Balfour Primary School Assessment Policy

Balfour Primary School Assessment Policy Date: September 2012 Review Date: March 2015 Date approved by Full Governing Body : 12 th December 2012

Introduction Assessment is an integral part of planning, teaching and learning. It provides a framework in which educational objectives may be set and children s progress tracked. It should enable teachers and children working in partnership to identify what children know and understand in order to help support them in recognising what they need to learn next and how this may be achieved. This partnership also extends to working closely with parents/carers to help raise standards for all our children. This policy document reflects the vision and aims of Balfour Primary School in relation to assessment; our principle aim to make Balfour Primary a community where we aim high, so children will feel happy, recognise and achieve their full potential. We believe that effective assessment provides information to improve the quality of children s learning and raise the standard of pupils achievement. In line with our school mission this is achieved through provision of a stimulating creative curriculum that supports the needs of all our learners though high quality teaching, which encourages and challenges pupils to be active, independent, reflective, lifelong learners. Children will be involved in meaningful discussions about their achievement and in purposeful planning to build confidence and motivation for their future learning. Objectives To raise standards for all pupils and ensure progress is in line with school/national expectations To have a positive impact on children s learning through their direct involvement in evaluating their work. To provide a baseline or starting point to inform planning and the next stage of learning. To enable the next steps in the child s learning to be identified through effective partnership between the teacher and child. To motivate children to improve their work, developing their confidence and self-esteem through celebrating their achievements. To ensure equality of access to the curriculum through appropriate and effective continuity, differentiation and progression. To provide a basis for monitoring the effectiveness of teaching and learning at individual pupil level and across the school. To provide the school with information to evaluate work and set appropriate and challenging targets. To provide data for tracking the progress of individuals and groups to ensure effective progress and attainment. To provide information on pupil progress to pupils, parents and staff that enable them to support the child s learning. To provide the head teacher and governors with information that allows them to make judgements about the effectiveness of the school. To ensure systems and process used for assessment and recording are rigorous yet manageable.

Types of Assessment Assessment is both summative and formative. Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning share a set of common principles and each play an essential role in creating a full picture of children s progress, attainment and learning needs. Summative assessment At Balfour this takes the form of testing using a variety of methods to enable the teacher to gain an understanding of what the children have learned within a unit of work: Literacy Children in FS/KS1 complete 2/3 pieces of sustained writing per term. Children in KS2 complete 3 pieces of sustained writing per term. A level is awarded to the children using teacher assessment and APP. In Phonics pupils follow the Letters and Sounds programme which is structured into six stages which broadly follow the Primary National Strategies Progression and Pace. In Foundation Stage children s phonological knowledge is assessed twice a term and recorded on the E-profiles rolling program. In KS1 children are assessed once a term. In Year 1 there is a statutory phonic screening check which will take place in June (see Phonics policy). Numeracy In Foundation stage, children are assessed according to the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. In KS1 children are formally assessed each term using a published test such as NSI. In Year 2 children take the National Curriculum tests in the Summer term (SATs). In KS2 children complete end of unit tests after each Block (Blocks A-E x 3 per year) and a level is awarded to the children using teacher assessment, score of test and APP. In Year 6 children take the National Curriculum tests (SATs) in the summer term. Science Children complete end of unit tests each half term and a score is awarded which converts into a level. In Foundation stage, teacher observations and assessments are made in line with the Early Years FS Framework. We assess children in a variety of ways: our medium term and short term plans ensure that learning objectives are precise, clear and relevant to the children s learning year group teams meet weekly to plan the forthcoming weeks lessons and to evaluate and assess particular learning objectives children who have not achieved the learning objective are noted and further activities are planned for them, to support their needs the headteacher, subject leaders and SLT (Senior Leadership Team) monitor the medium term and short term plans through conferencing, observations and planning

