1. Sir James Smith’s Community School
STEPS GRID handbook
A practical guide
Key Stage 3

2. STEPS and the STEP Grid Handbook
Monitoring and reporting attainment and progress
in Year-7 and Year-8.
Dear Parent/Carer,
Over the past 12 months we have been using the STEPS assessment model with our Key Stage 3 students. Each subject has a STEPS grid. Each grid is comprised of 9 ‘steps’ and a number of ‘strands’. The grid contains descriptors for what your child needs to be able to do to complete a ‘step’. After using the STEPS model for the past year, we have refined and updated some grids.
Your son/daughter will start with a baseline ‘step’ in Year 7, which will be derived from KS2 data and baseline assessments they will complete in their opening weeks of Year 7. For Year 7 students, we will report the baseline step for each subject in the first report in mid-November. For Year 8 and 9 we will report the next progress data at this time. It is expected that most students would move up each strand by at least 1 step each year (3 steps over the course of the key stage)*.
We feel very confident that what your son/ daughter experiences at Sir Jim’s is indeed a very comprehensive and professional package. This assessment model allows you as parents and carers the opportunity to be closely involved in their attainment, progress and target setting over the entire key stage.
Below you will find a copy of the STEPs grid. Please keep this safe and use it to cross reference attainment on each report with content of the KS3 courses for each subject studied.
You should receive three attainment reports throughout the year, as detailed below:
Finally, please feel free to contact me directly if you have a specific question about the system which needs further explanation.
Yours faithfully
Mr. E. McGuffie
Assistant Head Teacher – Curriculum

3. Introduction What is STEPS?
What is STEPS?
Strategic Targets for Educational Progress and Success (STEPS) is an assessment and progress monitoring, tracking and reporting programme for secondary schools.
How does it work?
Upon arrival in Year-7, every student is assessed via a broad range of information and results available to the school. Subject teachers then place students at a baseline Step in each Strand and this becomes the starting point for each subject. A Step Point Score is generated which is an overall score for a subject. Each student is expected to make at least one Step of progress in the Step Point Score per year, with the exception of Science where progress has been built implicitly into the scheme of work.
School reports
You will receive three reports per year showing your child’s attainment and progress in every Strand in every subject and it will also show you the overall Step Point Score. When used in conjunction with this handbook, it will give you both a detailed and quick method of reviewing attainment and progress so far. It will also allow you to discuss targets to progress to the next Step.
The STEPS grids
Each subject has its own grid, these form the rest of this handbook. Each grid is a basic summary of all the work that can be covered in each of the Key Stage 3 Programmes of Study. Each subject follows a similar approach.
Strands: these run along the top of the grid, they break a subject down into smaller topics or areas. There are between three and seven Strands per subject.
Steps: These break a subject down into progressive Steps. There are nine Steps per Strand per subject; 1 is the lowest Step and 9 is the highest.
Statements: Each Step has one or more statements. Students have to achieve all of these, and all of the ones in the Steps below, to be at that Step level.
The Step Point Score
Students will be given a Step score for each individual Strand in each subject. The Step Point Score combines these individual scores to give an overall score in a subject.
If 3.6 was the baseline at the start of year-7, then the students would be expected to reach:
4.6 by the end of Year-7
5.6 by the end of Year-8
6.6 by the end of Year-9.
This would be a minimum expectation and targets could be adjusted each year to maintain challenge for each individual.

5. Key Stage 3 Programme of Study 2018-19 – Catering & Textiles
Year
Autumn-term
Spring-term
Summer-term 7
Felt Monster project. Students will research, design and make a felt monster of their own design. They learn skills in design, hand sewing, machine sewing and how to evaluate the final piece.
International food. Students will explore international food through a series of practicals which will be conducted 1 in every 3 lessons. They have the chance to create their own international practical at the end. 8
Great British Bake off. Students will be making a variety of baked products in the practicals including pastry, bread, biscuits, cakes and muffins. They will learn about food contamination, fair trade, food groups and nutrition. Student will cook 1 in every 3 lessons.
Embellished tote bag. Students will create a tote bag featured at least two embellishment techniques. They will experiments with materials, techniques and perfect hand and machine sewing. Research into customers and marketing. 9
Upcycled shoe for a character. Research, design and up cycle an existing shoe for the character you have picked.
Plan a dinner party. Create a selection of dishes for set dietary requirements and understand the concept of meal planning, using ingredients and researching recipes.
Fashion illustration. Designing a fashion top for a customer and making the final piece. Following through research, designs and making.
Plan and make elements to go on an afternoon tea. Considering presentation, cost and how it would be marketed.
Catering
Textiles

