1. Assessment Meeting
13th October 2015

2. Why have levels been removed?
Please click on this image in presentation mode or the link below to hear an
explanation of why levels have been removed.

3. Key factors to consider
Goalposts have moved significantly - changes to the National Curriculum have had significant impact on what is taught and when.
Lots of content has been pushed down to lower year groups, content previously covered in Year 7 and Year 8 have been moved to Year 6 and some content which has been taught in the past is no longer contained within the new curriculum.
Implications of this is that it is almost impossible to accurately compare and measure progress from the old curriculum to the new curriculum.

4. Our Journey
Joined Redbridge Assessment Without Levels Network which comprised a team of assessment leaders from across the borough working together to explore, trial and investigate different assessment material.
Joined writing and mathematics subgroups to pilot different assessment projects.
Attended national and local Assessment Without Levels Conferences.
Listen to views of parents and pupils through questionnaires and informal discussions.
Planned whole school inset to present different models to staff and collectively agree on best ways forward.
Organised staff training on assessment and data management tracking system.
Kept abreast of all DfE publications, DfE Key Performance Indicators and the findings of the assessment commission particularly the Final report of the Commission on Assessment without Levels September 2015.
Re-wrote SSPP Assessment Policy based on guidance provided in this report.

5. Why do we assess?
Pupils
To help pupils measure their knowledge and understanding against their learning objectives and steps to success.
To help pupils identify their targets.
To provide pupils with advice and feedback on how they can improve their work.

6. Why do we assess? Parents
To provide you with a picture of where your child’s strengths and weaknesses lie and what they need to do to improve.
To inform you about your child’s progress and attainment over a period of time and how this compares to age-related expectations.
To inform you about how the school compares nationally to other schools.

7. Why do we assess? Teachers
To identify when pupils are struggling and need support, when they have consolidated learning and when they are ready to progress.
To identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding so these can be addressed in future planning.
To evaluate the impact and effectiveness of their own teaching and identify areas they need to develop.

8. Why do we assess? School leaders and school governors
To enable school leaders to monitor the performance of pupils and identify where interventions are required.
To work with teachers to ensure pupils are supported and sufficient progress and attainment is achieved.
To enable leaders and governors to benchmark the school against other schools locally and nationally and make judgements about the school’s effectiveness.

9. Why do we assess? Government
To allow the Local Authority to hold school leaders to account.
Ofsted
To be assured that teachers are making effective use of formative assessment to support teaching and learning.
To be assured that schools are accurately implementing assessment systems to monitor and support pupil performance and progress.
To enable them to make judgements about the school’s performance and its overall effectiveness.

10. How do we assess?
At SS Peter and Paul’s we use three predominant forms of assessment:
formative assessment
summative assessment
nationally standardised summative assessment
Formative assessment
We believe regular, accurate, on-going formative assessment provides teachers with the knowledge and evidence they need to assess children’s understanding and identify their next steps. Teachers will use a variety of different methods to inform their assessment such as:

11. How do we assess?
 Assessment for Learning (AfL) recap-quizzes at the start of lessons to assess children’s prior knowledge
Rich question and answer sessions and the use of more probing questions
Marking of pupils’ work
Pupils’ responses to their next steps
Oral feedback and discussions with pupils
Observational assessment
AfL opportunities throughout the lesson and at the end to assess children’s understanding of the learning intention and achievement against the steps to success
Scanning work for pupil attainment and development

12. Pupil Targets
Pupils from year 1 to year 6 will be given the national curriculum expectations for their year group as a set of pupil friendly targets in reading, writing and mathematics and possibly targets from the year below.
They may also be given the target sheet from the year below to ensure all KPIs from previous year have been achieved.
Pupils will be given the target sheet for their year group. As they progress through the year and are taught the curriculum for their year group, the targets will be dated to show how pupils have performed against that target.
As the year progresses, more of the targets will be achieved, as more of the curriculum is covered.

13. Pupil Targets

14. Pupil Targets
Targets identified by the NAHT as being Key Performance Indicators for reaching end of year expectation are identified on the sheets by shading of the target number.
Teachers make pupils aware of the particular targets and objectives they are working on in lessons and will assess their progress against these regularly using a range of methods.
The target sheets have three columns entitled S, I, and D:
S = achieved with support or prompting
I = achieved independently
D = working at greater depth and breadth

15. Pupil Targets
When a teacher assesses that a child is able to achieve a target with support or prompting, they will date the first column entitled ‘S’.
When the teacher has consistent evidence to show that a child can achieve the target independently, they will date the second column entitled ‘I’.
When a pupil is able to show that they are working at greater depth within the target and applying it in different contexts, the teacher will date the third column entitled ‘D’.
Teachers will use these target sheets alongside the LBR Improvement in Reading, LBR Improvement in Writing and LBR Improvement in Maths documents to help them ascertain whether a pupil has met a target.

16. Assessment of pupils with Special Educational Needs
SS Peter and Paul’s recognise that some pupils, particularly those with Special Educational Needs, will be working on expectations from previous year groups.
Pupils will therefore have these targets stuck in their books, along with ones for their current year group as well.
Key Performance Indicators from previous year groups will then be identified as potential targets for these pupils to work on.

17. Assessment of pupils with Special Educational Needs
Progress for pupils with SEN may be at a different rate to other children, so by providing the ‘achieved with support’ and ‘achieved independently’ columns on the pupil target sheets, you will be able to see that progress is made, as pupils either move from with support, to independently, or are able to achieve a target, even if it is with some support or prompting.
Pupils with SEN will also have an Individual Education Plan drawn up each term which will be shared with parents at a termly review meeting.
Pupils’ targets on the plan will focus on the individual needs of the child and may relate not only to academic achievement, but communication, social skills, physical development and independence.