year group leaders monitor their own year group through informal discussions and formal classroom observation teacher observation of children in everyday lessons formal monitoring and assessment of children by SENCo BAHLAS spelling test completed by Years 3 and 4 SWST spelling tests completed twice a year by KS2 end of Key Stage Tests carried out in Year 2 and Year 6 end of term assessments carried out in literacy and numeracy, using evidence from end of unit assessments for literacy and end of block assessments for numeracy end of work module tests in science and numeracy reading ages in Years 1 to 6 baseline assessment and tracking of children reports to parents in July with indication of levels and national expectations with regards to age discussion with parents use of APP in reading, writing and numeracy Use of Fisher Family Trust data in Year 4 to set targets for pupil achievement at the end of Key Stage 2 (SATs). Reports to parents include a summary on achievement and attainment for Literacy, Numeracy and Science. For these subjects pupils are also awarded a score out of 3 for attainment and personal effort. For Literacy and Numeracy children are also set a target for further development. All other National Curriculum subjects pupils are awarded a score out of 3 for attainment and personal effort, without a written comment. A section on the pupil s significant achievements, a personal comment written by the classteacher(s) and one from the Headteacher/Deputy Head/Directors of Learning are also included. Target Setting We are required to keep records on every child including information on academic achievements, other skills and abilities and progress made in school. Throughout the year, assessments enable year groups to create Layered Curricular Targets (LCT). They are chosen by identifying areas that need developing within literacy and numeracy (from APP gaps). They are skills based and are the main focus within the year group s planning for a set period of time, depending on the need within each specific year group. Foundation stage and KS 1 have 2 targets, Year 3-6 have 3 targets. Classes through the school will use either a Venn Diagram or Pyramid to display the targets they are setting children in Maths and Writing. These need to relate to the units that are being taught and targets need to reflect the gaps in APP which groups of pupils need to attain.

Targets should be achievable across 1/2 units of work. Pupil progress in relation to the targets is monitored and recorded (through a labelled dated photograph of the class target display which should be kept in the Assessment folder). Using Raiseonline and FFT, targets are set by staff at the beginning of each academic year and are monitored on a half termly basis. Formative Assessment At Balfour this takes place within every lesson. The teacher uses a variety of strategies to assess their class to enable them to develop their understanding within the lesson. AfL techniques are used (see AfL section). Throughout the year, assessments enable year groups to create Layered Curricular Targets (LCT). They are chosen by identifying areas that need developing within literacy and numeracy (from APP gaps). They are skills based and are the main focus within the year group s planning for a set period of time, depending on the need within each specific year group. Assessment Calendars show assessment points across all subjects across all year groups. This document enables staff members to use it as an overview to ensure assessment occurs regularly throughout the academic year (see appendix 1a,b, c, d & e). APP (Assessing Pupil Progress) General Each class should group children according to ability and known levels. The names of the children in that group should be identified clearly and if a child in that group performs at a higher or lower level then this must be noted against the child s name. APP should take place after roughly two units have been taught or at least one unit. Each class should maintain a list of the levels children are at, updated periodically (see below) as assessments are made. Children should be grouped flexibly for English and mathematics according to what they need to do to improve - i.e. their targets. This will allow for focused teaching to support them in achieving these targets. Groupings may consist of children working at the same level, but teachers should be aware that children at different levels may have the same development needs, and be prepared to select groups accordingly. Targets should be selected by looking at gaps on Assessment Guideline sheets (when enough evidence has been gathered to make these useful), analysis of children s writing/reading/mathematics day-to-day work, and test analysis. In in reading and writing, teachers may find the Support for Writing targets useful (though they should be aware that these are worded so as to support teacher rather than learners).targets should be achievable within one or two units of work, with focused teaching. As targets change,

