Barrs Court School
Attainment Routes
&
Strategic Interventions
Measures for securing and sustaining
outstanding levels of pupil performance
Contents
 Introduction to the Curriculum &
Framework for Assessment
 The Specialist Curriculum
 The National Curriculum
 Accredited learning 14-19 years
 Overcoming Barriers to Learning & Well
Being
 The Transition to Adulthood
 Assessment Procedures
 Recording & Reporting Pupil Progress
 Analysis of Pupil Performance Data &
Target Setting
Summer 2010 Version
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Introduction
Barrs Court School caters for secondary aged pupils (11-19
years) who have:
 Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD);
 Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD);
 Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) made more complex
by additional learning difficulties and disabilities.
The educational needs and rights of these pupils are complex
and wide ranging, so special educational provision at the school
is designed to reflect this diversity and provide:
 Individually designed regimes of therapeutic care in
response to cognitive, sensori-neural, emotional and
motor disabilities and any associated medical
implications;
 Individually tailored access to specialist curricula in
response to personal barriers to learning and/or well
being;
 Generic entitlement to a broad and appropriately
balanced and differentiated National Curriculum;
 Individually tailored access to nationally accredited
learning and qualification syllabuses at Key Stages 4 & 5.
This document seeks to summarise the manner in which the
school organises:
 The whole curriculum;
 The framework for assessment, recording and reporting;
 Target setting for raising standards of pupil
performance.
R.J. Aird
Headteacher
Summer Term 2009
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
General Organisation
Curriculum Plan
Assessment, Recording & Reporting Plan
Provision for Teaching & learning
Organisation of Lesson Plans
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
The Barrs Court School curriculum aims to enable all pupils to become:
Engaged learners who can apply their abilities in a
functional way across a range of contexts and readily
motivated to achieve and attain further learning.
Healthy learners who enjoy optimal standards of
mental, emotional and physical well being and
lead fulfilled lives.
Responsible learners who are self-determining
and make positive contributions to their
community.
And benefit from the Every Child Matters outcomes of:
Enjoy & Achieve
Be Safe
Be Healthy
Make a Positive
Contribution
Social & Economic Well Being
Our overarching focus and organisation for learning can be summarised as:
Skills
Specialist Curriculum to overcome barriers to
learning and well being; Literacy; Numeracy; ICT;
Scientific Enquiry; Independent Living Skills; Work
Related Learning
School Environment
Workforce
Specialised resources;
Skills; knowledge;
facilities; empathetic
empowerment;
classrooms;
partnership working
with other agencies
and families
Knowledge & Understanding
Entitlement Curriculum as a vehicle for helping
understand about the world via Creative &
Inclusive Learning
Curriculum
Organisation
Individual access to
Specialist Curricula; An
entitlement to Creative &
Inclusive SoW, lesson
planning; focus groups;
targeted 1:1 support
Personalised
Learning
Personal Profiles;
IEP/SIRB/SILO;
behavioural
techniques; advocacy
Attitude & Attributes
Personal Profiles (Personal Learning &
Thinking Skills); Transition Planning; Special
Events
Assessment
Continuous, formative
& evidence based for
linear and lateral
progression;
measurable outcomes;
qualification routes
Enrichment
Special weeks and
events; partnership with
other schools/colleges;
extended school;
outreach into home
Themes we want to see running throughout the curriculum are
Whole Child Considerations; Inclusiveness; Enjoyment; Creative Use of Technology; Functionality; Self-Advocacy; Therapeutic Care;
The statutory curriculum entitlement comprises the following cross curricular themes and subjects:
Communication
Language & literacy
English
ICT
Creativity
A & D Art Music
Teacher:
Knowledge &
Understanding
MFL Sci Geog Hist RE
Personal, Social &
Emotional
Citizenship PSHE
Class:
Physical Development
PE
Lesson:
Problem solving,
reasoning & numeracy
D&T Maths
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
The Barrs Court whole school assessment framework aims to make teaching and learning more effective for empowering individual
learners by the use of the following procedures:
Strategic
Entitlement
Accredited
Transition
Pupil
Pupil
Workforce
Whole School
Interventions in
Curriculum
Learning
Planning
Performance
Monitoring
 Induction
 Lesson
Response to
Data Analysis
 Continuous
 ALL
 Transition
 Reports to
observations
 In house
Barriers
assessment
target outcomes:  IEP/SILO
parents x 2
 NSP
 Subject cocertificate
 Personal
against SoW
(i) Independent
data
 Appraisals of  In house
ordinator
 ASDAN
Profile
outcomes
living
skills

Core
subject
teacher
annual reports
diploma
 NVQ Level 1
outcomes
(ii)
Vocational
 Yearly & End  Duke of
data
assessment
to governors
 Foundation
preparation
 IEP target
of Key Stage
 Moderation
 Headteacher
degree
Edinburgh
SILO
curriculum
by subject
termly reports
 Post graduate
 Food Hygiene
outcomes
target
co-ordinators
to governors
certificate
 Junior Leader
outcomes
and regional
 SEF
 Performance
 Accreditation
 External
management
quality marks
interviews x 2
 OfSTED
Which will inform us about:
 In child
 Attainment
 ECM related
 PLT related
 Value added
 Parental
 Maintenance of  Comparative
achievement
against
(be safe; be
performance
for individual
satisfaction
workforce
class team
national norms
healthy; enjoy
pupils
competency in
performance
 Standards of
 ECM (social
 Consistency in
& achieve;
SEN
 ECM related
 Group trends
 Pupil
behaviour
& economic
ARR
positive
 Individual staff
(enjoy &
well being)
procedure
engagement
 ECM related
 National
contribution)
achieve;
competency in  SDIP progress
 PLT related
 Consistency in
(be safe; be
benchmarks
 Attainment rate
positive
SEN
healthy; enjoy
performance
teacher
 Standard of
contribution)
against
 Individual staff
& achieve;
judgement
provision
national norms
positive
contributions
 Levels of
against
 PLT related
contribution)
to pupil
attainment in
national norms
performance
progression
 PLT related
national
 Attendance
performance
qualifications
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Provision and
Overarching Aim
1. Specialist
Curriculum
To overcome or
minimise barriers to
learning and well being
that are posed by
different disabilities
Description of provision
Anticipated Learning Outcomes & Qualifications
Individual learning matter designed to provide:
1.1 Guidance in distinctive pedagogy so this can be
used for training teachers and teaching assistants
and empower the personal learning styles of
children who have PMLD.
1.2 Best practice in the use of specialist resources such
as Multi Sensory Environments, specialist
software.
All Key Stages
1.3 Specialist teaching assistants to fulfil an effective
ECM Focus:
interfacing role with multi-agencies; to provide
 Be safe
expert assessment and strategic support to
 Be healthy
individual learners; to lead focus group
 Enjoy & achieve
interventions for small groups of learners with
 Positive contribution
similar barriers to facilitate progression and
PLT Focus:
disseminate best practice.
