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
throughout Key Stage 3
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 PSHE
Year
Autumn-term
Spring-term
Summer-term 7
Health & Well Being
With a focus on friendships and developing healthy lifestyles.
Living in the Wider World
With a focus on employment and bullying.
Relationships
With a focus on relationships in the media and managing peer-influences. 8
With a focus on what to do in an emergency and mental health.
With a focus on rights & responsibilities and economic well-being.
With a focus on online safety and having a partner. 9
With a focus on achieving a healthy balance between work & leisure and maintaining positive mental health.
With a focus on future aspirations and developing enterprise and teamwork skills.
With a focus on understanding identity and social expectations.
Key:
By its very nature PSHE cannot be formally assessed in a way that is comparable with other subjects. However, students studying PSHE continually review their progress against the PSHE STEPS grid throughout each unit, theme and lesson. The course has been split into 3 themes or ‘strands’. These strands have been highlighted above using the following colours:
Strand 1
Health & Wellbeing
Strand 2
Living in the Wider World
Strand 3
Relationships

6. Living in the wider world
PSHE
Step
Strand 1
Health & wellbeing
(Equal weighting)
Strand 2
Relationships
Strand 3
Living in the wider world 9
All of the below and…
I can pre-empt and prepare myself for transitional phases in my life, consistently demonstrating resilience and a positive mindset in the face of change
I can make regular, accurate assessments of risks to my health
I can evaluate the effectiveness of a range of different support available including on- and off-line services
I can give advice about how to deal with negative relationships, including bullying, abuse, violence and online encounters.
I can justify my values on moral issues using mature and detailed argument which is backed up by evidence.
I can demonstrate discernment in assessing others’ arguments and can identify increasingly sophisticated thinking traps.
I can critically assess the importance of equality in a diverse community and the ways in which I and my society promote this.
I can express increased confidence in my ability to manage risk in relationships and demonstrate effective strategies in doing so.
I can meaningfully debate my rights and responsibilities in promoting diversity in my community
I can reflect on my strengths and areas for development with precision and insight, and respond constructively to feedback
I can evaluate how personal financial choices affect myself and others and confidently assess financial risk in relation to those choices 8
I can evaluate the safety of my health and wellbeing choices
I can confidently explain what it means to be a good parent
I can describe the health and wellbeing risks of unplanned pregnancy
I can demonstrate how to respond in emergency situations
I can evaluate the role and effectiveness of the media’s influence on my own and others’ lifestyle choices
I can evaluate my success at managing my emotions in different contexts.
I can effectively demonstrate strategies to manage peer influence.
I can explain the importance of consent in all relevant contexts.
I can evaluate the effectiveness of different sources of support.
I can demonstrate active citizenship and assess my contributions to the local and national economy
I can demonstrate ambition and lead enterprise projects
I can confidently demonstrate a range of employability skills
I can demonstrate a wide range of enterprise skills confidently 7
I can explain a range of techniques to promote my physical, mental and emotional health
I can explain how to develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships within a range of social/cultural contexts.
I can explain how to manage loss related to bereavement & divorce.
I can explain how to make informed career choices and explain the pathways leading to and from these choices
I can explain the economic and business environment locally, nationally and globally
I can explain examples of how to claim my rights and meet my responsibilities as a consumer.

7. Living in the wider world
PSHE
Step
Strand 1
Health & wellbeing
(Equal weighting)
Strand 2
Relationships
Strand 3
Living in the wider world 6
All of the below and…
I can manage transitions between important stages in my life, demonstrating a positive mindset in the face of change
I can explain a range of different support available including on- and off-line services
I can describe how to develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships in a range of contexts
I can effectively assess others’ arguments and can identify thinking traps
I can demonstrate how to respect equality and be a productive member of a diverse community
I can express increased confidence in my ability to manage risk in relationships
I can demonstrate employability skills, including teamwork, leadership, flexibility and resilience
I can reflect effectively on my strengths and areas for development in order to improve 5
I can describe ways to promote my physical, mental and emotional health
I can describe features of parenthood and the risks of unplanned pregnancy
I can explain how to respond in emergency situations
I can explain the role of the media in influencing lifestyle choices
I can explain how to deal with negative relationships, including bullying, abuse and online encounters
I can justify my values on moral issues
I can explain strategies to manage peer influence
I can explain the concept of consent in a variety of contexts
I can identify and access appropriate advice and support
I can explain my rights and responsibilities as a member of a diverse community
I can explain my role as an active citizen and as a participant in the local and national economy
I can explain how to make informed career choices
I can explain how to be ambitious and enterprising 4
I can identify choices for my health and wellbeing that are safe and unsafe
I can assess risks to my health
I can recognise and manage my emotions
I can describe ways to manage loss
I can describe the national economic and business environment
I can demonstrate enterprise skills
I can explain how personal financial choices affect me and assess financial risk in relation to those choices
I can describe my rights and responsibilities as a consumer

8. Living in the wider world
PSHE
Step
Strand 1
Health & wellbeing
(Equal weighting)
Strand 2
Relationships
Strand 3
Living in the wider world 3
All of the below and…
I can identify transitional stages in my life and discuss ways of managing them
I can identify some forms of media that might influence me and my health choices
I can describe my views on basic moral issues and begin to critically assess others’ views
I can describe how to show respect and equality to others
I can discuss ways to manage risk in relationships
I know about the role of business in the economy
I can explain what it is to be enterprising
I can describe possible personal finance choices and identify potential risks and benefits of those choices
I can describe my role as a consumer. 2
I can suggest some ways to promote my health
I can recognise emergency situations and follow instructions to keep myself safe
I can name and describe my emotions
I can suggest some strategies for dealing with bullying, both on and offline
I can define the concept of consent
I can recognise the feelings associated with loss
I can identify where I could find advice and support
I can state my rights and responsibilities as a member of my local community
I can describe what an active citizen does
I can define the economy and how I contribute to it 1
I can…
state basic differences between safe and unsafe choices for my health and wellbeing
describe the role of a parent
state basic risks to my health
list some support services
describe different types of relationship
distinguish between healthy and unhealthy relationships
suggest ways to manage peer pressure
identify different careers and pathways
describe what it means to be ambitious
sometimes, with support, demonstrate teamwork and resilience skills
reflect on my strengths and identify an area to improve

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.