teachers should be prepared to reorganise groups. The important thing is to be aware of what children need to do to improve. When making judgements for any subject using APP this should be date referenced to the exercise in order that moderator and/or quality assurers can identify the work that has been used to make a level judgement. When filling in APP sheets the rule of thumb is that the child must meet the bullet point 3 times in order for it to be highlighted. Each time the APP grid is highlighted a different colour should be used with a key at the top of the sheet to indicate the date (see Writing and Mathematics below). APP sheets should be passed on to teachers the following year. Writing All work related to writing for levelling and assessment purposes should be put into the PURPLE BOOKS. Evidence should be gathered through a variety of subjects. Work from literacy, science or topic books that is independent or supported can be photocopied and glued into books. APP judgements should be made periodically using a range of work (at least 3 pieces). Work does not all need to be independent; as the teacher, you know what help was given and will not judge the work on whatever Assessment Focuses were the subject of the teaching. (For example, if a piece of story writing is being judged where the focus of the teaching was planning a story, AFs 3 and 4 would not be used. Other work in the collection will provide evidence for these AFs.) No one piece of work will provide sufficient evidence for all the AFs. A range of work is needed to decide what level a child is working at. (Individual pieces of work may be levelled, and this is useful to get an idea of levelness (standardisation) but just because a piece of work is at a particular level does not mean the child is working at that level). It is important to identify assessment opportunities when planning. This makes the task easier. At least three pieces of work should be completed every half term for the whole class. After one or two units, the work of up to 10 pupils should be used, looking at the range of work in their Purple book which has been gathered. From this range an APP writing sheet should be used to identify the bullet points that have been met and then make an overall judgement of the level that each of the pupils have attained, using the Making Judgements in APP guidance. A separate APP sheet needs to be kept in a folder for each child.

At the next cycle a further 10 pupils should be taken and the same process used as the above. Finally the same process should be repeated for the remaining pupils in the class. Pupils should be grouped according to the gaps in their APP and this should be build this into planning Although not levelling all children s work at once all pieces of writing must be marked using Tickled Pink and Better with Blue. There are 4 cycles per year for APP Literacy assessments where groups should have a level based on three pieces of work with a dated APP grid to accompany it PPA sessions or Year Group Meeting time should be used to then moderate the levels. Teachers MUST ensure the level is based on at least three pieces of work with evidence to support this in purple books. 1 st cycle =pink highlighter, 2 nd cycle = blue highlighter, 3 rd cycle = green highlighter, 4 th cycle = yellow highlighter Periodically using APP in this way will enable year groups to plan assessed pieces across the curriculum which shows the lead up to the work in the exercise or topic books. Mathematics Children should be grouped and one child should represent the APP for that group. One copy of the mathematics standard level descriptors for each group will be needed and a reference copy of the maths descriptors with exemplars to enable cross referencing. The large A3 APP sheet is to be used for individual children with date reference to work books. APP should be a working document where the teacher can record dates of assessment that can then be discussed at moderation. Children s levels should be moderated half termly. Again the APP child should attain each descriptor 3 times in order for it to be highlighted. This will ensure coverage. End of unit block tests will support APP in identifying levels and areas for improvement. Maths tests will verify levels. A variety of testing will need to take place to ensure more accurate levels. QCA tests should not be used from other year groups e.g. Y4 using Y5 tests. The A3 APP sheet should be highlighted as follows: Autumn = pink highlighter Spring = blue highlighter Summer = green highlighter Quality Assurance Senior Management will undertake pupil conferencing each half term and will use a variety of questions for reading, writing and mathematics. Test base will be used for this purpose. External quality assurance will be used each

term to verify judgements and evidence of work. Thus work needs to be in good order. Tracking Target Tracker will be used to track pupils each term. The system will allow APP groups to be used for this. Each teacher needs to keep records for: 1) FSM 2) SEN 3) Vulnerable children 4) APP groups 5) G&T 6) Stuck children Teachers need to be aware of these groups of children, identify where they need support to move forward. This will aid planning and the ability to move pupils forward. Target Tracker will also allow teachers to have progression maps. It is important that progression is measured from the end of one key stage to the next e.g. from end of FS to Y1, Y2 and KS1 to Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6 and not just from the previous year. Progress: APS Scores: minimum of 3 APS per year for each class. Assessment for Learning Assessment for Learning plays a fundamental role in assessing pupil progress. It is the active process of interpreting pupil work to identify where they are in their learning, where they need to go and what steps to take to get there. Assessment for Learning is a partnership between teachers and learners. It is essential that the learner needs to be, and to feel, fully involved. Teacher responsibility Planning Purpose Medium term and lesson plans to include: Clear learning outcomes which build on prior learning, where possible. Learning outcomes: Lessons to be differentiated to meet the needs of all pupils, so that all pupils are able to access the curriculum. Lesson should not be monitored by outcome.