6. Preparation and Planning
Catering
Step
Strand 1
Preparation and Planning
(30%)
Strand 2
Making
(50%)
Strand 3
Evaluation
(20%) 9
All of the below and…
can get ready for practical lessons without any help or reminders from the teacher.
adapting and creating own recipes.
research is detailed and includes ingredient origin.
can give detailed reasons for choices made.
can thing outside the box.
can use basic and advanced skills and techniques accurately to produce products of a high standard and is fully competent using all the essential equipment.
shows high-level skills.
will complete an entire dish and make all of the elements.
restaurant quality presentation.
can fully understand the task and can adapt recipes to meet the needs required.
can make changes to methods when things go wrong.
can evaluate dishes made in depth and suggest how to make improvements.
evaluations also cover costing, environmental, ethical, social and cultural values where relevant.
detailed self-reflection on how it could be improved.
compare it to a restaurant dish and explain where it could be served. 8
can get ready for practical lessons independently.
can collect and interpret a wide range of relevant research.
create dishes with a customer in mind.
explore brief in multiple ways and analyse the research.
has advanced knowledge of functions of ingredients, equipment and methods.
detailed nutritional knowledge.
can plan for the time constraint and make use of the time well.
can adapt a detailed recipe.
can work independently and as part of a team, using correct basic and advanced skills and techniques, without the help of the teacher, to successfully make a range of dishes.
fully understands health & hygiene.
has advanced knife skills.
beginning to make complex components such as pasta and pastry independently.
good presentation of food and it is successful.
can use a nutritional program to produce a label and cost the product.
can select correct evaluation techniques to fully evaluate the success of the product and explain how it could be improved further.
can use a broad range of criteria for evaluating the product (such as star profiles, hedonic ranking, taste testing).
comments from clients identifying problems and areas for improvement.
compare to mass produced products. 7
shows understanding of why certain food products would be suitable for specific target groups/situations.
can interpret a wide range of information.
research based on a given brief using more than one source for a specific customer.
understanding fair trade and the ethical issues.
has excellent knowledge of nutrient functions and how they work in a diet.
can follow a recipe independently and work with confidence.
can also work well as part of a team.
shows some high-level skills and excellent middle-level skills.
beginning to use complex recipes and experimenting with meat, fish and sauces.
can understand how to change ingredients and make suitable substitutions.
can evaluate cost and nutritive value in addition to sensory analysis.
analyse their product against their brief.
use technical language and include the opinion of others.

7. Preparation and Planning
Catering
Step
Strand 1
Preparation and Planning
Strand 2
Making
Strand 3
Evaluation 6
All of the below and…
has a clear understanding of the type of ingredients suitable for the task and uses planning to prepare for practical lessons.
shows understanding of functions of ingredients in chosen dishes.
begins to consider ethics, seasonality and nutrition.
expanding knowledge of nutrition.
can use research to select suitable dishes for a given brief.
can explain the term regional produce.
can complete medium skills successfully and works in a tidy, efficient manner.
can rectify problems when cooking.
shows some high-level skills and medium skills are being perfected, including, higher knife skills, kneading, baking, whisking and understanding cooking times.
works independently to problem solve.
can compare own product to existing products and can explain what changes are needed and how these could be implemented.
in writing, can explain whether their product is successful or not. 5
can use class research to help make decisions about what to make.
can collect information from a variety of sources.
has some understanding of functions of ingredients including vitamins, minerals and rising agents.
basic understanding of where food comes from.
can select and store ingredients correctly.
can work independently and makes a useful contribution to team work, including following a recipe without images.
shows mainly medium-level skills.
can add own elements to existing recipes.
can make changes to an existing recipe.
can make simple suggestions for changes to the product and uses comments of others to evaluate the product.
can use sensory analysis or a star profile to evaluate product in detail.
can evaluate using all 5 senses.
asking more in-depth questions in regards to peer assessment. 4
can get themselves ready for practical lesson.
can understand what ingredients are needed.
can decide on complimenting ingredients when given the option.
understands basic food poisoning and how to prevent it. understands the Eatwell plate guide and the principles of a healthy diet, including what makes a balances meal.
is competent with most basic skills and techniques and knows how to use the cooker.
has perfected lower-level skills such as knife skills, frying and weighing, and some medium skills being shown. This included time management and using more advanced equipment.
can follow hygiene and safety rules always.
understand how to adapt a recipe for a vegan dietary requirement.
can use sensory descriptors to discuss some aspects of the product and can say what was said by others about the product.
can analyse a product using up to 4 of the senses.

