Naphill and Walters Ash School

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Assessments

School Based Assessments

The children are regularly assessed in their reading using Benchmarking until they become free readers. This allows us to assess a child’s ability to decode and comprehend a text. Many children can decode (read) really well, but they can struggle to answer questions about the text. Your child will move up our Book Band levels when we know they can complete both parts of this assessment. When you child is a free reader their progress will be assessed in Guided Reading sessions and more formal tests.

At the start of each year and, then at key times throughout the year, we complete assessments which give your child a reading age and a spelling age. This information helps us measure the progress your child is making in these areas.

The children are given spellings to learn based on their phonics work and the required words as set out in the National Curriculum.

The children are assessed each term on their progress in maths and writing using a combination of tests and teacher assessments.

DFE Performance Tables

This link will take you to the performance information on the DfE website.

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/110393

https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables

Foundation Stage

Assessment is ongoing and done practically alongside the children at play. We use Early Excellence Baseline Assessment EExBA in the first 6 weeks your child is in school to give us an entry benchmark. We will assess all the Prime Areas, Characteristics of Learning, Reading, Writing and Numbers. The assessment does not only cover the academic subjects but looks at how your child learns in the Characteristics of Learning but also uses the Leuven Scale of Well Being and Involvement which looks at how settled your child is and how they concentrate and share experiences. From this a score will be reported to you for each area judging your child as working at a

  • above typical level
  • at a typical level 
  • below typical level
  • well below typical level

Staff will discuss these findings with you at a parent consultation evening. We group children according to their ability but groups are not static and children regularly move up or down depending on their progress. At the end of Year R children are assessed against the Early Learning Goals and you will receive a judgement in all 17 areas as to whether your child has met the Early Learning Goal or not. This will give one of 3 outcomes;

  • has reached the description of the level of development for that area and is at the expected level
  • is not yet at the level of development expected for that area and therefore is emerging
  • has gone beyond the level of development expected for that area and so is exceeding
  • again these judgements will be discussed with you and as we work towards them all year we will inform you if your child is on track to meet them or not in the Spring Term.

Assessments are shared with you on a daily basis via your child’s on line ‘Learning Journal’. We use Tapestry an on line system which records photos and observations of your child’s learning. You will have 24 hour access via a secure login and password. The app can be downloaded onto most IT devices. You can comment on our observations and upload your own photos and achievements from home. In this way you are constantly being informed of what your child is doing and achieving.

National Tests

All children in the summer term of Year 1 complete the Phonics Screening Check. This assesses their ability to sound out and read words, real and ‘pseudo’ e.g. ‘cake’ and ‘terp.’ If the children read enough words correctly then they achieve the expected level. If they do not get this level then they have to re-sit the screening in the summer term of Year 2. To see an example of the test click here.

The presentation from the Year 1 Teachers for the 2020 Phonics Screening Check can be found by clicking the button at the bottom of this section.

 

Key Stage 1 Assessments

In May of Year 2 the children take formal tests in Maths – an arithmetic paper and a reasoning paper; reading comprehension – two papers and a Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation Test (SPAG). These tests are completed in small groups or in some cases on a 1:1 basis. The scores are then used in conjunction with the teacher’s own assessments to make a judgement on the child’s end of Key Stage level. Writing is assessed against a very strict set of criteria and the child’s ability to compose, structure and write independently.

At the end of Key Stage 1 parents receive this information with these possible judgements for reading, writing, maths and SPAG;

EXS – the child is working at the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 1

WTS – the child is working towards the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 1

GDS – the child is working at a level above the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 1

For science a judgement is based on all the work covered in Year 1 and 2 and the judgement will be either;

EXS – has met the expected standard

HNS – has not met the expected standard

Key Stage 2

The Year 6 children take their end of Key Stage 2 SATs in May each year. They take tests in maths – an arithmetic paper and 2 reasoning papers; SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) and reading comprehension. Their writing is assessed through a set of criteria that they have to show in their work throughout the year.  The marks the children achieve on their papers are converted to a ‘scaled score’ and if they achieve a score of 100 or more they are judged to have met the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2. So for reading, maths and SPAG the judgement will be;

AS – has achieved the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2

NS – not achieved the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2

For writing the judgement will be;

EXS – the child is working at the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2

WTS – the child is working towards the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2

GDS – the child is working above the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2

For science a judgement is based on all the work covered in Key Stage 2 and the judgement will be either;

EXS – has met the expected standard

HNS – has not met the expected standard

For some children who are working at standard well below their peers there are separate judgements that can be made.

11+

Buckinghamshire is a selective authority. At the start of the autumn term of Year 6 the children can sit the 11+ selection test, parents can withdraw their child if they so wish. There are two practice papers usually taken on a Tuesday and then on the following Thursday the two real papers are taken. The results are sent out in time for parents to make their choice of secondary school place. The 11+ papers consist of reading comprehension questions, maths problems and non-verbal reasoning.

Grammar schools select the most able from all the children who sit the tests. It is important to remember that very few children will achieve the required mark. The teachers are very happy to discuss any questions you may have regarding the 11+ and your child and we do hold information meetings each year for parents on the selection process.

The school must enter all eligible pupils unless parents request in writing that their child be withdrawn from the procedure.  We encourage parents to discuss with class teachers the appropriateness of their child sitting the 11+ tests. For some children for whom grammar schools are clearly inappropriate – for example those receiving extra help according to the Special Needs Code of Practice – sitting the test is likely to prove far more demoralising than being withdrawn. The time allocated to the testing can then be used to provide focused educational activities to raise standards of work.

 

Assessment

There has been a huge overhaul of the assessment format in schools and we will no longer be talking to you about your child’s level in reading, writing and maths.  We are going to be looking at a series of Age Related Expectations based on the key objectives of the National Curriculum. This is a new way of looking at your child’s attainment and progress and we are working to develop a procedure that is informative to pupils, teachers and parents.  We will be holding information sessions for parents but it is going to be a changeable situation as no doubt more information will come from the DfE as the next few years come along. In terms of what your child is being taught little will change, and for the key subjects we will keep you informed as to what your child will be expected to know.

End of Key Stage 1 and 2 Tests
This year we know that pupils in Year 2 and 6 will have formal test in reading comprehension, maths and SPAG. Writing will be teacher assessed.

The Foundation Stage
This Year teachers use the Early Excellence Baseline assessment to assess children across the prime Areas of learning and Literacy and Mathematics and this is reported to you at the autumn term parents evening. Teachers are also required to complete a Foundation Stage Profile for Reception class children during their first year at school. This is a detailed assessment across all 17 areas of the curriculum and is undertaken by the class teacher and will be reported to you in the summer report. Assessment is ongoing over the year and measured against the Development Matters framework and measured in terms of 30-50 months, 40-60 months and the Early Learning Goal at the end of Foundation Stage.

Key Stage 2 – Results 18/19

 

The Government will not publish Key Stage 2 School level data for the 2021/2022 Academic Year.  They have archived data from the 2018/2019 Academic Year because they recognise that the data from that year may no longer reflect current performance.