Feedback and discussion about work is ongoing and leads to improvement

Overview:

The main aim of assessment is to recognise the strengths and talents of pupils, and to identify and support their areas for development. Assessment is used to monitor progress and therefore informs future planning for groups of children or individuals. Assessments are used to inform teachers, parents, governors and other relevant bodies about the progress that children make. At William Patten we use a range of assessment tools, both formative and summative, to ensure that we regularly and systematically monitor and evaluate children’s progress. This information is then used to track progress and to ensure that children that need additional support, to attain age expected results, are provided for and that children working at or above national expectations are suitably challenged.

Forms of Assessment:

Formative Assessment
Teachers continually assess pupils’ performance through their observation of children on tasks set and through the work they produce. Marking of pupils’ work is done in accordance with the school’s Marking Policy and highlights what a pupil has done well and indicates how a pupil can improve a piece of work. This process encourages self-assessment and peer-assessment which are believed to be fundamental elements in the assessment process.

Summative Assessment
Regular independent writing tasks, which follow on from the Write Stuff scheme of work, are assessed and levelled using the teacher assessment framework (TAF) and end of block / unit assessments in maths are recorded and used to track progress. In addition to this, termly summative NFER reading comprehension assessments are completed in KS1 and KS2. The outcome of these assessments informs the teacher’s planning for the class and for groups within the class and target setting for individual pupils.

Assessment Overview:

Nursery
At the start of the academic year, Nursery children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against the EYFS Development Matters statements 2021 to provide a baseline assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. This process continues throughout the year and the children’s attainment of these statements is recorded at the end of each half term.

Reception
From September 2021, the reception baseline assessment (RBA) is a statutory national assessment that is administered in reception classes in all primary, infant and first schools in England. This assessment will form the baseline for primary progress measures, from Reception to Y6, to evaluate the progress pupils make throughout their time in primary school.  This assessment must be completed by the 7th of November 2023.

The RBA is an interactive and practical assessment of children’s early literacy, maths, communication and language skills. In addition to this, children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against the EYFS Development Matters statements 2021 to provide a baseline assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. This process continues throughout the year and the children’s attainment of these statements is recorded at the end of each half term.

Children also complete a termly independent writing task and are also assessed in their phonic knowledge using RWI assessment tools on a half termly basis.  Assessment data is recorded and tracked, to help identify children needing additional support to make expected progress.

Children’s EYFS Profile is completed at the end of the year, using information from tracking, teacher observations, and assessments data.

EYFS observations
The EYFS team notice and celebrate children’s achievements in all seven areas of learning. The team records such observations, and shares them with parents via Seesaw.  This enables parents to understand our weekly focus objective and their child’s engagement in particular areas of learning.

Years 1 – 6

Writing:
Regular independent writing tasks, which follow on from the Write Stuff scheme of work, are assessed and levelled using the Y1 – Y6 teacher assessment framework (TAF).

Maths:
Short end of unit assessments supports teachers to determine any areas of learning that need additional coverage, before moving on to the next unit of work.  End of term assessments are mapped to the coverage of each term and provide a further means to identifying areas which may still require further consolidation.  Assessment data, work completed during maths lessons and teacher’s observations are used by the teacher to determine which of the objectives within the program of study have been achieved.

Reading:
Children in EYFS and KS1 learn to read using RWI, and regular RWI assessments allow children to be taught in small RWI groups that match their phonic knowledge.  These assessments, together with continuous formative assessment by their RWI teacher, help to identify children that would benefit from additional RWI support and intervention.

Hackney Loves Reading (HLR) lends itself perfectly to allow teachers time to read with children and assess children’s decoding and comprehension skills on a regular basis. Half-termly reading tasks, set at an appropriate level, also provide evidence of a child’s reading progress. In addition to these regular assessment opportunities reading completed during daily English lessons and teacher’s observations will determine which age-appropriate reading objectives a child has achieved or may still require further consolidation in.

Tracking:

Teachers meet with members of the SLT to review children’s progress and allocate support where necessary.

Reporting:

All Parents are invited to attend three consultations per year (during the autumn and spring terms and at the end of the summer term) to discuss their child’s progress. In EYFS, parents can view photos of their child  engaging with our weekly focus objectives, as well as other areas of learning.

Reception parents receive a report in July to explain their child’s EYFS profile and identify their child’s level of development. This report indicates if a child has met or not met a Good Level of Development. In addition to this, Year 1 parents also receive a summary of the Phonics Screening Check results. Year 4 parents are informed of the results of their child’s  Multiplication tables check and Y2 and Y6 parents are informed of the National Curriculum standards that their child has attained in their end of Key Stage tests (for Year 2 and Year 6 parents.)

Standard Assessment Tests (SATs):

These are administered nationally during the summer term and are designed to provide a standardised measure across the country against which the achievements of children can be judged at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in English and Maths.

The KS1 SATs Year 2 children are assessed in English and Maths and their tests are marked in school.

SATs in 2023-2024 will be non-statutory and optional, a decision will be made by the end of the Autumn 1 half-term as to whether we will administer the KS1 Sats tests. the KS1 SATs Year 2 children are assessed in English and Maths and their tests are marked in school.

Year 6 children are assessed in English (including grammar, punctuation and spelling) and Maths. Their tests are marked externally. The national expectation is that children achieve a scaled score of 100 at the end of primary school in each assessment.