The Foundation Stage Profile Effective and purposeful assessment in the Early Years 19 th 20 th January 2006 Jan Dubiel Principal Officer Foundation Stage Profile National Assessment Agency Worcestershire LA

Definitions… Assessment What is there to see? How best can we understand what we see? How can we put our understanding to good use? Mary Jane Drummond

“The purpose of the assessment process is to make explicit children’s achievements, celebrate their achievements with them, then help them to move forward to the next goal” Vicky Hutchin

Developing the foundations for curricular target setting in ISP schools: Birth to five Download from ns/isp/ /

Why do we need to assess? Assessment, planning and development are inextricably linked Assessment is an essential part of meeting children’s needs Children have different starting points and rates of development It informs planning for the group or the individual by identifying strengths and areas of development It enables practitioners to evaluate their setting

What do we need to assess? Demonstrations of skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes All six Areas of Learning What is said, done or shown as an individual or as a participant in a group Adult directed and child-initiated activities What is SIGNIFICANT

How do we put this information to good use? To plan appropriate provision to meet the needs of individuals and groups of learners To reflect on and evaluate the quality of existing provision and identify areas for development

What does the Foundation Stage guidance say? “ To be effective, an early years curriculum should be carefully structured…” “Provision from the different starting points from which children develop their learning building on what they can already do” Practitioners must be able to observe and respond appropriately to children – informed by a knowledge of how children develop and learn and a clear understanding of possible next steps in their development and their learning” “Effective teaching requires…skilful and planned observation of children”

The process of assessment in the Foundation Stage Evidence collected through: Knowledge of the child A range of contributors Observation Anecdotal “significant moments” (Focussed Assessment) –Judgements made through assessing behaviour that is demonstrated: Consistently Independently –Moderation –The role of supplementary assessments

The Foundation Stage Profile is an important part of this implementation. It builds on the curriculum guidance. It reflects the key role of skilful and well-planned observations in providing reliable assessment information on young children. It recognises the important contribution parents and children can make to Assessment It has been developed drawing on the extensive expertise of that same group of early education specialists who contributed to the development of the curriculum guidance. It sets out a way of summarising young children’s achievements at the end of the foundation stage and provides important information for parents and year 1 teachers. (FSP Handbook Foreword)

Key features of the FSP Statutory scales and points of Assessment An assessment of the end of the Foundation Stage Curriculum covering all Areas of Learning A Summary of children’s achievements by the end of the Foundation Stage A basis for planning to meet the needs of children at the start of Key Stage 1 Assessment scales arrange ELGs and composite Stepping Stones as manageable assessment criteria Specific guidance to ensure access for children with SEN and EAL

Structure of the FSP 13 Scales covering aspects within all 6 Areas of Learning: PSED 3CL&L 4MD 3 KaUotW 1PD 1CD 1 9 points on each scale –Points 1 – 3 represent composite Stepping Stones –Points 4 – 8 represent the ELGs; split where appropriate and are not hierarchical –Point 9 is above the ELGs Yes / No judgement against each point

FSP is … Reflection and consolidation of the CGFS A vehicle to support transition to Y1 and the development of effective pedagogy The process of assessment for learning Utilising the results of the process to support individual learning journeys 13 nine point scales that record children's attainment on entry to Y1 FSP isn’t…. A tick list of skills and knowledge A standardised assessment

Discussion

In conclusion; despite the existence of significant barriers to the full implementation of the FSP and the degree of misunderstanding and misperception of its process and purpose that still exists amongst some stakeholders, major advances in its operation, moderation and pedagogical use are clearly apparent in the evidence available. Where it is used appropriately, primarily as a tool with which to record children’s achievement within the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage and identify the next steps in their learning, use of the FSP has progressed considerably report – Summary and Conclusions

Effective LA implementation, training and Support Discrepancy in perception between LA and practitioners over role and purpose of FSP “practitioner misunderstanding of the assessment process in some parts of the Foundation Stage” –Use of FSP Scales as numerical entry assessment –The anatomy of individual scale points –Observation –Evidence –Effective pedagogy Role of Headteachers and Senior Managers Supplementary assessments OFSTED 2005 report – Summary and Conclusions

Key issues for Implementation Ensuring the process is embedded Appropriate ratio of observational / focussed assessment evidence Participation in collecting evidence Accuracy of judgements Scale points Interpreting Scale points Point 9 Practitioner judgement Evidencing judgements Supplementary assessments Entry assessment and value added Use of FSP As whole year record As end of year report

Key issues for Moderation: Internal Moderation Principles of: –‘A little often’ –Involvement of expertise and knowledge of all staff –Collection of evidence through focussed and anecdotal assessment to inform judgement Access to visits / meetings Support for single form entry YR / PVI Settings

Demonstrating Progress in the Foundation Stage Words of warning: –Numerical scores –Test based systems Key principles and effective practice –Individual child’s development –Use of moderated Stepping Stones judgements –The importance and interconnection of all 6 Areas of Learning –Attainment on entry Initial observations and judgements Information from Pre-school settings Stepping Stone expectations

Statutory requirements –No baseline –Evidence of using assessments to inform planning Ofsted expectations –2002 circular –PNS website FAQs on the FSP –New Framework

Understanding and using FSP Data Basic operational principles of FSP assessment Observational and Focussed assessment evidence 13 scales 9 scale points Schools submit data to LA LA submit data to DfES DfES use of data School use of data Teacher use of data What does it mean? What do we do with it?

Using the FSP data for… Identifying areas for development in practice and provision in –YR –Y1 Performance management School improvement planning Comparisons of achievement

What data is generated Two types of data 1.Statutory data – data collection chart; submitted to DfES via LEA 2.Individual / class data – individual, transferred to Y1

What does this data tell us? What are the implications for: –Provision in Y1? –practice in the Foundation Stage? –School improvement? What does this data tell us? What are the implications for: -Practice in the Foundation Stage -Provision in Y1? –School improvement?

What does this data tell us? What are the implications for: -Practice in the Foundation Stage -Provision in Y1? –School improvement?

Tracking Pupil Progress Do I have to specify the point at which a positive assessment was made ? No – but it will prove useful for both future reference and performance management purposes if you do. There are two E-profile graphs (which can be printed) showing how pupils have made progress over the foundation stage – these will only show any useful information if you record assessments chronologically.

Summer term 2006 Spring term 2006 Autumn term 2005 Summer term 2005 Don’t use

Change in procedure No change in making assessments and recording. In June/July send a file to the LA (as last year), but it will be a different file to that submitted in previous years. In March send the ‘different’ file of your 2005 data to the LA, to; 1. pilot the new procedure 2. enable analysis of the 2005 data ahead of the 2006 data