New Curriculum and Assessment Overview Claire Silver Deputy Headteacher November 9 th 9.10am-10.00am
New Primary Curriculum Statutory for most children from September 2014 (only statutory for children in Year 2 and 6 from this year). The bar has been raised There are changes in content and expectations.
Why did we need a new National Curriculum? The short answer the Government decided that we needed a new one. Before 1988 there was no National Curriculum. Teachers decided what they taught and what children needed. Over the next 26 years the National Curriculum was introduced and developed into what we had got used to until August 2014. To raise standards as the UK are falling behind other countries. The brief was to emulate the world s most successful school systems, including: Hong Kong, Singapore, the Candian state of Alberta & the US state of Massachusetts.
The Old National Curriculum? From 1988 the National Curriculum comprised of a range of knowledge and skills that were developed throughout each Key Stage. It was then broken down into levels and expectations were set for certain milestones along this journey. Year 2 expectation = Level 2 Year 6 expectation = Level 4
The New Curriculum All the same subject areas as we had before. Languages Also, we must make provision for SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and cultural) and understanding of the British Values.
Core subjects ENGLISH Spoken language, Writing, Reading, Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation. MATHS Number and place value Addition subtraction, multiplication and division. Fractions Measurement Geometry Statistics. SCIENCE
So, what has changed? Lots of changes the new curriculum is more prescriptive in English and Maths and less prescriptive in the Foundation Subjects. The expectations are much higher than ever before, with much of the curriculum being shifted down into lower year groups, particularly in English and Maths. For examples some old Y5 expectations can now be found in Y3, some Y7/8 in Y5/6.
Some of the main changes Stronger emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar, punctuation and spelling (for example, the use of commas and apostrophes will be taught in KS1). Emphasis on reading more widely, for pleasure. Handwriting is expected to be fluent, legible and speedy. Spoken English has a greater emphasis, with children to be taught debating and presenting skills. Strengthen the teaching of phonics - more pupils should read fluently. Word lists are included for Key Stage 2.
Old Curriculum Some examples New Curriculum English Level 4 Writing Vocab, Grammar and Punctuation Y5/6 Question marks, accurate use of speech punctuation. Commas in a list to occasionally mark clauses. Y5 term 2 To recognise and spell the suffix cian Children must recognise all shun words and know how to choose the correct ending. Using brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis. Using commas to clarify meaning and avoid ambiguity. Using hyphen to avoid ambiguity. Using semi-colons, colons or dashes to mark boundaries between independent clauses. Using a colon to introduce a list. Punctuate bullet points consistently. Spelling banks for Y3/4 Words ending with suffix tion Words ending with suffix sion Words ending with suffix ssion Words ending with suffix -cian Previously these were skills for 12-14 year olds to be taught but now this is an expectation for Y5/6 pupils.
Some of the main changes It goes beyond the previous curriculum. Need to keep key maths fundamentals, such as times tables and number facts, "on the boil." Emphasis on calculating and problem solving with fractions and decimals and less on data handling (now called statistics). Calculators are banned in the KS2 SAT. There is an increased emphasis on mental fluency and the use of efficient written methods in the four mathematical operations.
Old Curriculum Fractions, Decimals & Percentages at Level 3 used to be: Use simple fractions that are several parts of a whole. Recognise when two simple fractions are equivalent. Begin to use decimal notation. Some examples New Curriculum Fractions, Decimals & Percentages in Y3/4 is now: Recognise, write and find fractions of a discrete set of objects. Recognise and use fractions as numbers. Recognise and show equivalent fractions. Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. Compare and order fractions with the same denominator Solve problems involving fractions of increasing difficulty (Y4). Recognise and write decimal equivalents to simple fractions. Count up and down in tenths and hundredths. Compare decimals to 2 dp. Round decimals to the nearest whole number.
What does this mean? The raised expectations mean that children need to have a very secure knowledge of the programme of study for their year group and depth of understanding and application. End of year expectation is now that children are secure in their year group. This is where they need to be at the end of the year. There is a challenge for schools in filling the gaps in jumping from one curriculum to the next and children are expected to know things in a certain age group when they might not have the expected prior knowledge or experience.