Success Criteria Teachers to have a sound understanding of the steps which need to be taken, either in one session or a series of sessions, in order to achieve learning objectives. Pupils should be provided with opportunities to generate and discuss the importance of these steps, thus embedding and motivating them to see their learning journey. Self Assessment Peer Assessment Teacher Feedback Pupils responsibility Success Criteria Self Assessment Peer Assessment Teachers should provide planned opportunities for pupils to assess their work against the learning success criteria. Pupils should be supported in understanding where their learning is against given success criteria. Techniques, such as signalling thumbs, I can colours and tickled pink/better with blue, can all be used to evaluate pupils confidence and understanding of learning. Teachers should provide planned opportunities for pupils to assess each other s work against given criteria. Teachers should support pupils in recognising how to give informative and useful feedback. Teacher s feedback should look to support children in understanding where their learning is and their next step. Teachers should plan opportunities for children to read and respond to feedback. Feedback should be related to the Learning Objective or Success Criteria. The use tickled pink and better with blue should support children in moving their learning forward. Oral feedback can be given to raise pupils esteem and consolidate understanding of achievement and learning steps. Pupils should take part in generating success criteria and should implement these during their work. Pupils should take ownership of their learning and develop skills to recognise where their learning is and what they can do to improve. Pupils should make honest and informed judgements on their work in relation to learning objectives and success criteria. Pupils should make honest and informed

Teacher Feedback Assessment for Learning Strategies Lollipop sticks Hat I can colours Thumbs judgements on each others work, ensuring that they are polite and respectful. Pupils should respond to feedback, where necessary. Teacher can use lollipop sticks to select children at random to demonstrate or show examples of work. They can also be used to generate Talk Partners which provides opportunities for pupils to engage with a variety of pupils. Techniques which a teacher can implement to measure what pupils believe their knowledge and understanding is in relation to a learning objective. Explicit links should be made between their learning and where they feel their level of understanding is. Red or thumbs down- little knowledge/understanding of I can statement. Amber or thumbs sideways- some knowledge/understanding of I can statement. Tickled pink and better with blue Green or thumbs up secure understanding of I can statement. Teachers can use these to acknowledge what a pupil has successfully achieved and identify areas for improvement. Teachers to highlight areas of success in the children s written work in pink. Teachers to highlight an area of improvement in blue. An additional comment related to the pink and blue areas highlighted should be included at the end of the piece of work. These comments should support the child in understanding their strengths and how to move their learning forward. In self/peer assessment children will use pink/blue pencils for the same purpose. Visualiser Where possible, the visualiser should be used to enhance Assessment for Learning strategies. Teachers can demonstrate activities to the

whole class. Evaluation of work through midway plenaries. Talk partners Talk partners give children the opportunity to discuss key questions from a lesson. They should be used to motivation and stimulate conversation on a topic. Marking Improvement in learning is supported by the use of effective oral or written feedback to pupils. Where possible, marking should involve pupils to support them in identifying their strengths and areas for development. Marking should play a key role in assessment of pupil progress. Guidelines: There should be planned opportunities for children to have time to reflect on editing and improving their work. Marking should inform teacher s future lessons and common misconceptions should be addressed. Focus group work should be marked using questions to promote thinking on misconceptions or next steps of learning. Oral feedback should be given in relation to pupil s learning. Written feedback should be related to the learning objective. Marking codes should be used consistently throughout the school. As children develop independence opportunities should be provided for them to mark and assess each others work. Some work may be levelled or graded in a way that the pupils understand. Teacher written feedback should be in blue pen. Child editing can be done in green pen following the appropriate marking code. They will underline in pink pencil examples where the learning intention/success criteria have been achieved and in blue pencil where improvements related to the learning intention/success criteria are needed. Underneath the piece of work a short comment related to the underlined sections should be written alongside a blob of the appropriate coloured pencil (see INSET training materials for further information). The quality/amount written will be developmental throughout the school. Purposeful Marking and Feedback: Marking should aim to raise the standards of pupils work. Feedback should aim to motivate and raise pupil self-esteem. Marking should have a clear purpose which can inform the pupil, other teachers and parents on the pupil s progress.

