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Assessment

Assessment: Monitoring Progress and Guiding Learning

Assessment is a key teaching and learning tool. We use it dynamically and purposefully to celebrate pupil knowledge, track progress, and continually inform our teaching practices. Our approach is divided into two clear categories: Internal Assessments (Formative and Summative) and External Statutory Assessments.

Our Core Assessment Principles 

Our robust assessment framework is built on the following commitments:

  • Support Learning: Assessment is only used when it supports and furthers learning.
  • Equitable & Celebratory: We use a diversity of assessment methods to allow all children to demonstrate and celebrate their knowledge, understanding, and skills.
  • Valid & Reliable: Our assessments are explicitly designed to measure attainment and provide accurate information about attainment.
  • Communicated: We will communicate effectively with parents/carers about their child’s progress and work in partnership with them.
Internal Assessments: Informing Day-to-Day Teaching

Internal assessments are conducted by our staff to track your child's progress against the school curriculum.

Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning)

Formative assessment is the continuous method of assessing pupils while learning is happening. This takes place in every lesson and is integral to effective teaching. It ensures immediate feedback and adjustments can be made to support your child.

Methods include targeted questioning, exit questions, recap starter activities, and seeking feedback in the moment during independent work.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment sums up what a child has achieved at the end of a period of time. It provides individual and cohort data that is useful for tracking progress and for informing stakeholders (e.g., parents, governors, etc.).

A summative assessment may be a written test, an observation, a conversation, or a task.

Internal Tracking and Reporting

We use the following 5-point scale to clearly and consistently communicate your child's attainment against age-related expectations.

Grade Status Description

5

Greater Depth

Working at a greater depth than is expected for a child of their age.

4

Meeting & Excelling

Meeting expectations and having the potential to excel further with continued positive attitude towards learning.

3

Meeting Expected

Meeting the expectations for their age group.

2

Not Yet Expected

Not yet at the expected level, but with extra support, we are confident they will get there soon.

1

Emerging

Finding some material challenging, and despite extra support, it may take some time to reach the expected level.

At the end of each term, you will receive a report that includes the teacher's internal assessment using this scale.

Standardised Assessments (GL Assessment)

We subscribe to the complete digital solution from GL Assessment. These standardised, adaptive assessments are used throughout the year to give us a robust, nationally benchmarked measure of your child’s ability and attainment. It is important that these are kept low-key for the children and are not introduced as tests.

Test Focus Years

CAT4

Cognitive ability (verbal, non-verbal, quantitative, and spatial reasoning)

1–6

NGRT

Standardised, adaptive reading assessment

1–6

NGMT

Standardised, adaptive maths assessment

1–6

NGST

Standardised, adaptive spelling assessment

2–6

PTE/PTM/PTS

Standardised reading/maths/science knowledge & process assessments

1–6

PASS

Assessment exploring social and emotional wellbeing

R–6

Assessment Schedule and Dates 

There are four assessment weeks in which children complete the GL Assessments:

  1. Autumn 1 (8th to 12th September) PASS & CAT4
  2. Autumn 2 (17th to 21st November) PTE, PTM, PTS, NGRT, & NGST
  3. Spring (2nd to 6th March) NGRT & NGST
  4. Summer (8th to 16th June) PTE, PTM, PTS, NGRT, & NGST

The termly parent report includes results from any GL Assessments that your child has sat that term. Parents are welcome to ask for more detailed results. 

External Statutory Assessments

Statutory assessments are required by the Department for Education (DfE) and take place nationally to compare pupil attainment across schools and local authorities.

The key external statutory assessments your child will participate in are:

  • Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA): Conducted in the first few weeks of Reception. This short, practical assessment establishes a starting point for measuring progress throughout primary school.
  • Year 1 Phonics Screening Check: A short assessment in the Summer term to confirm whether a child has reached the expected standard in phonic decoding skills.
  • Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check (MTC): An online assessment in the Summer term to determine if Year 4 pupils can recall their times tables fluently up to 12x12.
  • Year 6 Standard Assessment Tests (SATS): Formal tests taken in May by all Year 6 pupils in Reading, Maths, and Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS). Writing is assessed by teacher judgement across the year.

At the end of the year, you will receive the results of any statutory assessments that your child took.