1.4
Diagnostic, formative assessment of disabled
 Effective participators
children in a wide range of developmental areas.
Attainment Levels
1.5 A range of suggested learning activities and
P1-4:
strategic interventions to overcome barriers; inform
 Early Thinking Skills
the differentiation of core subjects of the National
 Early Communication
Curriculum and assessment at P levels 1-4; provide
Skills
evidence of lateral learning for pupils who do not
 Early Motor Skills
find it easy to progress in a linear manner;.
 Early Emotional
1.6
Strategic interventions via a SMART and
Literacy
quantified IEP target setting process;
Attainment Levels P4
1.7
Continuous, evidence based teacher assessment.
and above:
1.8
Annual and end of key stage curriculum target
 Reading Excellence
setting procedure.
Framework
1.9 Minimum of 2 written and evidence based reports
about pupil progress per year to parents.
Teacher:
 Linear progression within P1-4 levels of English, Maths & Science
 Lateral learning and generalisation of skills at P1-4 levels of English,
Maths & Science.
 Progress in overcoming communication impairments.
 Progress in overcoming learning barriers associated with sensory and
perceptual difficulties.
 Progress in overcoming barriers associated with physical disabilities.
 Progress in overcoming barriers associated with social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties.
 Progress in overcoming barriers to literacy.
 Pupils able to influence others as part of PLT related learning.
 Evidence from focus groups and related activities to demonstrate that
pupil is benefiting from each of the 4 indicated ECM outcomes.
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Provision and
Overarching Aim
2. The Entitlement
Curriculum
To ensure outstanding
standards of inclusive
teaching, pupil
engagement and
attainment in subjects of
the national curriculum
and facilitate continuous
teaching assessment
All Key Stages
(reducing entitlement per
key stage)
ECM Focus:
 Enjoy & achieve
 Positive contribution
PLT Focus:
 Creative thinkers
Attainment Levels:
P1-8
N.C. Levels 1-3
Description of provision
Anticipated Learning Outcomes & Qualifications
SoW across the school that have been analysed
and revised in order to provide:
2.1 Enjoyable and hands on experiential learning
opportunities.
2.2 Strong elements of sensory and cognitive learning
to respond to pupils with different learning styles.
2.3 Teaching that is differentiated for pupils at
different stages of development.
2.4 Lessons that motivate pupils to investigate,
experiment and be curious.
2.5 Learning experiences that are lasting and
memorable.
2.6 Teaching that stimulates pupils to engage in other
aspects of learning.
2.7 Learning that is cross referenced to learning matter
associated with the specialist curriculum to help
pupils overcome learning barriers.
2.8 Anticipated learning outcomes that are
differentiated according to P scale levels and above
to ensure that pupil learning is related directly to
what has been taught.
2.9 Learning outcomes that facilitate continuous,
formative teacher assessment.
 Linear progression in all subjects of the National Curriculum with
challenging curriculum targets informed via continuous, formative
assessment aimed to facilitate a minimum of two national curriculum
level gains per key stage where relevant to a pupil’s degree of
learning disability.
 Lateral learning and generalisation in all P levels.
 Optimum levels of engagement resulting in demonstrable ECM
outcomes of enjoyment, achievement, positive contribution.
 Pupils generating ideas, exploring possibilities, adapting ideas and
trying out alternative solutions ( PLT related outcomes)
 SoW at key stage 4 resulting in ALL and NSP accredited modules
 SoW at key stage 5 resulting in ASDAN accredited modules
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Provision and
Overarching Aim
3. Transition to
adulthood
To enable learners to
enter work and adult life
as confident, capable
individuals who can
organise themselves,
manage change, take
responsibility and
persevere
Key Stages 4 & 5
ECM Focus:
 Social and economic
well being
 Make a positive
contribution
PLT Focus:
 Independent enquirers
 Team workers
 Creative Thinkers
 Self-managers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
Attainment levels:
All levels to
NVQ Level 1
Description of provision
Anticipated Learning Outcomes & Qualifications
A range of learning opportunities and SoW that have
been designed to support transition to adulthood via
the following:
3.1 Supported and independent living skills in:
 Eating and drinking skills including meal
preparation;
 Dressing skills including the
selection/purchase of appropriate clothing;
 Personal hygiene and grooming;
 Basic skills for maintaining good health;
 Housekeeping skills;
 Independent travel skills;
 Self-determination and assertiveness.
3.2 Work related learning:
 Japonica work related learning
 Vocational preparation organised at
Workmatch.
3.3 Work experience:
 Fully sheltered transition preparation in adult
day care destinations;
 Fully sheltered school based work
experience;
 School supervised work experience in local
community venues (previously called
community service);
 Work experience with local employers.
3.4 Enterprise Education
3.5 College link courses
Teacher:
 Functional skills in all aspects of independent and planned
dependency living;
 Process and evaluate information in
investigations, plan, make informed and well-reasoned
decisions, recognise that others have different attitudes. (PLT)
 Think creatively to try different ways to tackle a problem, work with
others to find imaginative solutions (PLT)
 Evaluate personal strengths and limitations, (PLT)
 Set realistic goals and invite feedback (PLT)
 Work confidently with others, adapt to different contexts and take
personal responsibility (PLT)
 Cope with change, respond positively
to new priorities and challenges
participate in life of school, college, workplace or wider
community (PLT)
 Accredited ALL module (Environment)
 Accredited NSP modules (Animal Care/Environment/Horticulture)
 Accredited ASDAN module (Towards Independence: Improving the
Environment))
 NVQ Level 1 (Retail)
 Food Handling Hygiene Certificate
 Junior Sports Leader Certificate
 Duke of Edinburgh Awards at bronze and silver levels
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Provision and
Overarching Aim
4. Focus Groups
To develop specific
areas of function, well
being and learning via
highly motivating and
therapeutic approaches
All Key Stages
Description of provision
Anticipated Learning Outcomes & Qualifications
An assortment of cross key stage teaching groups with
specific focuses:
 FG1 – Passive movement; stretching and
positioning; rebound and hydrotherapy
 FG2 – Developing body and spatial awareness
 FG3 – Interactive Movement / Mobility
 FG4 – Sensory motor development
 FG5 – Developing Communication
ECM Focus:
 Stay Safe
 Be Healthy
 Enjoy and Achieve
 Make a Positive
Contribution













PELT Focus:
 Effective participators

Improved respiratory function, digestion & circulation
Improved fitness, muscle strength and tone
Reduced risk of contractures and deformities, less pain / discomfort
Increase in self esteem; confidence; autonomy; independence
Improved balance, coordination, saving reactions, motor control
Increased awareness of others and ability to make a positive impact on
other people
Improved self image and confidence
Ability to make and express choices
Increase in skills of listening and attending
Increase in ability to express feelings, needs and preferences to others
Increased ability to use residual senses to gather information from
surroundings and participate in activities more effectively
Increased tolerance of touch and exploration of environment
Increased understanding of the way in which own sounds,
vocalisations and gestures can affect people and events in immediate
