Welcome The challenges of the new National Curriculum & Life without Levels

History Why the changes? What do the changes mean for schools?

The new National Curriculum A shift in expectations: Many new objectives have been included for all year groups and some objectives have been moved to lower year groups or to a lower key stage.

The three phases of primary education: EY: Early Years (Reception class to us!) Key Stage 1: Years 1 & 2 Key Stage 2: Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Years 3 & 4 are sometimes referred to as lower Key Stage 2 and Years 5 & 6 or referred to as upper Key Stage 2)

The changes!

Year 3 Maths

Year 4

Year 5

English Year 3

Year 5

Assessment: Out with the old! Schools have traditionally used levels to report children’s attainment or achievement.

The Levels The traditional National Curriculum levels ranged from 1 to 5 for primary children, and in more recent years schools have been encouraged to challenge pupils to reach Level 6 which is usually a level achieved by secondary pupils in their first two years.

Once pupils were working on the National Curriculum they were assessed as working within a level For Key Stage 1 (infants or Years 1 and 2) the levels were as follows: Year 1: 1c, 1b, 1a, 2c Year 2: 1a, 2c, 2b, 2a, 3 By the end of Year 2 the national expectation was that children achieved a Level 2b or above. Level 3 was considered to be a higher level achieved by the more able pupils. For Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) the levels were as follows: Year 3: 2b, 2a, 3c, 3b, 3a Year 4: 3b, 3a, 4c, 4b Year 5: 3a, 4c, 4b, 4a Year 6: 4c, 4b, 4a, 5c, 5b, 5a, 6

Life without Levels The government have removed the traditional levels to make judgements on attainment and replaced them with a National Standard which relates to age related expectations.

National curriculum tests A new national curriculum was introduced in As a result, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is changing the tests so that they assess the new curriculum. Pupils will take the new tests for the first time in May As part of the national curriculum review, levels have been abolished. This is in part in response to concerns about the validity and reliability of levels and sub- levels. We are changing the way the tests are reported. From 2016, we will use scaled scores to report national curriculum test outcomes. Within key stages, schools and teachers will have the freedom to assess what pupils understand and can do in a way that best suits the needs of their school.

On our scale 100 will always represent the ‘national standard’. Scaled scores We can’t give full information about what the scale will look like yet. We need to wait until pupils have taken the tests and the tests have been marked before we can set the national standard and the rest of the scale. We do know the scale will have a lower end point below 100 and an upper end point above 100. Interpreting scaled scores A pupil’s scaled score will be based on their raw score. The raw score is the total number of marks a pupil receives in a test, based on the number of questions they answered correctly. The pupil’s raw score will be translated into a scaled score using a conversion table. A pupil who achieves the national standard will have demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the areas assessed by the tests. This will mean that they are well placed to succeed in the next phase of their education. The old national curriculum levels are not relevant to the new national curriculum.

In with the new! As the government have stated, the old levels do not relate to the new National Curriculum. So when we decided to introduce the new curriculum, we also introduced a new way of assessing the progress of pupils and how well they achieve.

At the end of each key stage pupils will be judged against the national expected standard. Working towards the expected standard Working at the expected standard Working at a greater depth within the expected standard There is no longer a ‘working above’ or ‘exceeding’ judgement. When teaching the children we must teach them the curriculum for their year group only. So if a child achieves all objectives, they must be given opportunities to demonstrate an ability to use and apply their skills at a deeper level while working independently.

We all agree that assessing children to make sure they are working at an ‘age appropriate level’ makes sense, rather than giving them a number. Additionally, we think it is sensible to assess the children against the learning objectives they have achieved in a year and as the year progresses the children will, hopefully, become more secure within their age expected range. In theory the children should all begin the year working towards their expected age related curriculum. By the end of spring they should have achieved most of their objectives and be more secure and by the end of summer they should have achieved all of their objectives across the year and be secure in their knowledge, understanding and skills. Some pupils will be secure and be judged to have a deeper level of understanding.

Each row represents one pupil’s assessment Names have been removed for data protection

There are many ways in which school monitors teaching and learning to check children are achieving as they should. Senior leaders check books each half term Senior leaders and subject leaders observe teachers in lessons and talk to children about their work Governors talk to children about their learning and share books Teachers mark children’s work and give them reflection time to revisit their work and get help from an adult should it be required

What have we learned? Just like the children we are always learning and always striving to improve. We have learned: Some areas of the new curriculum are more suited to particular year groups than others. We have reviewed the curriculum and introduced new topics and removed some! We have changed our Golden Codes so that we now assess pupils as ‘working towards’, ‘mostly achieved’ and ‘achieved’. So reports will be easier for parents to understand.

What can you do to support your child at home? Keep reading with them, even when they are in Year 6! Keep helping children with their maths challenges and times tables – those basic skills are key to making good progress. Support children with their spelling activities. They have to do more than just get them right for a test, they have to be able to use them consistently in their independent writing or they won’t get that all important ‘achieved’ judgement. Come in and ask if you’re unsure of anything – we really do want to help!