8. Preparation and Planning
Catering
Step
Strand 1
Preparation and Planning
Strand 2
Making
Strand 3
Evaluation 3
All of the below and…
can list ingredients but no quantities or specific details.
can get themselves ready for practical lesson.
research into different cuisine and ingredients when prompted.
knows about the five a day and has sensory knowledge of the 5 senses.
can follow a picture recipe fairly independently.
uses the correct equipment.
understands which food needs to be cut on which coloured chopping board.
can suggest how to adapt a recipe for two different dietary requirements such as vegetarian.
can say ‘what went well’ and ‘even better if…’ but does not get others’ opinions.
analyse their product against two senses. 2
needs help to carry out basic skills, put the oven on and select simple tools to make products.
can follow basic picture recipes.
understands the 5 main sections of the eatwell plate.
needs help to follow a recipe
is developing lower-level skills such as chopping and frying.
can suggest how to change the dish when asked specific questions.
can say ‘what went well’ and ‘even better if…’ and make a basic suggestion of how to improve the dish with prompting.
conduct basic peer assessment. 1
Can…
bring the correct ingredients but needs help weighing and measuring.
needs to be reminded how to prepare for a practical lesson.
how to substitute ingredient.
with help, carry out basic skills, put the oven on and select simple tools to make products.
follow Basic Health & Safety
follow Basic Health & Hygiene practices.
understand routine kitchen practices.
can say ‘what went well’ and ‘even better if…’ but no idea how to make these changes.

9. Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is STEPS? A. STEPS is an assessment-recording and progress-monitoring system for all subjects studied at Key Stage 3. Q. What are STEPS grids? A. The STEPS grids break a subject down into Strands of content and nine progressive Steps. Students are placed on the STEPS grid following a baseline assessment. The expected progress is at least one-Step per year or three-Steps over the key stage. Q. What is a Strand? A. A Strand is an area of study of a subject. Every subject is divided into between three and seven Strands. Q. What is a Step? A. Every Strand is broken down into nine progressive Steps. Nine is the highest Step and one is the lowest. Steps provide the pathway through the Programme of Study for each Strand. Q. Why does my child appear to have made more progress in one subject than another? A. All subjects are different and so are children! It is quite understandable for one student to have a different rate of progress to another. Learning is a cycle of improvement. Students improve and then plateau before making further improvement – the timescale for this improvement is very individual and varies between subjects. It is quite normal for rapid progress to be made when children are exposed for the first time to specialist teaching, when perhaps teachers with expert knowledge were not available in primary school. Q. My child seems to have made no progress at all in one subject. A. There could be circumstances which would mean that within the last assessment cycle this was the case. It could be a completely new subject, or one that has been studied for only a portion of the year. We are anticipating three Steps of progress over the key stage and that one Step is merely the average of this expected progress each year. Remember also that in Science, progress has been built implicitly into the schemes of work. Therefore your child will be expected to stay on the same step or fluctuate above/ below this step as the content becomes more challenging throughout the year. Progress will be numerically represented by a variation score (progress score) from your child’s start point. If your child’s score is positive or remains at 0 throughout the year this represents expected progress or above expected progress; if they receive a minus progress score then this indicates that they will need more support to maintain their progress in the upcoming units.