Assessment Life after Levels
What do we mean by assessment? There are 2 main forms of assessment: 1) Formative Assessment: this is used by teachers on a day-today basis to evaluate pupils knowledge and understanding and to tailor teaching accordingly. 2) Summative Assessment - In-school: this enables schools to evaluate how much a pupil has learned at the end of a teaching block; - Nationally standardised summative assessment: this is used by the Government to hold schools to account.
Why have levels gone? Attainment levels were introduced in 1988 with the national curriculum. Now there is a new national curriculum we need a new form of assessment to align with its content and principles. Too often levels became viewed as thresholds and teaching became focused on getting pupils across the next threshold instead of ensuring they were secure in the knowledge and understanding. Levels also used a best fit model, which meant that a pupil could have serious gaps in their knowledge and understanding, but still be placed within the level. Final report on the commission on Assessment without Levels, Sept 2015.
The difference between pupils on either side of a level boundary might have been very slight, while the difference between pupils within the same level might have been very different. Progress became synonymous with moving onto the next level, but progress can involve developing deeper or wider understanding, not just moving onto work of greater difficulty. Sometimes progress is simply about consolidation. Labelling children can see themselves as poor learners if they are on a different level to their peers.
What will happen with assessment now? Levels are no more. New expectations set out. Assessment system must check what pupils have learned, whether they are on track to meet these expectations.
No national system, schools have been given the autonomy to develop their own. We have adopted the same system as most other borough schools. We have paired with other schools to enable moderation to continue to take place. Parents will continue to receive feedback on a termly basis.
How will this change the assessment and reporting of my child s attainment? We hope we have selected an assessment procedure that is clearer for parents and carers. As a school we must report back on whether a pupil is achieving the expectations for the end of each key stage. We have split the national curriculum into End of Year Expectations for English and Mathematics. This is a list of the key objectives that pupils need to know by the end of each academic year.
How will we report back to parents (reports and Parents Consultations) In Years 1 to 6 every pupil has a set of End of Year Expectations to achieve by the end of each academic year in English and Mathematics. At parental consultations, and for your child s end of year report, you will be given information on: Whether your child is working below, at or above age related expectations Effort grades
Levels are no more! Level 6 Level 5a Level 5b Level 5c Level 4a Level 4b Level 4c Level 3a Level 3b Level 3c Level 2a Level 2b Our new system Pupils are assessed against a key set of expectations per Year Group. They learn in greater depth and apply their learning to a wide variety of situations. They are not accelerated through levels, instead they develop a deeper understanding and an ability to apply this understanding across other subjects and in a variety of situations. At the beginning of each year they face the challenge of a new set of End of Year Expectations
Below ARE At ARE Above ARE Emerging Developing Securing Pupil learning is mainly focused on the criteria for that age range. There may be minimal elements of the previous band still to gain complete confidence in. Pupil learning is fully focussed on the criteria for the band. Up to 70% of the statements are confidently achieved. Confidence in all of the criteria for the band. Pupil learning may still focus on gaining thorough confidence in some minimal elements but the broad expectations for the band have been met.
How will teachers know which stage my child is at? Teachers will keep a running record of children s understanding against these expectations. Teachers will make a judgment of when a child has achieved an expectation adding notes where necessary.
When does this new assessment and reporting system begin? It is already in place Since the start of last academic year in years 1, 3, 4 & 5 and this academic year for years 2 & 6 lessons have been taught to begin achieving these expectations in line with the new National Curriculum requirements. End of Year Expectations have been added to assessment records for each child, and teachers are using these to make their judgments against. We will update our end of year reports in response to the curriculum changes and subsequent changes we have made to our assessment procedures.
It is important to note that The new curriculum is very challenging. The bar has been raised for every year group. To achieve at the national standard grade in Year 6, researchers and educationalists have compared it to an old level 4B/4A. Previously, a child only had to reach the level 4C threshold to have met the old national expectations for the end of Key Stage 2.
What about the SATS This year the end of Key Stage SATS exams will be based on the new curriculum and will take a different format. At the start of the Spring Term we will do workshops for parents in Year 2 and Year 6 about the SATs.
Any questions about the Curriculum or Assessment?