Initiatives introduced in September 2014: New Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice Universal Infant Free School Meals Assessment without levels New Primary Curriculum

The Philosophy behind ‘Assessment without levels’ The Introduction of the 2014 Curriculum was accompanied by the statement that: ‘The Government will not impose a single system for ongoing assessment’. (DfE ‘Assessment principles’ April 2014) It is up to schools to implement a system that can: ‘Give reliable information to parents about how their child, and their child’s school, is performing, help drive improvement for pupils and teachers and make sure the school is keeping up with external best practise and innovation’. (DfE ‘Assessment principles’ April 2014)

September 2014 assessment of current Year 2 and Year 6 children will be in levels as these pupils will not have been taught the new curriculum. levels were removed and will not be replaced schools were given greater flexibility in the way they plan and assess schools are free to develop a curriculum relevant to their pupils that teaches this content. the current system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment and progress will be removed from September 2014 and will not be replaced. By removing levels we will allow teachers greater flexibility in the way that they plan and assess children to have opportunities to apply their understanding in a range of challenging real life contexts, and to demonstrate their mastery of a particular skill at a deep and thorough level before moving on. The national curriculum tests and teacher assessment at the end of key stages 1 and 2 will be reported in levels for the last time in summer 2015, as pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 that year will not have been taught the new national curriculum. with the new curriculum children can apply understanding in a range of challenging real life contexts and demonstrate mastery of skill at a deep level.

The New Curriculum September 2014 Performance descriptors will inform statutory teacher assessment at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Programmes of study set out expectations of what should be taught each academic year in order to reach age related expectations New performance descriptors will be published (in draft) in autumn 2014 which will inform statutory teacher assessment at the end of key stage 1 and 2 in summer 2016. Final versions will be published by September 2015. The new National Curriculum has set out clear expectations for what children should achieve by the end of each key stage and, for English, Maths and Science, has provided guidance as to when in each phase this content should be covered.

What are we using at Tollesbury? The tracking system we have started to use is the same one being used by at least 70% of schools in Essex and many schools nationally – ‘Target Tracker’

To track pupil attainment Target Tracker has devised a system of bands that reflect the Programmes of Study in each year group e.g. band 1, band 2, band 3 etc. Each band has been split into three broader sections and may be thought of in these terms- Beginning – Pupil learning is chiefly focussed on the criteria for the band. There may be minimal elements of the previous band still to gain complete confidence in Working Within – Pupil learning is fully focussed on the criteria for the band. Up to 70% of the statements are confidently achieved Secure – Confidence in all of the criteria for the band. There may be pupil learning still focussed on gaining thorough confidence in some minimal elements but the broad expectations for the band have been met

Each year band has been broken down into six steps: beginning (b) To show and report progress, 6 steps have been designed for pupils who teachers feel do not ‘ best fit’ the next section. Each year band has been broken down into six steps: beginning (b) beginning + (b+) working within (w) working within + (w+) secure (s) secure + (s+) e.g. a pupil may be assessed as band 2 beginning (2b) in the Autumn term in year 2. At the time of the next summative assessment they may not feel that the pupil has progressed to working within (2w) , but the pupil has made progress. An assessment of beginning + (2b+) allows that progress to be shown.

age related expectation: children would need to reach the secure (s) step at the end of the appropriate year Secure + represents the consolidation of the band thorough and wide ranging grasp of the content and concepts The New Curriculum: flexibility to introduce content earlier or later than set out in the programme of study. However………… ………It is important for children to have opportunities to apply their understanding in a range of challenging real life contexts, and to demonstrate their mastery of a particular skill at a deep and thorough level before moving on. Secure + demonstrates the foundation from which a pupil may proceed onto the criteria in the following band. Pupils will need to pass through secure + to start the next band We would expect children who are secure (s) in the band of statements they are working on to have these experiences, and therefore be working at the secure + (s+) step before being assessed against the following year band statements.

Year 4 – band 4 (age related expectations) ‘Age related expectations’: children should reach the secure (s) step by the end of the appropriate year. To move from secure (s) in one year band to the next is 6 steps over 6 half terms = 1 step or 1 point of progress each half term.   Year 4 – band 4 (age related expectations) Autumn 1 Secure + Autumn 2 Beginning Spring 1 Beginning + Spring 2 Within Summer 1 Within + Summer 2 Secure A child leaving primary school as a band 6 secure is said to be ‘secondary ready’ and reaching age related expectations.

To summarise………. If your child is in Year 2 or Year 6 they will still be assessed using levels All other children will be working within a band e.g. 1,2,3,4,5,6 Each band is divided into 6 steps, b, b+, w, w+, s, s+ A child is working at ‘age related expectations’ if they are assessed as ‘secure’ at the end of the year in their appropriate year band All children need to have moved through s+ before progressing onto the next band to ensure consolidation and mastery of skills