William Patten Assessment Policy

William Patten Assessment Policy 2016

William Patten Assessment Policy

William Patten Assessment Policy 1

1. Overview 2

2. Forms of Assessment 2

2.1 Formative Assessment 2

2.2 Summative Assessment 2

2.3 Assessment Overview 2

3. Assessment Cycle 3

3.1 Reception children 3

3.2 Year 1 and 2 children 4

3.3 Year 3, 4 and 5 children 4

3.4 Year 6 children 5

4. Monitoring 5

5. Information on the Hackney Approach to Assessment 6

6. How we will track progress using the Hackney Assessment Tool 6

7. Reporting 7

8. Assessment Calendar 9

9. Staff training 12

10. Appendix 12

1. Overview

The main aim of assessment is to recognise the strengths and talents of pupils, and to identify and support their areas for development. Assessment is used to monitor progress and therefore informs future planning for groups of children or individuals. Assessments are used to inform teachers, parents, governors and other relevant bodies about the progress that children make. At William Patten we use a range of assessment tools, both formative and summative, to ensure that we regularly and systematically monitor and evaluate children’s progress. This information is then used to track progress and to ensure that children that need additional support, to attain age expected results, are provided for and also that children working at national expectations are suitably challenged.

2. Forms of Assessment

2.1 Formative Assessment

Teachers continually assess pupils’ performance through their observation of children on tasks set and through the work they produce.

Marking of pupils’ work isdone in accordance with the school's Marking Policyand highlights what a pupil has done well and indicates how a pupil can improve a piece of work. This process encourages self and peer assessment which are believed to be fundamental elements in the assessment process.

2.2 Summative Assessment

Half-termly summative writing and maths assessments are completed and the information from these assessments is recorded and used to track progress. These half-termly assessments inform the teacher’s planning for the class and for groups within the class and target setting for individual pupils. In addition to this, half-termly summative reading assessments are completed in KS1. In KS2 Abacus reading assessments are completed in the autumn and summer terms and in Year 6 additional CPG assessments are completed, on a half-termly basis, during both the autumn and spring terms.

2.3 Assessment Overview

2.3.1 Writing

Half-termly independent writing tasks, work completed during literacy lessons and teacher’s observations will determine which of the objectives a child has achieved or may still require further consolidation.

2.3.2 Maths

Half-termly maths assessment tasks (mapping the objectives covered during the half-term), work completed during maths lessons and teacher’s observations will determine which of the objectives a child has achieved or may still require further consolidation.

2.3.3 Reading

Hackney Loves Reading (HLR) lends itself perfectly to allow teachers time to read with children and assess all of the fundamentals of reading objectives on a regular basis. Children in KS1, learn to read using RWI, and regular RWI assessments allow class teachers to be informed of the objectives that children have achieved. Half-termly reading tasks, set at an appropriate level, also provide evidence of a child’s reading progress. In KS1, class teachers also have the opportunity to use appropriate levelled guided reading session to read with groups of children, on a regular basis, and hence monitor progress. In addition to these regular assessment opportunities reading completed during daily literacy lessons and teacher’s observations will determine which of the objectives a child has achieved or may still require further consolidation.

3. Assessment Cycle

3.1 Reception children

Autumn 1:

The NFER Reception Baseline Assessment tool is use to assess children in mathematics, literacy (including Communication and Language) and the personal and social aspects of learning. This assessment is completed as soon as children have settled during the autumn 1 term. In addition to this, children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against the EYFS Development Matters statements to provide a baseline assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. At the end of the autumn 1 term, children also complete an independent writing task and are assessed in their phonic knowledge using the RWI assessment tool. Data from these assessments are recorded and a baseline assessment profile for each child is produced and recorded.

Autumn 2:

Children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against their EYFS Development Matters statements to provide an autumn 2 assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. At the end of the autumn 2 term, children also complete an independent writing task and are assessed in their phonic knowledge using the RWI assessment tool. Data from these assessments are recorded and an autumn 2 assessment profile for each child is produced and recorded.

Spring 1:

Children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against their EYFS Development Matters statements to provide a spring 1 assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. At the end of the spring 1 term, children also complete an independent writing task and are assessed in their phonic knowledge using the RWI assessment tool. Data from these assessments are recorded.

Spring 2:

Children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against their EYFS Development Matters statements to provide a spring 2 assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. At the end of the spring 2 term, children also complete an independent writing task and are assessed in their phonic knowledge using the RWI assessment tool. Data from these assessments are recorded and a spring 2 assessment profile for each child is produced and recorded.

Summer 1:

Children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against their EYFS Development Matters statements to provide a summer 1 assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. At the end of the summer 1 term, children also complete an independent writing task and are assessed in their phonic knowledge using the RWI assessment tool. Data from these assessments are recorded.

Summer 2:

Children are assessed, using observations and focus activities, against their EYFS Development Matters statements to provide a summer 2 assessment in all of the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. At the end of the summer 2 term, children also complete an independent writing task and are assessed in their phonic knowledge using the RWI assessment tool. Data from these assessments are recorded and a summer 2 assessment profile for each child is produced and recorded. Children’s EYFS Profile is completed using information from tracking, observations and assessments.

3.2 Year 1 and 2 children

Every half term (Autumn 1 and 2, Spring 1 and 2 and Summer 1 and 2) regular teacher observations, formative assessments, RWI assessments, independent writing tasks and Abacus maths and reading assessments are used to determine children’s attainment. This information is then used to evaluate progress and to identify the need for additional support or intervention. This data is recorded using RWI tracking software, Abacus on-line tracking and also the Hackney Approach to Assessment (the Fundamentals.)