vicinity
Improved quality of vocalisations and speech
Attainment levels:
 All levels but
primarily for P1-4
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Provision and
Overarching Aim
5. Pupil Profile
To enable learners to
engage in teaching and
therapeutic care in ways
that are empathetic to
their personalised
learning styles
All Key Stages
ECM Focus:
 Stay Safe
 Be Healthy
 Enjoy and Achieve
 Make a Positive
Contribution
 Achieve social &
economic well being
PLT Focus:
 Independent enquirers
 Team workers
 Creative Thinkers
 Self-managers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
Attainment levels:
 All levels
Description of provision
Anticipated Learning Outcomes & Qualifications
A dynamic description of an individual pupil’s
personalised learning style supporting by a range of
therapeutic programmes as relevant to each child’s
personal circumstances. Some profiles will
incorporate “special arrangements” that are required
in everyday provision to ensure a child’s optimal level
of engagement. The profile is reviewed at each
meeting with parents. The profile includes:
 Personal profile (succinct introduction to pupil file)
 Therapeutic programmes as relevant:
(i)
Behaviour strategy
(ii)
Speech & Language Therapy programme
(iii)
Physiotherapy programme
(iv)
Care plan
(v)
Continence plan
Teacher:
Evidence of ECM outcomes relating to:
 Stay Safe
 Be Healthy
 Enjoy and Achieve
 Make a Positive Contribution
 Achieve social & economic well being
Evidence of PLT related outcomes:
 Functional skills in all aspects of independent and planned
dependency living;
 Process and evaluate information in
investigations, plan, make informed and well-reasoned
decisions, recognise that others have different attitudes. (PLT)
 Think creatively to try different ways to tackle a problem, work with
others to find imaginative solutions (PLT)
 Evaluate personal strengths and limitations, (PLT)
 Set realistic goals and invite feedback (PLT)
 Work confidently with others, adapt to different contexts and take
personal responsibility (PLT)
 Cope with change, respond positively
to new priorities and challenges
participate in life of school, college, workplace or wider
community (PLT)
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Basic Requirements for the Organisation of Lesson Plans
1. Lesson Planning







Lesson objective is clearly stated, ie., what is going to be taught and what the main learning outcomes are going to be in
terms of key concepts, understandings and skills;
Main activities within the lesson are described, together with any differentiation by task and/or learning outcome on
behalf of individual pupils;
Cross curricular learning opportunities are highlighted (ie., cross curricular use of literacy, numeracy and ICT);
Opportunities to address IEP targets for individual learners are highlighted;
Opportunities to address ECM/PLT outcomes are highlighted;
Teaching Resources are identified and readied in advance of the lesson;
Key tasks for each member of the class team are highlighted;
2. Lesson Organisation




Each lesson begins with an introduction in which the teacher shares the lesson objective, reminds pupils of any previous
lessons on this topic and tests their recall and any prior learning they have demonstrated;
Language of tuition is kept simple, key vocabulary is stressed and accompanied by sign and/or symbol;
The main activity should involve creative and inclusive tasks (ie something to appeal to different personal learning styles),
differentiated by task and outcome as necessary;
Evidence of pupil attainment and/or achievement should be gathered as pupils demonstrate progress;
3. End of Lesson



Each lesson ends with a plenary to summarise what has been taught and what individual pupils have learned;
Evidence is annotated, assessed and stored in Evidence Files;
Lesson plan is stored in relevant SoW folder for future use.
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Planning
Organisation
End of Lesson
 Lesson objective is clearly
stated, ie., what is going to be
taught and what the main
learning outcomes are going
to be in terms of key
concepts, understandings and
skills;
 Main activities within the
lesson are described,
together with any
differentiation by task and/or
learning outcome on behalf of
individual pupils;
 Cross curricular learning
opportunities are highlighted
(ie., cross curricular use of
literacy, numeracy and ICT);
 Opportunities to address IEP
targets for individual learners
are highlighted;
 Opportunities to address
ECM/PLT outcomes are
highlighted;
 Teaching Resources are
identified and readied in
advance of the lesson;
 Key tasks for each member of
the class team are
highlighted;
 Each lesson begins
with an introduction in
which the teacher
shares the lesson
objective, reminds
pupils of any previous
lessons on this topic
and tests their recall
and any prior learning
they have
demonstrated;
 Language of tuition is
kept simple, key
vocabulary is stressed
and accompanied by
sign and/or symbol;
 The main activity
should involve creative
and inclusive tasks (ie
something to appeal to
different personal
learning styles),
differentiated by task
and outcome as
necessary;
 Evidence of pupil
attainment and/or
achievement should be
gathered as pupils
demonstrate progress;
 Each lesson ends
with a plenary to
summarise what has
been taught and
what individual
pupils have learned;
 Evidence is
annotated, assessed
and stored in
Evidence Files;
 Lesson plan is stored
in relevant SoW
folder for future use.
Teacher:
Progress Observed & Evidence
Class:
Lesson:
Teaching & Learning
Comments
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
LEARNING (Attainment & achievement, progress, attitudes, concentration and work rate)
Strengths:
Areas for Development:
TEACHING:(Relationships, modelling, expectations, communication, planning, key skills, use of resources & TAs, personalised teaching)
Strengths:
Areas for Development:
Overall grade: (1 outstanding); (2 good); (3 satisfactory); (4 inadequate)
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
The Specialist Curriculum
Introduction to the Specialist Curriculum
Exemplar Contents Page from a subject of the
specialist curriculum (Early Communication Skills)
(Additional exemplars from the Specialist Curriculum are contained
elsewhere in ARSI , see sections on Overcoming “Barriers to Learning
& Well Being” & “Assessment Procedures”)
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Introduction to the Specialist Curriculum
1.1 Because children who have profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD)
have learning needs that often stand outside of the learning matter contained
within the National Curriculum, additional, specialist curricula has been
developed at this school to ensure that all pupils will have the opportunity to
achieve and attain at optimal standards. The learning matter contained within the
specialist curriculum has also been reinforced by adding links to relevant subjects
of the National Curriculum and to distinctive teaching approaches which include
best practice in the use of valuable resources and facilities.
1.2 The specialist curriculum is made up of four “subjects” or curriculum areas:
 Early Thinking Skills (National Curriculum Mathematics & Science P1-4);
 Early Communication Skills (National Curriculum English P1-4);
 Early Motor Skills (National Curriculum Physical Education);
 Early Emotional Literacy (under development)
(In October 2007 the first two subjects of the specialist curriculum were appraised
by a joint team of OfSTED and HMI when the content was described as being at
the “cutting edge” of PMLD practice. Since 2007 over 95 other special schools in
UK have purchased titles from our specialist curriculum and high levels of interest
have continued unabated since then. Copies of each title are available in all classes
and additional copies are available in the school’s Conference Room.)