18. Assessment of more able pupils
The Assessment Commission recommends that more able children should not be accelerated through key stage thresholds, but should instead be given opportunities to work at greater depth within the expected standard for their year group.
To ensure that more able pupils are still progressing once they have achieved a target independently, teachers will provide them with work which enables them to explore a target at greater depth. This will be identified using the third column on the target sheets ‘working at depth’, so parents and pupils can see progression is happening at this deeper level.
Exceptionally able children, who have achieved their year group expectations and have explored them all at greater depth, may be set targets from a year group beyond their own. This is to ensure that pupils’ learning is never capped.

19. How do we assess? Summative Assessment
Summative assessments will be given towards the end of each term to assess children’s understanding. Tests will be used for reading, (GPS) grammar, punctuation and spelling and mathematics and writing.
These tests will help to inform teachers’ own on-going formative teacher assessment.
Teachers will also use these tests for diagnostic purposes to identify gaps in pupils’ understanding and inform future planning.
Teachers will go through all of these tests with the children after marking them, so pupils can recognise their mistakes and learn from them.

20. How do we assess? Nationally Standardised Summative Assessment
Pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 sit national tests in May. They must be administered in accordance with the Standards and Testing Agency reporting arrangements published annually.
Both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils will sit tests in reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling and mathematics.
In addition to the KS1 and KS2 tests, pupils will also be teacher assessed in reading, writing, mathematics and science.

21. When do we assess?
Although formative assessment is on-going and teachers regularly update pupil target sheets, there are half-termly dedicated assessment weeks throughout the year, during which teachers will give pupils specific tasks to enable them to assess their progress against their end of year expectations.
Towards the end of each term, pupils will be given summative tests for reading, writing, phonics, spelling, grammar and punctuation, writing and mathematics.
For subjects such as Religious Education and Science, pupils will be assessed after each topic using formative and summative assessments.

22. How do we use assessment?
Following the termly summative/formative assessment week a pupil progress review meeting is held to discuss the assessment results and progress of individual pupils in each class. We discuss:
Which pupils have made good progress? Which pupils have made only little progress and what measures are going to put in place to accelerate their progress?
Which pupils are not on track to achieve their end of year targets? What measures are going to be put in place to address this?
Other factors affecting the progress of pupils, e.g. attendance, punctuality.
Gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding which may be hindering progress.
What changes, adaptations, measures or interventions need to be put in place to ensure pupils make good progress?

23. How do we use assessment?
Teachers evaluate learning during and after every lesson and plan their subsequent lessons to clear up misconceptions, give extra support to children who are struggling and identify opportunities for higher achieving pupils to deepen and broaden their knowledge.
Following termly assessments middle and senior leaders will analyse data to identify strengths and areas for development across the school.
Interventions will be put in place to support pupils.
Action plans will then be drawn up to address areas for development within the school.
Local Authority advisors will visit the school to look at data and hold the school leaders to account.
Assessment information will be reported to parents.

24. Reporting to parents
There will be an annual meeting for parents of children in Year 2 and Year 6 to advise them of end of Key Stage testing procedures.
There will be a parent meeting in October 2015 to inform parents of the changes in assessment in light of the abolition of national curriculum levels.
Following that, any minor adjustments or changes made to assessment procedures, will be shared with parents at the start of the new school year at the ‘meet the teacher’ meetings.

25. Reporting to parents Autumn Term
In the autumn term you will have a consultation evening with teachers.
During the meeting your child’s teacher will outline your child’s progress to date and how they have settled into the new year. They will also give you a Pupil Autumn Review form which details targets that you need to be working on with them at home.
Pupils will be set targets for reading, writing, mathematics and a general one relating to behaviour for learning.

27. Reporting to parents Spring Term
In the term you will have another consultation evening with teachers.
Prior to the meetings you will have the opportunity to see your child’s books and target sheets to see how they are progressing.
During the meeting your child’s teacher will outline your child’s progress to date and they will also give you a Pupil Spring Review form which details targets that you need to be working on with them at home.
Pupils will be set targets for reading, writing, mathematics and a general one relating to behaviour for learning.

28. Reporting to parents Summer Term
In the summer term you will be given a written report about your child detailing their progress and attainment, behaviours for learning, social and communication skills and other achievements. For reading, writing and mathematics you will be informed as to whether your child is:
Emerging - working towards end of year expectations
Expected – working at end of year expectations
Exceeded – working at a greater depth within end of year expectations

29. End of year expectations
Emerging
Pupils who have not yet achieved all the performance indicators or a substantial percentage of their year group targets will be reported as emerging - they are still working towards end of year expectations.
Expected
Pupils who have achieved all of their key performance indicators and approximately 70% of their year group targets will be reported as expected – they have met their end of year expectations.
Exceeding
Pupils who have achieved all of their end of year targets and are working at greater depth within their year group expectations will be reported as exceeding.

30. What next? Any questions?
We will contain to refine and develop our assessment policy to take account of changes made by the DfE and the views of teachers, parents and pupils.
We will have regular in-school training and moderation sessions to help teachers make accurate and reliable judgements on work.
Continue our membership of Redbridge Assessment network to provide cross-borough moderation opportunities.
Leaders will continue to evaluate its effectiveness and implement any changes as they deem necessary.
Any questions?