Tracking experiences and monitoring progress for
children and young people with complex additional
support needs.
Children and young people with the most complex
additional support needs have conditions which overlap
creating a complex profile. They present with a range of
issues and a combination of layered needs, for example
behavioural, physical, medical, sensory, communication
and cognitive. Their complex additional needs require a
personalised learning pathway which recognises their
unique and changing learning patterns. As such,
progress and achievements may be inconsistent,
presenting an atypical or uneven profile. Tracking and
monitoring is therefore essential in order to know what,
how and when learners are progressing and achieving.
For children and young people with complex additional support needs the focus of tracking
and monitoring should be on tracking experiences and monitoring progress in order to ensure
that their curriculum is coherent, relevant and stimulating. The purpose of tracking and
monitoring is therefore less about the recording of attainments and more about supporting the
learning journey of each child and young person.
Key stages in tracking experiences and monitoring progress
within the Broad General Education using Significant Aspects of
Learning *
1
2
• Teachers and managers should track learners' experiences across the curriculum
framework using significant aspects of learning within each of the curriculum
areas. The curriculum framework should be designed with the developmental
level of the children and young people in mind.
• Teachers should plan personalised learning targets within the curriculum
framework using experiences and outcomes.
3
• Assessment of progress and achievements in relation to personalised learning
targets should be planned and a variety of approaches used to generate evidence
of these.
4
• Progress and achievements are measured against the assessment of personalised
learning targets. Professional judgements are centered on dialogue and inform
next steps in planning, learning and assessment.
5
• The range of information generated through the above processes allows teachers
and managers to track learners' experiences and monitor their progress across
the significant aspects of learning. The primary purpose of this should be to
ensure learning within the curriculum framework is coherent, relevant and
stimulating.
Communication, conversations and moderation
Communication and conversation is at the heart of tracking and monitoring. Tracking and
monitoring should be based on discussions and exchanges which support learning and
learners should be central to these processes. Where possible learners should be supported to
understand their own learning and to communicate their views in ways which are relevant to
them. Where learners do not engage readily in communication around their progress in
learning, the emphasis shifts to conversations involving those adults who know them well
including, where appropriate, parents and wider stakeholders.
Staff should work together to develop a shared understanding of what progress and
achievement look like through a range of moderation activities; this is the key to improving
the validity and reliability of tracking and monitoring. It is important that those making
judgements about progress and achievement have a shared understanding of the unique and
changing learning patterns of children and young people with complex additional support
needs. The nature of the curriculum should accommodate this and support learners in
progressing along pathways which recognise these unique and changing learning patterns.
Fully understanding what progress and achievement looks like within this context involves
engaging in a range of moderation activities at each of the key stages illustrated below. It is
the shared understanding developed through these moderation activities which supports and
adds value to the communications and conversations which are at the heart of tracking and
monitoring.
Some reflective questions to support professional communication,
conversations and moderation might include:
Teachers and managers should track learners’ experiences across the
curriculum framework using significant aspects of learning within each of the
curriculum areas. The curriculum framework should be designed with the
developmental level of the children and young people in mind.
 To what extent have the seven design principles, and the opportunities they
offer, been fully considered when developing the curriculum framework?
 How well does the curriculum framework identify and illustrate appropriate
progression pathways for learners?
 How well are learners’ experiences mapped across the curriculum framework
to ensure appropriate breadth and depth in learning?
Teachers should plan personalised learning targets within the whole school
curriculum framework using experiences and outcomes.
 To what extent does the curriculum framework support the setting of
personalised learning targets by offering, for example, opportunities for
flexible and responsive approaches to planning?
 How well do personalised learning targets build on prior learning and
develop key skills and personal priorities? How well do they extend to
learning in new areas, including at an experiential level?
 How well does planning account for differing levels of learner engagement
and participation recognising, for example, that for some learners
progression might be measured in terms of an increase in awareness or a
willingness to participate?
Assessment of progress and achievements in relation to
personalised learning targets should be planned and a variety of approaches
used to generate evidence of these.
 How effectively has a range of assessment approaches been planned for to
give learners the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement of standards
and expectations in different ways? How well do these assessment
approaches support them to progress by different routes and pathways ?
 How appropriate are assessments for the developmental level of learners?
Do they include, for example, observations about levels of awareness and
participation?
 How well are parents and partners involved in the assessment process,
sharing observations and evidence of progress and achievement as
appropriate?
Progress and achievements are measured against the assessment of
personalised learning targets. Professional judgements are centered on
dialogue and inform next steps in planning, learning and assessment.
 How well does the body of evidence generated provide the necessary
information to accurately assess where a learner is in their learning? How
useful is it for indicating where support and /or challenge might be needed?
 How well do staff have a shared understanding of standards and
expectations which allows for consistent, reliable judgements to be made
around progress and achievements?
 How well do staff agree next steps in learning based on the assessment of
personalised learning targets? How well do staff adapt assessment
approaches when necessary to better support and / or challenge learners as
required?
The range of information generated through the above processes allows
teachers and managers to track learners' experiences and monitor their
progress across the significant aspects of learning. The primary purpose of this
should be to ensure learning within the curriculum framework is coherent,
relevant and stimulating.
 How effectively do we use information from planning, learning and
assessment to track the learning experiences of learners within the
curriculum framework?
 How well can a learner’s progress, however limited, be clearly identified
and framed within the significant aspects of learning within each curriculum
area?
 How responsive is the whole school curriculum framework to the individual
needs of learners as identified through the tracking of experiences and the
monitoring of progress?
*Additional information about significant aspects of learning for each curriculum area
can be found in the Assessing Progress and Achievement professional learning papers:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/assessment/progressandachieveme
nt/professionallearningresource/index.asp
Additional information about monitoring and tracking can be found here:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/MonitoringTracking200214_tcm4-754310.pdf
Information and resources to support moderation can be found here:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/assessment/qaandmoderation/inde
x.asp