1.3 Teaching materials published within the specialist curriculum provide teachers
and teaching assistants with the skills, understanding and techniques to teach
pupils who have PMLD in accordance with the demands posed by their sensory
impairments, motor disabilities, cognitive impairments, emotional disabilities and
medical problems. The learning matter included in these specialist curriculum
subjects relates directly to the personalised learning styles typical of children who
have complex disabilities and is cross referenced to National Curriculum P levels
1-4 in subjects associated with the area of disability under consideration (as
described above in 1.2 above). The documentation published in support of each of
these specialist subjects has been designed to:
 Provide guidance in distinctive pedagogy so this can be used for training
teachers and teaching assistants and empower the personal learning styles of
children who have PMLD;
 Describe best practice in the use of specialist resources and expensive facilities
such as Multi Sensory Environments and Hydrotherapy Pools;
 Empower teaching assistants to fulfil an effective interfacing role with
therapists and multi-disciplinary teams;
 Enable the diagnostic, formative assessment of disabled children in a wide
range of developmental areas as a basis to the formulation of “Strategic
Interventions and Responses to Barriers” (SIRBs);
 Provide a range of learning activities to help overcome learning barriers
associated with diverse disability types and inform the content of IEP targets
and their associated “Strategic Interventions Level Objectives” (SILOs);
 Inform the differentiation of core subjects of the National Curriculum at the
very earliest P level stages and provide evidence of lateral learning for pupils
who do not find it easy to progress in a linear manner;
 Provide information about further reading, suppliers and useful contacts.
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
1.4 Linear learning is not a characteristic of the personalised learning styles of pupils
who have PMLD. However, it is not sufficient, nor respectful to the pupils
concerned, to say that such pupils are “working towards” a particular level of the
National Curriculum because such statements are unspecific and meaningless.
However, by linking P levels with good quality IEP targets and SILOs that are, in
turn, rooted in specialist curricula, it is possible for teachers to plan for lateral
progression and minimal linear attainment in ways that are SMART and that will
enable pupils to achieve ECM outcomes. Sets of performance indicators have
been devised to assist teachers assess pupil attainment within P levels 1-4 and
these have been cross referenced to specialist PMLD curricula and their associated
frameworks for assessment, together with meaningful teaching activities and
guidance on PMLD pedagogy. For example, P levels 1-4 for mathematics and
science have been cross referenced to the Early Thinking Skills Curriculum (ETS)
which sets out the framework for teaching and assessing pupil performance in the
earliest stages of sensory, cognitive and perceptual development. Pupils who have
PMLD are assessed against both the expanded P level performance indicators and
the assessment criteria pertaining to the ETS curriculum. This cross referencing
allows teachers to make summative assessments about a pupil’s academic
progress in mathematics P levels 1-4 in tandem with the task of defining SMART
strategies in response to the pupil’s inevitably impaired sensory, cognitive and
perceptual functions. The teaching matter associated with each assessment
criterion from the ETS curriculum provides sufficient guidance so as to make
target setting SMART.
1.5 Included in these specialist curriculum documents are instructions to guide
teachers and teaching assistants in the use of distinctive pedagogical approaches
and the use of specialised resources. The development and implementation of
these two subjects from the specialist curriculum, including in-service training
based on the guidance notes described above, has empowered Training Instructors
in Disability to take a leading role in the education of pupils with PMLD and
make best use of advice from colleagues from multi-disciplinary services such as
speech and language therapy and occupational therapy and ensure that the
therapeutic needs of pupils who have PMLD are readily incorporated into
SMART IEP targets and associated SILOs.
1.6 An exemplar contents page from one of the subjects of the specialist curriculum
has been reproduced below to illustrate how specialist curriculum documents are
set out. Further information about how the specialist curriculum documents link to
teaching and learning on subjects of the National Curriculum had already been
described in the previous section.
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
The Entitlement Curriculum
Schemes of Work
(Creative & Inclusive Learning with Differentiated Outcomes)
The Design of SoW and links to the Specialist Curriculum
Literacy
(Reading Excellence Framework)
ICT
(under development)
Numeracy
(under development)
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
1. Introduction to the Entitlement Curriculum
1.1 Pupils at Barrs Court School have an entitlement to all subjects of the National
Curriculum although the breadth of subject coverage is varied incrementally,
according to key stage, in order to reflect the changing needs of pupils as they
progress chronologically. For example, at Key Stage 3 pupils have an
entitlement to the full range of subjects, but at Key Stage 4 a modern foreign
language is no longer taught as an entitlement. This because work related
learning is introduced at Key Stage 4 and there is insufficient time available
within the taught week to include all subjects of the National Curriculum. At
Key Stage 5, the entitlement curriculum is reduced still further to allow for the
timetabling of work experience, college link courses etc.
1.2 National Curriculum subjects are traditionally taught via sets of lessons
organised under the umbrella framework of Schemes of Work (SoW). SoW
are organised for either half a term, or one term, depending on the subject and
topic. A SoW comprises a set of lesson outlines that describe the various
topics and learning experiences which a teacher will need to implement. The
teacher is then responsible for adding detail to actual lesson plans in order to
suit the prevailing circumstances. However, when one considers the diverse
personalised learning styles and attainment levels that characterise learners at
Barrs Court School, this traditional SoW design does not provide sufficient
detail for a teacher at Barrs Court School to differentiate the proposed teacher
matter easily. In response to this dilemma, the traditional design of SoW has
been further developed to help ensure that:
 Teaching will be empathetic to a wide range of personalised learning
styles;
 Anticipated learning outcomes from each SoW can be carefully targeted to
reflect varying ability levels and so facilitate continuous, evidence based
teacher assessment.
For the highest attaining pupils, extension materials are provided in collusion
with local mainstream schools and/or subject advisory teachers from the local
authority. For the lowest attaining pupils, the school’s own Specialist
Curriculum provides extensive teaching ideas for National Curriculum Levels
P1-4 in the core subjects. This approach helps pupils benefit from the ECM
related outcomes of “enjoy and achieve” and “make a positive contribution”.
1.3 The bulk of teaching for subjects of the National Curriculum is delivered via
SoW organised in this way. However, some subject matter relating to literacy,
ICT and numeracy, benefits from cross-curricular delivery and these
approaches are also described below. SoW are taught via a “rolling
programme” for each key stage, representing the number of years a pupil will
be at each key stage and how the full syllabus of intended subject coverage
will be delivered during the course of a pupil’s school career.
