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,
As someone with a son or daughter in Year 7/8 you may be aware that there have many changes to assessment in schools over the last few years. At the same time as the government’s announcement of a major shift in the way attainment and progress were to be reported at KS2 from September 2016, they also indicated the abolishment of ‘levels’ at KS3, but with a much earlier deadline of September However, unlike KS2, there was no prescribed alternative system put into place across the country and all secondary schools were invited to create their own model of assessment.
Over the past two years we have been working to create an assessment model that will work with our Key Stage 3 students. This year we have improved our model to create distinct STEPS grids. Each grid is comprised of 9 ’steps’ and a number of ’strands’. The grid contains descriptors for what a child needs to be able to do to complete a ‘step’.
Your son/ daughter will start with a baseline ‘step’, which will be derived from KS2 data and baseline assessments they will complete in their opening weeks of the Autumn-term. We will report the baseline step for each subject in the Q1 report in mid-November. 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.
Accompanying this letter you will find your own copy of the STEPS grids. Please keep this safe and use it to cross reference attainment on each report with content of the KS3 courses for each subject studied.
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
* In Science, progress is built implicitly into the scheme of work. Therefore students will be expected to stay on the same step or fluctuate above/ below this step as the content becomes more challenging throughout the year.

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 four 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.

4. DT Design Technology

5. DT - Design Technology 9 8 7 Step Strand 1 Research (Equal weighting)
Ideas
Strand 3
Development
Strand 4
Making
Strand 5
Evaluation 9
All of the below and…
can consider primary, secondary and tertiary users in their research, and the specification fully reflects their findings.
can use ICT to produce graphs to show their findings.
can make decisions based on sound knowledge gained from their research, in particular, physical properties and working characteristics.
all primary, secondary and tertiary users are fully catered for in their design.
their final development (on paper or model) meets all specification criteria and shows all final details including sizes, materials, quantities and processes.
can work independently to create a product which has a very high level of accuracy in its making and finishing.
can evaluate all aspects of the project, not just making.
can take environmental, ethical, social and cultural issues into consideration. 8
can consider primary, secondary and tertiary users.
can identify trends from existing products, other designers’ work and show an understanding of properties and characteristics of materials.
research and analysis identifies areas that conflict, and they resolve problems in a creative way.
can understand form and function of several familiar products and have used these in a range of strategies to develop and model ideas so that they are realistic and suitable for a range of users and they reflect the research.
can use a range of tools and equipment skilfully and accurately to make a complex product of high quality.
quality control checks have been applied throughout.
can explain fully in writing (customers survey, peer assessment, expert opinion) the problems that have arisen, how they overcame them and evaluate their product. 7
research shows evidence of analysis of form and function of similar/familiar products (other designers’ work and their own).
can use research analysis to create a specification which helps meet the target market’s needs and includes key aspects for development.
can display some research using ICT.
can develop a wide range of creative and different ideas.
can use a wide range of research and information to help design, improve and develop chosen idea and explain how it meets the specification.
can work independently to ensure that quality control checks have been applied throughout the making process.
the product shows a range of high-level skills, and is of a very good standard of making and finishing.
can compare the final product to their research and specification and can identify weaknesses, suggest improvements and has gained potential user opinion.

6. DT - Design Technology 6 5 4 3 Step Strand 1 Research
(Equal weighting)
Strand 2
Ideas
Strand 3
Development
Strand 4
Making
Strand 5
Evaluation 6
All of the below and…
can gather research independently from two sources.
can ask users for their opinion and use it to write a specification.
can show an understanding of aesthetic and economic issues that might affect the design.
can produce four or more different and creative ideas based on their specification.
can consider form, function and cultural differences.
can decide which design is the best and show a clear understanding of how it could be made.
can use various sources of information to develop designs.
understands how to use existing products to help develop and model their idea.
can fully annotate their work, making reference to the specification.
can demonstrate a good level of making with little help from teachers or technicians.
the practical work shows high levels of skill and demonstrates the ability to use quality control checks throughout. The product is well made.
can identify what works well and what could be improved.
can carry out tests with a target market and record what is said. 5
can produce written descriptive analysis that helps their design.
can research into other designers and technical information and use it within their designs.
can produce four or more varied ideas that are linked to their research.
models and ideas show an understanding of the likes and dislikes of other people.
can draw neatly in 2D and 3D. Work shows possible problems identified.
annotation includes information about materials and joining methods.
can use tools safely to a basic level with some independence to make products that show more than one skill, demonstrating that quality control checks have been used.
can say which parts of the product meet the specification and which parts do not. 4
can find pictures of existing products, and some simple research data, and explain how the research could be used in the design.
can produce four ideas based on research and specification.
ideas have simple labels relating to materials and sizes which can be discussed with the teacher.
can use a variety of sketches and labels to develop ideas.
can, with help from teacher or technician, make a simple product.
can use some quality checks to ensure accuracy.
use their specification to identify areas that are good and areas that could be improved. 3
can find pictures that are relevant to the task and explain ‘what went well’ and ‘even better if’ about these, relevant to the task.
can draw and label two realistic ideas (which meet the design brief to some extent) in colour.
can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas.
can develop some ideas using colour, using a variety of sketches and labelling explaining the types of materials used and sizes.
can identify one quality check for practical work.
the product has some accuracy in parts and is mostly finished.
can use tools and equipment correctly and safely some of the time.
can say whether or not the final design/product is successful.
can identify good or bad points about the work.

7. Design Technology 2 1 Step Strand 1 Research (Equal weighting)
Ideas
Strand 3
Development
Strand 4
Making
Strand 5
Evaluation 2
All of the below and…
can find some pictures for the project and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses for each of the pictures.
can draw one idea, in colour, that meets some of the design brief and, with help, can suggest the strengths and weaknesses of their idea.
can develop one or two ideas in colour to make them look realistic and can explain to the teacher something good or bad about the development.
can make a product that uses one skill with accuracy, using tools and equipment with supervision.
the product has some accuracy in parts and is mostly finished.
can explain the appearance of the design and why it looks that way with help.
can say what needs to be better next time, and can say what was hard when making the product. 1
Can…
find a picture to help their design and say why the picture is helpful.
draw one design in colour.
develop one idea using colour with labels, explaining how the idea has been developed and what it might be made from.
with help, use tools to make a product with limited accuracy.
identify one good and one bad point about the design and talk about how the design works.

8. 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.