Assessment

At West Grove we assess our children in many ways to ensure they are making excellent progress and to identify where they may need more support. Our focus is on ensuring children build their knowledge in a deep and broad way, developing mastery of each subject.

Learning and progress is assessed through daily marking; observing approaches to tasks and activities; questioning, conversations and discussions; and reflection upon responses to feedback. This assessment that takes place in the moment is crucial is allowing teachers to scaffold and challenge along with addressing misconceptions quickly and effectively.

Teachers use this information about each child to make and record a termly assessment which is reported to parents and monitored by senior leaders. These assessments record if a child is:

Working below age-related expectations – WTS
Working at age-related expectations – ARE
Working above age-related expectations – GDS

In addition to the ongoing assessments that teachers make, there are statutory assessments across the age range, set out by the Department for Education.

We provide an update on pupil attainment to parents each term of the school year. These each take a different format and will contain relevant assessment results where relevant. We will use the following descriptions to report on pupil attainment:

WTS – Working towards the expected standard
EXS – Working at the expected standard
GDS – Working at greater depth (beyond the expected standard)

Autumn Term
Learner Reviews & Attainment Report
In the autumn term the class teacher will meet with parents and share the age-related attainment for their child’s new year group. Targets for the year ahead are discussed and a short learner review report is provided.

Spring Term
Teacher Conferences & Annual Report
An inset day is designated for longer parent / teacher conferences which we encourage your child to attend. At this conference you will receive your child’s annual report and have a chance to discuss the summer term targets with the class teacher.

Summer Term
Open Evening & End of Year Attainment Report
In the summer term we invite parents to an open evening to visit their child’s new class and meet the teacher. An attainment report is then sent home with their end of year outcome, including all standardised assessment results where relevant:

• Reception receive an Early Years Profile based on the early learning goal
• Year 1 receive their Phonic Screening Check results
• Year 2 receive Key Stage One SATs results
• Year 4 receive their Multiplication Tables Check results
• Year 6 receive Key Stage Two SATs results

Special Educational Needs
When assessment indicates a child may have Special Educational Needs or Disability, the SENCO is informed and the child‘s progress is carefully monitored. Further assessment then takes place, as outlined in the SEND policy. When teachers assess a child with SEND they will draw upon any ongoing formative and summative assessment. They will gain views from parents, the pupil and any external specialists.

Within the first six weeks of children starting in reception they complete an activity-based assessment in:

• language, communication and literacy
• mathematics

Children will use practical resources to complete these tasks and teachers record the results on a computer. These assessments are then used to inform teaching within the first term.

The EYFS profile is a statutory assessment of children’s development at the end of the early years foundation stage (end of reception) and is an assessment of the child’s outcomes in relation to the 17 early learning goals (ELGs).

Teachers use their professional judgement to make these assessments, based on their knowledge and understanding of what the child knows, understands, and can do. This is shared with parents in the end of term reporting.

The Phonics Screening Check is a test for children in Year 1. Children take it during June in a one-to-one setting with a teacher. This check tests their skills at word reading. This is sometimes called decoding. During the Phonics Screening Check, children are asked to read (decode) 40 words. Most of these words are real words but some are pseudo-words, also known as alien words.

The key stage 1 SATs are no longer statutory and have been replaced with optional tests. The school may decide to use some of the optional tests to gather information on how well children are progressing through the curriculum.

The work your child has done throughout the year is used to help teachers reach their judgements about how your child is progressing at the end of key stage 1. These teacher assessment judgements will be reported to you by the end of the summer term.

In year 4 children take a multiplication check to determine whether they can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It is an on-screen check consisting of 25 times table questions.

Your child will be able to answer 3 practice questions before taking the actual check. They will then have 6 seconds to answer each question. On average, the check should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete. Your child’s score will be shared with parents in end of term reporting.

In year 6 children take the Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in English grammar, punctuation and spelling, English reading and mathematics. There is no test for English writing or science, this will be reported as a teacher assessment judgement.

The tests help measure the progress pupils have made and are also used to assess schools’ performance. The tests will be taken on set dates unless your child is absent, in which case they may be able to take them up to 5 school days afterwards. Your child’s results will be shared in end of term reporting.