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
2. Creative and inclusive SoW with differentiated learning outcomes
2.1 The traditional design of SoW at Barrs Court School has been enhanced with
the addition of creative and inclusive teaching activities in order that teaching
approaches for each SoW will:
 Provide enjoyable and hands on experiential learning;
 Include strong elements of sensory and cognitive learning;
 Be meaningful to pupils who may be at different stages of development;
 Motivate pupils to investigate, experiment and be curious;
 Have sufficient impact to provide lasting, memorable experiences;
 Stimulate pupils to want to engage in other aspects of learning;
2.2 The hands on, multi sensory activities described in the inclusive and creative
additions provide emotionally charged contexts for learning so that pupils will
enjoy their learning and be more likely to benefit from the assertion that
creativity is fundamental to advances in all areas of life, in line with the PLT
related outcome that pupils should be, “Creative Thinkers”. Creativity is often
key to the extent to which pupils enjoy their learning experiences and so
benefit from the contingent learning relationship of:
The extent to which a pupil enjoys an activity
The likelihood of strong memory imprinting and retention of new information
Enhanced capacity for reflection (PLT), understanding and attainment
2.3 The fact that creative activities can also be readily linked to multi-sensory
experiences means that associated teaching approaches are more likely to
appeal to the personalised learning styles typical of pupils who have the most
complex learning disabilities and so promote classroom inclusiveness. The
creative and inclusive activities developed at Barrs Court School have been
cross referenced to the school’s Specialist Curriculum in order to ensure there
is an appropriate balance between the entitlement curriculum and additional,
specialist curricula in keeping with advice provided by SCAA in 1999.
2.4 School self-evaluation undertaken at Barrs Court School in the summer terms
of 2005 and 2006 demonstrated that teacher assessment of pupil performance
within the P levels of core subjects of the National Curriculum was not always
fully endorsed by the evidence on file. As a consequence, anticipated learning
outcomes from each SoW are differentiated to correspond to the P levels of the
subject(s) being taught. This enables teachers and TAs to refer to the
associated assessment framework on a lesson by lesson basis in order to
monitor pupil performance and record attainments by reference to P levels. As
evidence of attainment in subject specific P levels can now be retained from
each lesson (usually in the form of digital photographs of pupils at work
and/or copies of pupil work), summative teacher assessment can be undertaken
by reference to the average score attained by each pupil across the full map of
learning represented by SoW. Moderation of teacher assessment will also be
much more easily undertaken because of the larger body of evidence that will
be available for scrutiny and the fact that assessment is being based on what
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
has actually been taught, as opposed to what has been interpreted against more
generalised assessment criteria.
2.5 An exemplar creative and inclusive SoW with differentiated learning
outcomes for the core subject of English is replicated below as examples of
how teaching and learning is organised for subjects of the National Curriculum
that are delivered via rolling programmes of SoW. The example shows:
 The basic SoW;
 Creative and inclusive activities;
 Links to the Specialist Curriculum for more ideas for differentiation and
learning outcomes;
 Further reading and reference materials;
 Differentiated learning outcomes linked to English P Levels;
 Exemplar Specialist Curriculum assessment criteria for helping make
English relevant to learners at levels P1-4 (some criteria highlighted to
show link to more teaching suggestions) and link to IEP related learning
for communication impaired learners;
 Exemplar Specialist Curriculum teaching suggestions to help male English
relevant to learners at levels P1-4 and link to IEP related learning for
communication impaired learners.
Teacher:
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Exemplar Scheme of Work modified with creative and inclusive learning activities,
showing links to specialist curricula
Learning Objectives
Pupils should learn:
 To describe what a
book is
KS3 English
Possible methods of delivery
Unit 9: Make a Book
Resources
Learning Outcomes
Look at selection of books. Discuss title page, title,
author, illustrator. What does cover tell us? Look
at content.
Selection of books.
Pupils can describe
main characteristics of
a book.

To know the
difference between a
fiction and non-fiction
book.
Read parts of different books, fiction and nonfiction. Explain differences.
Selection of books.
Pupils can describe
the difference between
a fiction and non-fiction
book.

To participate in
discussion about book
content.
Group(s) to decide what the book will be about.
Discuss characters, theme. Make outline plan of
story for non-fiction writing in response to who?
What? Where? and why? Questions from teacher.
Symbols program.
Computer.
Pupils can answer
questions about book
content.

To participate in the
writing of the
story/non-fiction
report.
To participate in the
putting together of the
book.
In small groups, write chapter of story. Illustrate.
Symbol program.
Computer.
Pupils can participate
in the writing of a story
or non-fiction report.
Read big book “How a Book is Made”.
Big book resource box.
Computer.
Printer.
Laminator.
Hole punch.
Pupils can participate
in the putting together
of the book.

Put book together, text, illustrations, cover page,
final page. Laminate and hole punch.
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
Subject: English
Year: C
SoW: Make a Book
Creative & Inclusive Learning Activities
Suggested Resources
Key vocabulary: Book, cover, title, page, turn,
story, picture, text, author, look
Looking at different books
 Explore different types of books eg.
hardback, paperback, spiral bound, cloth
books, card books, pop-up books, touch
and feel books, magnetic books, bath
books, books with plain pages, books with
lines, books with pictures / text, scrap
books
 Trip to library / book shop to explore other
types of books and where they come from.
Assorted book formats
Storysacks
Pupils’ favourite books
Switch controller
Switches
Making books
Soundbeam
 Create a Face book. Collect pictures
showing a range of faces from magazines
or photographs. Make separate pages for
each concept e.g. sad face, happy face,
angry face etc. Last page of book have a
large face shape with Velcro patches where
eyes, nose, mouth, hair would be. Create a
wallet of different coloured eyes, mouths
expressing different emotions, different
coloured hair. Pupils to build the face
expressing their emotion at the time of
reading.
 Fold in Half book. Pupils to select different
textured / coloured / patterned wrapping
paper; fold in half and simply staple
together to create an instant book
 Blowey book. Use clear ring binder wallets
for each page of book. Into each wallet
place feathers, leaves, balloons, pieces of
silky fabric, windmill, bottle of bubbles. The
‘reader’ can then blow the items on each
page.
 Twiddle book. Collect together some A4
black card. Onto each piece of card attach
CD / tape player
Headphones
Microphone
Video camera
Digital camera
Resonance board
Costumes
Widget symbols
Interactive white board
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
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a ‘twiddle’, created from string; wool,
ribbon, raffia, pipe cleaner etc. Hole punch
edges and tie together with a ‘twiddle’.
Holey visual book. Collect A4 card shiny
and matt. First page using matt card, just
one hole/holes made with hole punch.
Next page shiny, next matt page bigger
hole/holes, continue alternate pages until
last matt page has big hole to fit most of
face through.
Fluorescent book. Mount different
fluorescent shapes made from card, paper,
fabric, feathers, etc. one per page on to
black card. Hole punch each page and
place in a black ring binder with a
fluorescent shape on the front cover. Look
at the book in the dark area of MSE using
UV light
Shiny book. As for fluorescent book, but
using shiny / reflective shapes made from
card, wrapping paper, fabric, tinsel, mirror
card, etc. look at and explore this book in a
darkened area using torch light or a spot
light for added visual effect.
