How will my child be assessed?

At the end of their first year at school, pupils leave the Foundation Stage (Reception Class) and move into Key Stage One. At the end of Reception, a profile is completed on each child - see our Early Years Policy for more details.

Key Stage One

The Key Stage 1 curriculum covers two years. - Year 1 and Year 2. At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils will be assessed by the class teacher to see how they have achieved the objectives laid down in the National Curriculum. There will be formal assessments, which are set nationally, in reading, writing and maths (SATs); in other areas, including science, teachers will make their judgement based on evidence gathered throughout the year.

Key Stage Two

The Lower Key Stage 2 curriculum covers two years - Year 3 and 4. The Upper Key Stage 2 curriculum covers the last two years - Year 5 and 6.

At the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will be formally assessed in reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar and mathematics. These assessments are set nationally and are sent away to be marked externally. Children are also teacher assessed on their writing skills.

 

There are two main forms of assessment; summative and formative.

 

Summative assessment (Assessment of Learning) gives information on how well an objective has been achieved at the end of a period of time.

Formative assessment (Assessment for Learning) gives information on how well a child is progressing to meet a given objective or target and provides information to assist the next steps.

SATs at the end of each Key Stage are only a small part of the way in which children are assessed throughout their time in Primary School. At the end of each term, every class teacher is required to carry out assessments in reading, writing, maths and science. These assessments are then recorded centrally to enable the class teacher and Headteacher to monitor pupil

progress. These are largely summative assessments, although obviously they can be used to identify particular strengths or weaknesses to be addressed in future learning.

In addition to these formal assessments, teachers will be continually making assessments of children’s progress and using these to inform future planning to meet the children’s needs. This could be through looking at written work and marking to indicate the next steps, through observations or through questioning.

 

What does asses mean?

In a nut shell this means the teacher knowing whether your child has learned something or not. 

The content of the national curriculum is assessed to show whether children are working:

 

towards the expected level for their year group

at the expected level for their year group, or

exceeding the expected level for their year group.

 

 

As already stated, the end of year expectations only give a broad indication of what the majority of children nationally are expected to achieve. Children’s progress may not always be in line with age related expectations. They may make a huge leap one year and spend a year consolidating before forging ahead again the next year. It is also important for teachers, parents and pupils to focus on what the individual child is achieving.