Year 2 children also complete summative assessments which measure performance at the end of the year through Nationalised Standard Assessment Tasks and Tests in English and mathematics for Years 2.

3.3 Year 3, 4 and 5 children

Every half term (Autumn 1 and 2, Spring 1 and 2 and Summer 1 and 2) regular teacher observations, formative assessments, formative assessment using Hackney Loves Reading, independent writing tasks and Abacus maths and reading assessments are used to determine children’s attainment. This information is then used to evaluate progress and to identify the need for additional support or intervention. This data is recorded using Abacus on-line tracking and also the Hackney Approach to Assessment (the Fundamentals.)

At the end of every term – Autumn 2, Spring 2 and Summer 2 the Hackney Assessment tracking tool is updated to enable progress of children and groups of children to be tracked.

Year 6 children also complete summative assessments which measure performance at the end of the year through Nationalised Standard Assessment Tasks and Tests in English and mathematics for Years 6.

3.4 Year 6 children

In addition to the above assessments, KS2 maths SATs test materials (sourced from CPG) will be administered on a half-termly basis to provide opportunities for children to become familiar with SATs type test materials and also to evaluate progress. Similarly, SATs papers (linked to the new curriculum, again sourced from CPG) will be used to assess reading at the end of every term; this will better prepare children for the format of the tests they will sit at the end of the year.

This information is then used to evaluate progress and to identify the need for additional support or intervention. This data is recorded using Abacus on-line tracking and also the Hackney Approach to Assessment (the Fundamentals.)

At the end of every term – Autumn 2, Spring 2 and Summer 2 the Hackney Assessment tracking tool is updated to enable progress of children and groups of children to be tracked.

Year 6 children also complete summative assessments which measure performance at the end of the year through Nationalised Standard Assessment Tasks and Tests in English and mathematics for Years 6.

4. Monitoring

Children’s progress will be monitored continually through informal and formal assessments by the class teacher and this will inform weekly target setting and medium term planning for English, mathematics and, in the case of EY, the prime and specific areas of learning.

5. Information on the Hackney Approach to Assessment

The school has continued to develop its systems of assessment in line with the new National Curriculum. As a result of this we have adopted the Hackney Approach to Assessment, which embodies the core principles set out by the DfE which are:

To give reliable information to parents about how their child, and their child’s school, is performing

Help drive improvement for pupils and teachers

Ensure the school is keeping up with external best practice and innovation

This assessment tool allows schools to successfully assess children beyond levels and to record and track progress from the Reception baseline to Year 6; it is a mastery model with which to assess the core fundamentals (in reading, writing and maths) based on National Curriculum statutory outcomes for Year 2, 4 and 6 and advised outcomes for Years 1, 3, 5. Therefore in each year and core subject there is a clear assessment criteria.

For each Year group, there is a list of fundamentals, or objectives, that each child must master in order to be considered to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge in maths, reading and writing. This ‘securing of the fundamentals’ ensures that children are prepared for the next stage in their education.

The tool provides an immediate overview of what the child has and has not learnt and will also allow teachers and SMT to clearly assess and report on the percentage of objectives that have been achieved within each year and subject and also identify the content of the objectives that have not been met. This allows a clear ‘gaps analysis’ of learning for individual pupils, classes, cohorts and discrete groups and the implementation of systems and provision to reduce this gap.

6. How we will track progress using the Hackney Assessment Tool

Using ongoing regular formative assessments (observations made in class, guided reading, children’s work etc.) together with information gleaned from summative assessments (half-termly assessments and independent writing tasks) individual tracking maths, reading and writing sheets are updated to show the objectives that a child has met during the term.

Historically for the Autumn 2015 term

At the end of every term – Autumn 2, Spring 2 and Summer 2 - the Hackney Assessment tracking tool is updated to enable the progress of children and groups of children to be tracked. Every child has a reading, maths and a writing fundamental grid; these are stored on the class teacher’s iPad or the subject teacher’s iPad. Throughout the course of the term, these grids are updated to reflect the child’s progress in reading, maths and writing. If an objective is achieved in the autumn term then it is highlighted in blue, in the spring term then it is highlighted in green and in the summer term it is highlighted in yellow; this allows a child’s progress throughout the year to be recorded.

This information is then used to update a tracking worksheet to track a child’s progress during the academic year, in addition to providing an overview of the child’s attainment in previous years. As each objective has a percentage value applied to it, children who make less progress will have a lower percentage increase over time and will therefore be identified for additional support as necessary. The system will inform the individual target areas of each child and inform of their progress and attainment over time.

From the Spring 2016 term

From the spring 2016 term, tracking data will be entered directly into maths, reading and writing tracking sheets. There is no requirement for the bubbles data to be highlighted, unless teachers decide that they want to continue using this tool to inform formative assessment.

End of term assessment data for reading, writing and mathematics is entered into the school tracker and analysed by the Head teacher and Assessment Coordinators who invite class teaching teams to a progress meeting where class, group and individual pupil progress are discussed and analysed and pupils making less progress than expected are identified for additional support and intervention.

7. Reporting

Due to the concept of ‘securing the fundamentals’ a child will need to have demonstrated achievement of 100% of the year group targets to be classified as working at age expectations.