Holey tactile book. A4 coloured card. On
each page cut out different sized circles.
Behind each circle stick different textures
e.g. fur, sandpaper, leather, shiny card etc.
Contrast the colour of card and textures.
Bag book. Have one large bag eg. small
suitcase. Into this place a purse, make up
bag, toiletries bag, shopping bag, peg bag,
sports bag, carrier bag, paper bag,
drawstring evening bag, etc. Open the lid
of the suitcase as for the cover of a book ie.
to see what’s inside. Each bag tells a
different story, an example of which could
be placed inside each one or a collection of
pictures / symbols or list of key words to
stimulate discussion and storytelling.
Book Box. Pupil selects favourite book
(story or non-fiction). Use a strong shoe
box with a lid; cut one long side (so it drops
down like a drawbridge). Decorate the
inside of the box according to the theme of
the chosen book and fill with items relating
to that theme / story. Make a ‘front cover’ to
go on the lid of the box.
Old sock book. Collect together a selection
of colourful, patterned or gaudy socks. Fill
Teacher:
Multi-sensory room
Sensory cupboard
resources
Photographs
Sensory art materials
TV
Hole Punch
Printer
Laminator
Blank Big Book
resources – in
conference room,
English resources.
Clicker 4
Black card
Coloured card
Shiny card, paper
Velcro
Fabric
Wrapping paper
Ring binder wallets
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Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
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each sock with a different texture, e.g.
bottle tops, buttons, dried peas, pasta etc.
Sew up the end. Place the socks, in a
‘sock book box’. The pupil ‘reads’ each
sock with their hands.
Music book. Using C.D. wallet create a
class music book. Each pupil to select
music they like, label their page (name
and/or photo) and place C.D. into sleeve.
Pupils to listen to an excerpt from each
other’s page.
‘My favourites’ book. Using a C.D. wallet
for each pupil, allow them to place into
each page their favourite things e.g.
photographs, feathers, different coloured
fabrics, and music. Allow pupil time to
explore their book and to share it with
others.
Rainbow book. First page to be a
photograph of a pupil and a C.D. recording
of them singing ‘I can sing a rainbow’.
Subsequent pages to be the seven rainbow
colours with visual and/or tactile
attachments.
Paper plate book. Each plate to represent
a pupil’s favourite food. Food can be
created with papier-mache, pictures or
tactile materials.
Tea bag book. Place different flavoured /
scented tea bags into C.D. wallet, pupils to
explore the different smells. Pupils can
then, if they wish, choose a tea bag to
make into a cup of tea
Washing line book. Stretch washing line
across the class. Pupils can hang pictures,
clothing, tactile materials etc. Pupils can
talk about what they are placing on the line
in a shared class activity.
Stretch book. Attach stretchy fabric e.g.
lycra, elastic, rubber sock/hat, plaited
plastic loofah, tights, socks to each page of
book. Allow pupils time to explore the
different fabrics to see how much they will
stretch.
Pop-up book. Pupils to look at and enjoy
pop up library books. Can they make their
own? Pupils to cut out a picture, give help
to concertina some card, attach behind
picture and fasten to page.
Envelope book. Stick an envelope to
Teacher:
String
Raffia,
Ribbon
Pipe cleaners
Balloons
Feathers
Windmills
Bubbles
Hole punch
Overnight bag or case
Purse
Toilet bag
Make up bag
Shopping bag
Sports bag
Paper bag
Peg bag
Washing line
Pegs
Assorted socks
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Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
sheets of card. Pupils to be encouraged to
hide something inside the envelope. Pupils
can then enjoy a session of anticipation.
Different objects can be hidden for different
themes.
 Life size book (for temporary use) Use
large sheets of thick cardboard for pages.
Draw around each pupil (use a roll of
wallpaper or lining paper for this). Cut out
and stick each drawing onto a separate
page. Pupils to ‘dress’ their picture, put in
facial features, hair, etc. and attach a
carrier bag from their favourite shop into
which they can place items of their choice
eg. photos of favourite pop group; favourite
CD, book or magazine; packaging from or
photo of their favourite food; photos of
family members, pets, best friend, etc.
Bottle tops
Buttons
Dried peas
Pasta
C.D. wallets
Blank C.D’s
Paper plates
Scented tea bags
Strips of lycra
Make a book about emotions
Elastic
 Introduce pupils to examples of books
related to emotions. Talk about the different
Plaited plastic loofah
emotions and how we express our
emotions
Envelopes
 Pupil role-play based around example
stories and emotions.
 Pupils select emotions to be covered in
Cardboard boxes
their book
 Explore different emotions through use of
mirrors, music, puppets, sound effects,
lighting, etc. in the MSE
 Pupils think of different ideas for expressing
different emotions in the book eg. photos,
artwork, textures
 Plan book layout – What do you need?
Materials for cover, pages, binding, etc.
 Art room session – begin to build book
 Pupil discussion on sound effects and
music Explore and record different music /
sound effects to accompany book including
pupils’ voices
 Bring book and sound together.
 Class performance of their finished product.
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Additional suggestions for scheme of work:
 Make photo / symbol books designed and
made by individual pupils based on
interests
 Make a film based on a favourite book
 Make a story sack based on a favourite
book – make and/or buy props.
 Digital photos of pupils expressing different
emotions to insert within a story.
Specialist Curriculum Links
Cross-curricula links
ECS: R6, R7, R8
KS3 English Unit 7:
ECS: W1-7
Library Work / Unit 8:
Drama
ECS English: Reading P1-4
History: Development of
ECS English: Writing P1-4
writing and printing
Art: Printing / Drawing
and Painting / Collage
and Montage
ICT: Pictures – Creating
Effects / Beginning to
make things happen
with the Computer
Reference Links
Off Site Visits
Drama for Very Special People
Library
Literacy for Very Special People - Flo Longhorn
Book shop
(conf. room)
Theatre
Starting Stories: A film and literary resource (book
Also visits from story
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
and video in conference room)
tellers, theatre group,
Big Book: How a Book is Made
mobile library
The Make a Book book – 745
Paper craft : Seaside book – 745 (page 43)
www.teachideas.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/4_11
www.primaryresources.co.uk
www.teachernet.gov.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/barnabybear/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/storycircle/printabl
estories
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
Subject: English
Year: C
SoW: Make a Book
P Level
Learning Outcomes
P1(i)
Pupils experience a range of multi-sensory books e.g. a story sack with
accompanying props and effects; a Bag Book tactile story; ‘Blowey Book’
or ‘Book Bag’;a fluorescent book under UV light or a shiny / sparkly book
with torchlight to illuminate the main features. Pupils experience sensory
activities to increase awareness of their own hands eg. hand massage,
vibro tactile activities, etc. Pupils take part in a visit related to a book that is
being made in class, e.g. the supermarket, railway station.
