This afternoon… New curriculum changes Assessment without levels Key Stage expectations Reporting to you

Why a new National Curriculum? The new curriculum… ‘combines the best elements of what is taught in the world’s most successful school systems. Including Hong Kong, Massachusetts, Singapore and Finland, with some of the most impressive practice from schools in England.’ Department for Education.

Raise Standards The OECD league tables, charting educational standards across the developed world, have the UK ranked in 23rd for reading and 26th for maths Why a new National Curriculum?

The main aim behind these changes is to raise standards. The idea is for children to "go further...at an earlier age“. Whilst some of the content is totally new, existing knowledge and skills are introduced a year or two earlier.

New Primary Curriculum for Mathematics Aims: Fluency in the fundamentals Reason mathematically Solve problems

I’m thinking of a number....

New Primary Curriculum for Mathematics What’s out? Informal written methods of calculation Calculators Separate strand for using and applying What’s there less of? Emphasis on estimation Emphasis on place value Less work on data handling (statistics) What’s there more of? More challenging objectives, especially in number Formal written methods introduced earlier More work on fractions What’s in? Roman numerals Times tables up to 12 x 12 Equivalence between metric and imperial Long division and algebra (Y6 )

New English Framework

Your SPAG Challenge...

Your SPAG Answers... C A B D

English in KS1 (Faster, Fuller, Deeper!) Writing: o Increased challenge, including developing “stamina” for writing o Longer compositions and proof-reading of own writing; o Increased focus on composition, structure and convention; o Deeper focus on learning grammar and punctuation;  Joined writing expected in Year 2. Reading:  Emphasis on reading wildly for pleasure, re-reading books and reading aloud;  Increased focus on engaging with and interpreting texts;  Learning of poetry (including reciting poetry) introduced. Spelling:  Specific spellings, e.g. days of the week, prefixes & suffixes;  Pupils expected to write sentences dictated by the teacher.

English in KS2 (Faster, Fuller, Deeper!) Writing:  Greatly increased expectations in grammar and punctuation;  Children have to identify and label complex grammatical concepts, punctuation and spelling rules;  Expectation that children expertly use and apply the grammar and punctuation concepts in independent writing to create specific effects; Reading:  Read for pleasure;  Word reading: pupils applying their knowledge to understand the meaning of new words;  Learning of classic & modern poetry (including reciting poetry) introduced. Spelling:  Statutory lists of words to be learnt in Years 3 - 6;  Specific spelling rules to be taught.

New Curriculum New Assessment framework

So why has assessment changed…? The idea is for children to "go further...at an earlier age“.

So why has assessment changed…? The new assessment model is based on the philosophy that at each stage of their education children should develop and secure specific skills and knowledge demonstrating that they can apply this learning as part of a wider school curriculum.

The Department for Education (DfE) announced last year that there would no longer be National Curriculum levels: “As part of our reforms to the national curriculum, the current system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment and progress has been removed and will not be replaced. By removing levels we will allow teachers greater flexibility in the way that they plan and assess pupils’ learning. “

Level 6 Level 5a Level 5b Level 5c Level 4a Level 4b Level 4c Level 3a Level 3b Level 3c Level 2a Level 2b Level 2c Level 1a We move away from an assessment system that runs throughout the School and across Year Groups where children are encouraged to accelerate through the levels.

What are the reasons for this change? Under the old assessment model / National Curriculum, there was a relentless drive to move children through levels – what the DfE termed ‘The level Race’ where children moved through the old National Curriculum levels quickly to achieve higher attainment. It is now about securing a range of skills and knowledge, relevant to a child’s age, and then providing the opportunities to add more depth and breadth to this knowledge by using and applying their skills.

The old National Curriculum was sub- divided into levels, but these were not linked to their National Curriculum year group. For example, a child in Year 4 could be a level 3 or even a level 5. Children were achieving level 5 and 6 at the end of Key Stage 2, but the DfE thought that a significant number were able to achieve a level 5 or 6 in a test—but were not secure at that level.

The feeling from the DfE was that the old National Curriculum and the levels system failed to adequately ensure that children had a breadth and depth of knowledge at each National Curriculum level.

What will assessment look like now? From Year 1 to Year 6, every pupil has a set of ‘End of Year Expectations’ to achieve by the end of each academic year in English and Mathematics. These match the expectations set out in the new National Curriculum.

Year 5

Assessment When assessing children against these end of year expectations, we judge how well a child is performing: -Emerging – yet to be secure in the end of year expectations. This is where the majority of children start when they begin a new year. -Developing – Has an understanding of around 70% of the end of year expectations -Secure – secure in almost all or all of the end of year expectations and is able to use and apply their knowledge and skills confidently.

Under the old levels system, children who had secured all the learning in a level might have moved into the next level. The DfE now want children who have secured the learning to add more depth and breadth to their knowledge, and to have more opportunities to develop their using and applying skills. They are calling this phase of learning Mastery and Depth. Only exceptional children will move into working towards the end of year expectations from the year above. Similarly, there may be children who need to be working at the expectations from the year group below.

In the early part of each academic year, teachers will use a variety of assessments and their professional knowledge and judgement to establish what the children can already do and what they think the children can achieve. They will then set a target for where they think a child will be by the end of the Year. For example, children in Year 3 could be given a target of 3E (emerging), 3D (developing), or 3S (secure). Only very exceptional children will have a target from a higher or lower year group. How will the process work in school?

Teachers will keep a running record of children’s understanding of these expectations Teachers will ensure the children have no gaps in their learning by revisiting areas of development

How will this be different for you? The biggest difference is how we will talk to you about how your child is progressing during the year. Under the old system, we would inform you of your child’s level at parents evening and set a target level for the end of the year. Instead, you will now be told whether your child is on track to meet their end of year target. It may well be that they are above or below where they need to be, in which case their end of year target may be adjusted.

This is a time of NEW LANGUAGE. This is time of deepening children’s understanding – Making sure they are secure in the skills and knowledge before they move on Moving away from Levels and ‘a,b c’ to ‘emerging, developing, and secure’ This is a time of development.

Assessment is not meant to be used as a measure of your child’s ability at school but as a means to improve their ability to learn; their knowledge, their understanding and their skills. Much of what is learnt is never fully assessed but used every bit as much.