard to identify what individuals, groups and whole classes need to learn in order to progress. We then cater our teaching to suit the needs of our children.

EYFS

Our EYFS curriculum is based on the principles of the EYFS framework and the Development Matters guidance. We have devised our curriculum with this guidance in mind but also building on our experience of early years education and of what young children know and can do. We support learning and development through naturally occurring experiences and common interests. Observation and assessment is ongoing. Assessment judgements are made against our pre-determined ‘I can’ and ‘I know’ statements at the end of each half term. For each curriculum aspect, adults determine whether expectations have been ‘met’ or ‘not yet’. Interventions are put in place to support any children who are not yet meeting expectations.

During the first 6 weeks of entry into our Foundation Stage, be that in FS1/Nursery or FS2/Reception, adults spend time getting to know the children. They observe the children’s play, explore their interests and curiosities and discover their knowledge, skills and dispositions for learning. These baseline observations provide a starting point for each child.

The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) is completed for each child in FS2/Reception within the first 6 weeks of joining our school.

Observational assessment is continuous throughout the school year and observations are shared with parents using the Seesaw app. Parents are encouraged to comment and also add examples of learning and experiences from home in order to contribute towards each child’s learning journal.

We have chosen our own end of nursery goals that we work towards throughout a child’s time in our nursery. These goals ensure that the children are ‘school ready’ when they enter FS2. They are prepared for the demands of full-time education and the social and emotional challenges associated with this. We have also chosen our own end of reception goals that we work towards throughout a child’s time in reception. These goals ensure that the children are ‘Year 1 ready’.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile is completed for each of the FS2/Reception children at the end of the academic year. This is shared with parents along with a written report to summarise the child’s learning and development. 

Y1 - Y6

To help us assess where our children are, we are using the Insight Pupil Tracking System. Insight is an online pupil tracking system which uses the National Curriculum Year Group objectives and allows the class teacher and leadership team to monitor progress and attainment. 

This system will be used to assess pupils’ understanding of curriculum objectives. By using Insight, staff can easily identify what each pupil can and can’t do, as well as identify coverage and any gaps within pupils’ knowledge.  

Alongside these on-going assessments are termly assessments. These termly assessments are also recorded on Insight and this allows the class teacher to be able to see the progress the children are making over time towards the expected level at the end of their academic year. Although there is not assessment for writing, pupils complete independent pieces of writing throughout the year which are assessed by teachers using a detailed checklist. This assessment is then moderated by the leadership team to ensure accuracy in assessing writing. 

For wider curriculum subjects, a topic page is used to start each unit. This has they key objectives the children need to be taught, the key vocabulary the children will encounter and should understand and an assessment for the unit based on the children's understanding of the objectives. Teachers can assess the children as they move through each unit in each subject and record assessments on the page. This allows children, teachers and subject leaders to keep up to date with where the children are working and identify any areas for development. 

The objectives on the topic sheets are taken directly from the progression document for each subject that has been created by the subject leader. This progression document identifies the key knowledge the children should know in every area of every subject across the curriculum and shows the progression of knowledge and skills throughout school.  

The assessment systems we use support whole class planning and individual/small group intervention planning. 

We strongly believe that children should understand what they need to do to progress and we have a ‘Marking and Feedback Policy’ and a ‘Marking and Feedback Code’ which ensures marking and feedback is immediate and consistent across the school. Feedback and next steps are shared with children in writing (using the code or a written comment) or verbally during the session to enable children to respond in a timely manner.