Assessment

Assessment at Ashley Primary School

Assessment is at the heart of effective teaching and learning at Ashley School. It draws on evidence that indicates what a child can do independently and consistently, to provide a complete picture of strengths and areas for improvement alongside achievement over time. Assessment is used to set high expectations for all pupils against the in-year and end of Key Stage expectations, to celebrate achievement, and to inform children, parents, carers and teachers of next steps in learning.

At Ashley, we use formative assessment every day to identify what the children have learned. Formative assessment is carried out informally by teachers in the course of their daily teaching through marking pupils’ work, talking to pupils and on-going observations. Children also undertake many self-assessment activities and to use peer assessment to provide feedback to one another.

Summative assessment is used to provide evidence of a pupil’s achievement over a period of time and is carried out and recorded in a number of ways. At the end of Year 2 and Year 6 pupils sit Statutory Assessments (SATs) in Reading, Maths, Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation (GPS) in accordance with government guidelines. Teacher assessment is also made of pupils’ Writing and Science levels.

Statutory Assessment

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) – Reception

Children in Reception are assessed using Development Matters - this is a non-statutory document that supports EYFS practitioners in implementing the statutory requirements of the EYFS. Throughout Reception, children are assessed against the Age-Related Expectations (ARE) in the 17 learning areas. Assessments are based on a mixture of daily observations of activity/engagement as well as some more formal assessment tasks at the end of each term. At the end of Reception, for each Early Learning Goal, teachers will use these assessments to make a best-fit judgement about whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the Reception year; children will be assessed as either Emerging (they have not yet reached the expected level of development), Expected or Exceeding (they are working beyond the expected level of development for their age). This end of year profile judgement is known as Good Level of Development (GLD).

Baseline

On entry to school, children in Reception are baselined against the 17 areas of the EYFS curriculum. By having a good understanding of the child’s abilities when they start school, class teachers are able to measure each child's progress and plan for next steps in learning. The baseline assessment is face-to-face with a mixture of tasks and observational checklists and is conducted in a child's first few weeks at school.

EYFS Profile

The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) assessment is carried out in the final term of Reception. The main purpose of the EYFSP is to provide a reliable, valid and accurate assessment of each child at the end of the EYFS. This profile data is used to inform parents about their child’s development against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) and the Characteristics of Effective Learning. This is then used to support transition into Year 1, where teachers will then plan an effective, responsive and appropriate curriculum that will meet the needs of each child as they move on. Children's attainment from Baseline to the EYFSP is tracked throughout the year to ensure accurate judgements are made and to ensure all children make good progress.

Phonics Check

Children in Year 1 undertake a national Phonics Screening Check. The Phonics Screening Check demonstrates how well children can use the phonics skills they have learned up to the end of Year 1 and identifies those children who need extra phonics help. The checks consist of 40 words and non-words that your child will be asked to read one-on-one with a teacher. Non-words (or nonsense words, or pseudo words) are a collection of letters that will follow phonics rules your child has been taught, but don’t mean anything. The 40 words and non-words are divided into two sections – one with simple word structures of three or four letters, and one with more complex word structures of five or six letters. Pupils will be scored against a national standard, and the main result will be whether or not they fall below, within or above this standard. Children who do not meet the required standard in Year 1 will be re-checked in Year 2.

Key Stage 1 SATs

Year 2 is the end of Key Stage 1. Formal, nationwide assessments are carried out within school in the summer term. These are delivered to children in a manner that they are familiar with and by staff who work with the children on a regular basis. They may be externally moderated but this will have no effect on the children taking the test. In addition to the statutory test papers that the children complete, teachers will make a Teacher Assessment judgement in line with the Teacher Assessment Frameworks. This information will be combined and your child will achieve one of the following standards: PKF (Working Below National Standards for Year 2), WTS (Working Towards National Standards for Year 2), EXS (Meeting the National Standards for Year 2) or GDS (Working at Greater Depth in National Standards for Year 2)

Multiplication Tables Check

Children in Year 4 undertake a national Multiplication Tables Check (MTC). The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether children can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. The check will help us identify children who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided to ensure that they have the building blocks required to tackle more advanced Mathematical concepts in Year 5 and 6 and at Secondary School.

Key Stage 2 SATs

In Year 6, before children leave us to move to Secondary school they undertake tests in Reading Comprehension; Writing; Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS) and Mathematics. These tests are set by the Department for Education and must be taken in a particular week in May. All maintained schools in the country take the same test on the same day. The 2021 end of Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests will be held in the week beginning Monday 10th May 2021. The papers from the Year 6 tests are marked externally and results published by the Department for Education in early July. Children’s writing is Teacher Assessed using the KS2 Writing Teacher Assessment Framework (TAF). There is also a TAF for Science at the end of Key Stage 2. Parents and children will be made aware of their results, including for Writing and Science, as soon as they are released to us. This is usually alongside your child’s end of year report.

Summative Assessment

In addition to the above will have three 'formal' assessment points or ‘Assessment Windows’ in the year. These Assessment Windows are consistent Trust wide and will take place at the end of the Autumn Term (for Years 2-6), at the end of the Spring Term (Years 1-6) and at the end of the Summer Term (Years 1-6). In line with the other trust schools, we will use NFER tests for reading and mathematics, as these will provide us with a standardised score and detailed gap analysis to tell us how much progress your child is making and if they are on-track to meet National Curriculum expectations for their age range. The tests, and the associated analysis, will also to inform our next steps in teaching and learning. The table below shows which papers each year group use throughout the Year.

We will use teacher assessment for writing, in the Autumn term of Year 1, Spring term for all year groups and throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception).

Reporting

Results from assessments, or the analysis from them, will be shared with parents in our Autumn and Spring term parents’ evenings. Parents will also be able to view their child’s books in the Spring Term parents evening (dependent on COVID-19).

Parents also receive a written report at the end of each academic year. This will include details about their child’s academic progress in both core and foundation subjects and on their skills and abilities in all areas of the curriculum.