Reception baseline assessment   

Currently, our children complete a baseline assessment at the start of Reception. Parents then have the opportunity to discuss the outcomes of the assessment with the class teacher during the November parents evening. This assessment enables teachers to identify areas of strength and difficulty at an early age. We offer an open door policy where parents may discuss their child's development at any stage. 

The Government announced that it would introduce a new statutory assessment in Autumn 2020 . This will be administered by schools soon after children enter reception, and will be used as the baseline for measuring the progress primary schools make. This will enable the department, for the first time, to create ‘end-to end’ school-level progress measures for primary schools, showing the progress made from reception until the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2). The new reception baseline assessment will provide a snapshot of where pupils are when they arrive at school, enabling a new starting point to measure the progress that they make by the end of year 6. It will also enable the Department for Education (DfE) to remove statutory end of key stage 1 assessments, as they will no longer be the starting point for progress measures. This will reduce the overall burden of the statutory assessment system.

Alongside this, the Early Years department assess the children through the EYFS document. This is done at the beginning of the year for a baseline result and then termly (Autumn, Spring and Summer). This shows how the children are making progress throughout all the areas of learning. Targets and homework is regularly sent home, alongside reading books. Again, your child's progress and development will be discussed within the Spring term at parents evening. 

During the Reception year, staff make regular observations and assessments to contribute to the EYFS profile. The EYFS profile summarises and describes children’s attainment at the end of the EYFS. It gives:

• the child’s attainment in relation to the 17 early learning goal (ELG) descriptors

• a short narrative describing the child’s 3 characteristics of effective learning

Assessments are primarily based on observing a child’s daily activities and events. At the end of Early Years Foundation Stage, each child will be assessed against the following scale:

1 Indicates a child who is at the ‘emerging’ level at the end of the EYFS

2 Indicates a child who is at the ‘expected’ level at the end of the EYFS

3 Indicates a child who is at the ‘exceeding’ level at the end of the EYFS

Assessment in Y1-6

Our curriculum is assessed against National Curriculum Statements. Teachers regularly check the progress of the individual children against statements appropriate to their age-group or their stage of development.  Formative assessment (ongoing assessment which informs future planning) is a continuous approach to assessment.  Teachers record formative assessments on OTrack to identify pupil and whole class 'gaps' so that these can be addressed.  This also helps subject leaders to see how their subject is progressing in each class/year group. 

At three points in the year (at the end of each term) teachers make a judgement on how well children have met the objectives, using the formative assessments. Teachers use 'entering', 'developing', 'secure' to show the depth to which the child is meeting the objectives.  At the end of the year, some children may be assessed as Secure+, meaning they have a deeper understanding, which is transferred to all areas of the curriculum.  Teachers use OTrack to record their assessments.

In Year 1, teachers use the information from EYFS assessments, as well as early observations of the child, to inform the provision for them in Year 1.  Those children who were 'emerging' may need additional support and may continue to be assessed against the EYFS objectives, if appropriate, during the Autumn Term.  Equally, those children who were 'exceeding' may need additional provision to ensure they are challenged.  

Subject leaders and senior leaders often work with staff to moderate assessments to ensure consistency.

Statutory assessments in Key Stage 1

In Year 1 there is a statutory Phonics Screening Check in the week commencing 6th June 2022.  More information on this assessment can be found on our English/Phonics pages.

In Year 2, children complete statutory Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in May. The tests are used to support the teacher's judgements. The teachers will be assessing pupils work on a day-to-day basis throughout the year as outlined above.

Overview of tests

The KS1 tests are designed to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the KS1 programmes of study. Teachers must administer the English reading and mathematics tests during the month of May to help make a secure judgement for their final Teacher Assessment (TA) at the end of KS1.

The tests make up one piece of evidence for the overall TA judgement. The KS1 tests consist of:

• English reading Paper 1: combined reading prompt and answer booklet

• English reading Paper 2: reading booklet and reading answer booklet

• Mathematics Paper 1: arithmetic

• Mathematics Paper 2: reasoning

Statutory assessments in Key Stage 2

In Year 6, children complete statutory Standard Assessment Tests in the week beginning 9th May-12th May. The tests are completed under exam conditions and are externally marked.  The marked test papers are returned to school with results. The results are reported to parents at the end of the school year.

Overview of tests

The KS2 tests consist of:

• English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1: questions

• English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2: spelling

• English reading

• Mathematics Paper 1: arithmetic

• Mathematics Paper 2: reasoning

• Mathematics Paper 3: reasoning