P1(ii)
Pupils show awareness of sensory elements within books shared with a
familiar person eg moving fingers when placed on different textures within
tactile books; looking at patterns within a fluorescent shape book; stilling or
looking up when they hear sounds from a ‘noisy’ book. Pupils show
awareness of their hands during sensory activities eg. moving their hands /
fingers when placed on textured surfaces or when placed in a tray of
fluorescent paint; looking at their hands when torchlight is shone on to
them.
P 2(i)
Pupils begin to respond consistently to familiar events and objects
associated with multisensory books eg. Look and smile in response to a
favourite story book character eg. The Gruffalo or the Rainbow Fish. They
may sustain gaze on a noisy story prop that makes a sound eg. when they
hear the fart machine to accompany the Farley Farts book. Pupils accept
and engage in coactive exploration of multisensory books eg. looking at /
touching pages in a ‘Twiddle Book’ or a tactile ‘Holey Book’. They explore
simple mark making with an adult eg. using hands and fingers to spread
blobs of fluorescent paint on to black card then looking at the effects under
UV light.
P2(ii)
Pupils communicate consistent preferences for certain multisensory books,
story sacks and accompanying props. e.g. by vocalising or gesturing in a
particular way. Pupils recognise familiar story props e.g. showing pleasure
each time a particular puppet character appears in a story dramatised with
sensory cues. Pupils indicate preferences for certain materials to place in
a book they are helping to make, eg. shiny stars, yellow fur; paper that
crackles when you scrunch it, etc. They cooperate with shared exploration
of multisensory books eg. taking turns with a familiar story prop, imitating
actions etc. and in different mark making activities eg. printing, sticking,
etc. Pupils perform actions such as sprinkling / dropping glitter or sequins
on to glued black paper to make a page for their book.
P3(i)
Pupils request events or activities, e.g.reach for a book they want to look
at or a tray of yellow paint. They explore materials in increasingly complex
ways, eg. holding a favourite book and looking at the cover; using different
mark makers with support, etc. They observe the results of their mark
making eg. looking at the fluorescent hand prints they have made or the
shiny star they have stuck in their book. They remember learned
responses eg. following the sequence of a familiar story and responding to
key events, or the sequence of dipping the glue stick into the glue before
pasting the page of their book.
Teacher:
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
P3(ii)
P4
P5
P6
P7
Pupils initiate activities eg. pick up a book to look at with an adult. They
may anticipate known events such as actions or the appearance of
characters within their favourite book or pre-empt sounds within a familiar
poem. Pupils respond to options and choices through eye pointing,
gesture, vocalisation, etc. eg. reaching for a picture to stick in the book or
pushing the yellow paint away when it is offered to them. Pupils actively
explore books with an adult eg. looking at the cover; opening the book;
looking at / touching some of the pages, etc. Pupils apply potential
solutions to problems eg. bringing a story prop or book to an adult to
request a story; moving to reach the pot of feathers to stick in their book.
Pupils repeat, copy and imitate single words, signs or phrases or use a
repertoire of objects of reference or symbols when engaged in a book
making session, eg. using representative or miniature objects to make a
story box or to provide an account of an activity they have recently taken
part in. Pupils show some understanding of how books work, e.g., turning
pages and holding the book the right way up. Pupils begin to understand
that marks and symbols convey meaning, e.g., scribbling alongside a
picture or placing photographs or symbols into a book that they are helping
to make. Pupils look at the paper or screen as they make marks, create
patterns, images, etc. for a book they are making
Pupils combine single words, signs or symbols to convey meaning during
a book making session, e.g., ‘more string’. Pupils explore books that have
been produced for a range of different purposes eg. story books, recipe
books, information books, scrap books, notebooks, diaries, etc. Pupils
recognise some familiar captions (words or symbols) to put into the book
that they are making. Pupils produce some meaningful print, signs or
symbols associated with their own name, familiar images or events, eg.
when making a book about themselves, their families and interests. They
trace, overwrite and copy under or over a model making horizontal, vertical
and circular lines when making a book. With support they make and
complete patterns eg. to decorate the cover of their book
Pupils use up to three key words, signs or symbols to communicate simple
ideas when making a book, eg. “Fred on bike.” They follow simple rules
for group situations, eg. taking turns to stick pictures into a class book.
Pupils differentiate between letters and symbols, e.g. producing a drawing
to accompany writing. They copy writing to go into a book, or to label a
picture in a book, with support. Pupils can dictate simple sentences to be
included in the book, which the adult scribes. They produce or write a few
recognisable letter shapes. Pupils select some words and symbols to be
included in the book, e.g. choosing between two alternative words/
symbols shown to them; choosing their name to go on the cover.
Pupils contribute to discussions about making a book in small groups,
taking turns and listening to others. Pupils show awareness of the
structure of the book that they are making eg. the cover, the sequence of
pages, etc. and can respond appropriately to e.g. “find me the picture
of……”. Pupils’ copy writing patterns and can write some letters in
response to their sounds, e.g. c, s, t when making a book. Pupils can
contribute ideas about what to write about in a book, e.g. what happens
next, story ending, instructions. They can order simple sentences on the
page or on the computer. Pupils begin to use different layouts in their
Teacher:
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BARRS COURT SPECIALIST (SEN) SCHOOL
Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
books according to the type of book they are making, e.g. recipe book,
storybook, ‘My Visit to Queenswood Park’.
P8
Pupils can put the words of a sentence in the correct order e.g. using ICT
with switch access, or taking part in a group activity where children each
hold a card for one word in the sentence and for the full stop and have to
put themselves in the right order. Pupils can place events in order eg.
using pictures, symbols or objects of reference when making a book.
Pupils select and gather together materials they are going to use for
different parts of their book eg. the cover, page material and content,
bindings, etc. Pupils use pictures, symbols, familiar words and letters in
sequence to communicate meaning within the book they are making.
When making books, pupils use a range of writing for purpose e.g.
recording a recent event, writing a recipe, writing a poem or short story.
Pupils think about and discuss what they intend to include in their book
ahead of writing it. Pupils form some commonly used letters using the
correct sequence of movements. Pupils use some punctuation marks e.g.
full stops.