Marking and feedback should be carried out as close to the learning taking place as possible. Marking should be used to inform assessments on pupils progress (APP) Marking should support in identifying differentiation of lessons. Agreed Marking Code Key Stage One /Foundation Stage Code What the Code represents Capital letter needed. C Full stop needed. Full stop not needed here. // New paragraph needed. s I Supported work Independent work Finger space ^ Balfor She boomed. She said. SA PA Word missing Incorrect spelling. Tickled Pink Better with blue Self assess / Partner assess I can colours Red= I need more practice to reach I can statement

Amber= I am close to reaching I can statement Green = I have met and understand I can statement Key Stage Two: Code C What the Code represents Capital letter needed. Punctuation needed. Punctuation not needed here. // New paragraph needed. V S ^ Balfor She boomed. She said. SA PA Verbal feedback Supported work Word missing Incorrect spelling. Tickled Pink Better with blue Self assess / Partner assess I can colours Red= I need more practice to reach I can statement Amber= I am close to reaching I can statement Green = I have met and understand I can statement

Marking frequency The aim of written feedback is to provide the child with information on where their learning is and how to move it forward. The marking code should be followed across the FS/KS1/KS2 to provide a consistent approach to marking and to allow children to become trained in recognising its symbols. Marking should be about quality and not quantity. Therefore a structure has been agreed by staff to allow opportunities for work to be monitored on a rotational basis. This enables marking to be managed effectively. This would work as follows: 5 or 6 table groups per session 1 table will be the teacher s focus group and will receive verbal feedback 1 tables will receive written feedback using the marking code Other tables will self and peer assess using green pens referring to the marking code and also the pink and blue coloured pencils. Where written feedback is given by the teacher, the tickled pink and better with blue method should be used; highlighting strengths of the piece of work in pink and areas for development in blue. A pink and blue comment should be made at the end of the piece of work. Where children self/peer assess the work should be: edited with green pens positive aspects related to the learning intention/success criteria to be underlined in pink areas of improvement related to the learning intention/success criteria to be underlined in blue a pink and blue comment referring to the highlighted areas to be made at the end. Equal opportunities With reference to our Equalities policy and in line with the Equality Act 2010, we recognise that there are similarities and differences between individuals and groups but we will strive to ensure that our differences do not become barriers to participation, access and learning and create inclusive processes and practices, where the varying needs of individuals and groups are identified and met. We therefore cannot achieve equality for all by treating everyone the same. We believe we all have equal rights, but may have different needs. We recognise that it is unlawful to discriminate against a pupil, prospective pupil or a member of staff by treating them less favourably if they have protected characteristics (see Equalities policy). We aim to provide all our pupils with the opportunity to

succeed, and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. With reference specifically to assessment, to do this, we will: Use contextual data to improve the ways in which we provide support to individuals and groups of pupils; Monitor achievement data by the protected characteristics (where possible) and action any gaps; Take account of the achievement of all pupils when planning for future learning and setting challenging targets; Ensure equality of access for all pupils and prepare them for life in a diverse society; Include teaching and classroom-based approaches appropriate for the whole school population, which are inclusive and reflective of our pupils. UNCRC We are committed to the development of cohesive communities both within our school s physical boundaries and within our local, national and global environments. Our school embraces the aim of working together with others to improve children s educational and health and wellbeing outcomes, and notes the rights set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are a Rights Respecting School and as such seek to foster a culture of respect for others and recognition of human rights. Recognising and celebrating similarities and differences between people forms a key part of our UNCRC work throughout school. Monitoring and Review Our assessment co-ordinator in conjunction with the AfL co-ordinator is responsible overall for monitoring the implementation of this policy. This is carried out through discussion with year leaders, scrutiny of samples of children s work, conferencing of pupils and lesson observations. Feedback to the SLT and Governors will take place throughout the academic year.