Assessment At Cawthorne

 Click below for the End of Year Expectations

EYFS         Year 1       Year 2       Year 3       Year 4      Year 5       Year 6  

The Language Of Assessment

Having announced that there will no longer be National Curriculum levels, schools are now required to set up their own ways of assessing pupils. We have spent a long time researching various methods of assessment and have agreed to use the following statements:

• Less than expected progress/working below national expectations – (Emerging)

       yet to be secure in the end of year expectations for his/her year group.

• Expected progress/ working at national expectations – (Expected)

       secure in the majority of the end of year expectations for his/her year group.

• More than expected progress/above national expectations – (Exceeding)

       secure in all the end of year expectations for his/her year group and able to use and apply their knowledge and skills confidently.   

How will my child be assessed at Cawthorne?

EYFS

From September, children will be assessed on entry to Early Years (Reception) using the new DfE Baseline Assessment.  This will be completed by your child using practical apparatus and resources. The known adult working with them will input their answers and outcomes into an online system. No scores will be generated but a report about what your child can do will be created. This will sit alongside teacher’s assessments and contribute to your child’s learning journey. which can be evidenced on Tapestry.

At the end of EYFS, your child's profile will be completed against the Early Learning Goal statements (see link above). The adults in Foundation Stage will have collated evidence and independent work samples throughout the year to make an accurate judgement against each statement in each area of learning. This judgment will indicate whether your child has met or not met the ELG and this profile will be shared with parents in the Summer Term.  

Year 1

All children entering into school develop their knowledge and understanding of Phonics through tailored, differentiated Read, Write, Inc teaching. As children navigate the different sound sets and stages, they will be regularly assessed by the Phonics Lead against the sounds taught. When your child is in Year 1, they will undertake the Phonics Screening Check in the summer term to ascertain if they have a secure knowledge and application of all the phonics sounds. In order to pass the Phonics Screening Check, your child will have to decode and accurately read a specific number of the 40 words provided. Some of these words will be real words and some will be alien 'nonsense' words. Previous pass marks have been set by DfE at 32 however, this is subject to change.

Year 2

From 2023, DfE have removed formal end of KS1 SATs assessments. As a school, we will continue to use the papers as they are still being supplied by DfE but we will integrate these into our internal assessment cycle, completing them in the second half of the summer term. In addition to this, there is no statutory duty to record and submit Teacher Assessment judgements to an external body. Information will be shared with parents in the end of year summer report as outlined below.

Year 4

If your child is in Year 4, they will have to undertake the Multiplication Timestables Check. This is an online assessment of knowledge and quick recall of timestables facts up to 12x12. Each question is timed and children are given six seconds before the next question is presented. The assessment is out of 25 and there is no pass or fail mark. DfE have introduced this assessment to identify those children who need support in developing their knowledge and recall of timestables in order to develop their mathematics ability. If staff have identified that your child needs support, they will communicate this with you in a sensitive manner with strategies to help. 

Year 6

If your child is currently in Year 6 then they will complete the SATs assessments in May. They will sit papers for Reading, Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, and Mathematics (arithmetic and reasoning). From this, they will be awarded a standardised score. This will range from 80 — 120, with 100 representing the expected score for the age group. Teacher judgements for Writing and Science will be generated through a wide range of evidence collated over the course of the year. Staff will make accurate judgements using DfE statements to ascertain if your child is working at the expected standard for Year 6, below the standard or above the standard. 

Assessment Throughout The Year

At the end of each term, class teachers carry out assessments in English; Reading, Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Writing, Science and Mathematics. Other than Writing, these assessment generate a scaled score, similar to SATs. All assessment information and results are used by the teachers to inform future teaching and learning as well as monitoring each child’s progress. The assessments also identify what each child can do and the next steps in learning – setting targets and addressing any gaps through consolidation work or focused support.

Also, these assessments will help the class teachers to: track the progress of individual children, give an overview of the subject and groups of children (boys, girls, ethnicity, special educational needs, English as a second language etc), provide a breakdown of which questions were answered well and give information to parents about ways you can support your child’s learning.  

By using standardised tests, which generate a scaled score, teachers can track children’s progress year on year and be confident about the accuracy of their assessment judgements.

Staff will also assess your child's knowledge in foundations subjects in various ways. Assessment for Learning opportunities will provide assessment activities in lessons so that your child can demonstrate the extent of their knowledge and understanding of key concepts. Other independent assessment tasks or activities will also be provided so that your child can demonstrate what they have learnt and remembered about a topic or theme within a subject.

Reporting Achievement And Progress

At Cawthorne, parents are seen as partners in learning. We fully expect you to be engaged in your child's learning and supportive of school. Our staff are proactive in their approach to teaching and learning so that if issues are identified with your child's learning, they are quickly addressed in school and, if appropriate, shared with parents. This ensures that no time is lost waiting for a set time in the year for a formal parents evening. Likewise, if you are concerned or need to share information regarding your child's learning, our staff are more than happy to discuss this with you and look at how we can best support your child.  

During the year,  pupil progress will continue to be tracked and teachers will discuss whether your child is on track to achieve the end of year expectations at two parents’ evenings. These meetings are in the Autumn and Spring Terms. Successes will be shared, targets will be set and strategies to support your child's learning explained. 

At the end of each school year, your child’s school report will indicate any end of year assessment using the language of working below, working at and exceeding national expectations for that year group. An outline of your child's achievement and progress in each curriculum subject will be provided with targets to work on for the next academic year. Alongside this, you will receive an insight into your child's personal development over the course of the year.