Additional assessment criteria from the Specialist Curriculum for Early
Communication Skills:
Reading:
R.1 To take part in activities which encourage visual tracking and scanning in a
horizontal (left to right) direction
R.2 To understand the link between an object and its pictorial or symbolic
representation
R.3 To recognise photographs of themselves and familiar people
R.4 To use their knowledge of visual clues to understand and recall activities and
events
R.5 To listen to and explore the sounds letters make
R.6 To participate in activities that make a link between the pupil’s first name and
themselves
R.7 To explore books using as many senses as possible
R.8 To participate in storytelling, poetry reading and drama
R.9 To gain access to further elements of reading through the use of ICT
Writing
W.1 To experience and participate in making marks on surfaces
W.2 To produce work through mark making using a variety of media and show an
awareness that they are creating it
W.3 To use a variety of means to record and recall events, experiences and
information
W.4 To explore print in different formats and for different purposes
W.5 To gain access to further elements of writing through use of ICT
W.6 To explore mark making on a surface in a left to right directionW.7 To explore
writing their name in a variety of different ways
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Lesson Observation Monitoring Form 2009-2010
W 3: To use a variety of means to record and recall events, experiences
and information
Suggested activities
A variety of methods can be used to assist pupils in their recall and recording of
important activities and events, for example:
 Use found objects and materials from a visit or outing to make a display
 Use pictures, labels, packaging, logos from carrier bags, etc. relating to a
recent activity eg. a shopping or cooking activity
 Art and craft activities for pupil to interpret their experiences in an art form eg.
through collage, painting, printing, etc.
 Use symbols eg. WWS 2000 programme to name objects and label display
 Make sound recordings of the different sounds heard during an activity, on a
visit, etc.
 Make a story sack or story box of a favourite story the pupil has been listening
to
 Take digital photographs of the pupil engaged in an activity. Also,
photographs of any key objects, people, places, etc. encountered during the
activity. Pupil can then display the photos to give an account of the activity
 Make video clips of important events, experiences, activities, etc. that the
pupil is engaged in
 Make simple books detailing recent / important events and activities using a
combination of photographs, pictures, sounds, textures and smells (if
possible), symbols and printed word, as appropriate to and selected by the
pupil.
 Ensure that the pupil is given the opportunity to recall and record his
experiences as soon as possible after the event and that he has further
opportunities to re-cap activities and experiences
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Resources
Digital camera
Camcorder
WWS 2000 (Widgit) symbols programme
Portable tape recorder with microphone
Backing card (in a contrasting colour to the item/s to be displayed) and strong
glue for mounting found objects, materials, etc.
Art / craft materials
Found objects and materials
Ring binders for making books
Plastic A4 poly pockets
Blank scrapbooks
Photograph albums
Strategy References: MM / P/VS / SYM. / O.R.
Teacher:
Class:
Lesson:
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
SUBJECT: English
P Level
Levels
of
N.C./NLS STRAND: Writing
Performance Indicators
Activities/Strategies
Resources
Pupil is involved in shared writing
/ mark making activities with an
adult
Tactile name activities and name
games
Pupil making a mark under a
photo of himself
Registration activities using photos
and tactile names
Placing pictures or symbols on to
the timetable to indicate activities
for the morning
Compiling a shopping list or
recipe using photos or picture
symbols
Recording events of the day in
home school book
Sticking or stamping their name on
to a piece of work they have
completed
Photographs of pupil
Materials for making
tactile name eg. sand,
lentils, glitter, sand paint,
puffa paint, feathers,
wood shavings, etc.
Photographs of the day’s
activities
Digital camera
Copies of the pupil’s
name in different colours,
size, etc. for them to stick
on their own work
Specialist
Curriculum
Links
Experience
P3(i)
Participation
Involvement
Specialist Curriculum links to the National Curriculum:
Early Communication Skills
ECS: W3,
W4, W5, W6,
R6
ETS:V10,
COG.18
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
3. Teaching of the Key Skill of Literacy (The Reading Excellence Framework)
3.1 Introduction: The Reading Excellence Framework provides teaching
strategies for literacy development from National Curriculum English P level
4 and above, ie., following on from the Specialist Curriculum for Early
Communication Skills which deals with the teaching of English at P levels 14. Whilst English at Barrs Court School is taught via discrete lessons, strands
are also taught in a cross curricular mode and much of the content of the
Reading Excellence Framework is designed be taught in other subject lessons.
A Training Instructor for literacy is employed to assist teachers assess pupil
competency, identify strategic interventions and provide expert 1:1 tutorial
support, but class teachers are responsible for ensuring that all pupils in their
care are making optimal progress in this most important of cross curricular
skills.
3.2 Contents: The Reading Excellence Framework is published as a stand alone
document and copies are located in all classes, as well as being available for
reference purposes in the school’s Conference Room. The document sets out
the framework for teaching literacy and is intended to be used in association
with the school’s Reading Scheme and rolling programmes of English SoW.
The Reading Excellence Framework includes extensive guidelines covering
the following topics:
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The Symbolic Nature of Language
(i) Hierarchy of Visual Symbols
(ii) Using Sign (Signalong) with Speech.
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Functional Literacy
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The neuroscience of literacy
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Creating a Reading Environment
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Frith’s Three Phase Model of Literacy Acquisition.
(i) Logograhic Phase
(ii) Alphabetic Phase
(iii) Orthographic Phase
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Pre-Literacy Multisensory Techniques
(i) Auditory Discrimination and Auditory Memory
(ii) Visual Discrimination and Visual Memory
(iii) Hand Eye Coordination
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Phonological Awareness
(i) Syllabification.
(ii) Onset and Rime
(iii) Phoneme Blending.
(iv) Phoneme Segmentation
(v) Rhyme
(vi) Alliteration
(vii) Phoneme Deletion
(viii) Phoneme Substitution
(ix) Phoneme Transposition
(x) Spoonerisms
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Alphabetic stage of early literacy
(i) Visual
seeing shapes of letters, words and sentences
(ii) Auditory
hearing the sounds of letters, words and sentences
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
(iii) Oral
(iv) Tactile
(v) Kinaesthetic
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saying letter names or sounds, words or sentences
touching / tracing letter shapes, words and sentences
writing letter shapes, words and sentences
Phonics
(i) Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence.
(ii) Early Phonics.
Alphabet Letters and Sounds
(i) Letter Names
(ii) Letter Sounds
(iii) Letters in Different Fonts
(iv) Consonants and Vowels
(v) Alphabetic Sequence
(vi) Blending and Segmenting Letter Sounds.
Orthographic Stage of Fluent Literacy
(i) Semantic Cues
(ii) Syntactic Cues
(iii) Visual Strategies
(iv) Phonic Awareness
Analogy: Sounds Alike and Looks Alike
High frequency word recognition activities
NLS first 233 word lists
Alphabet Sequence
Progression in Reading Skills
Miscue Analysis of Text Reading.
Spelling
(i) The precommunicative stage
(ii) The semiphonetic stage
(iii) The phonetic stage
(iv) The transitional stage
(v) The correct stage
(vi) Spelling Error Analysis
Making Literacy Skills More Accessible for Pupils with Visual Motor
Integration Difficulties
Reading Matter: Three Levels of Difficulty.
(i) Independent: Books Read with Ease
(ii) Instructional: Books Read with Adult Support
(iii) Reading scheme books and their supporting materials
Role of drama in literacy
3.3 The Barrs Court Integrated Reading Scheme: The Barrs Court Integrated
Reading Scheme contains several commercial schemes to ensure breadth of
coverage at each level of difficulty. The reading scheme books are placed in
the same order as the list of books published in the Reading Excellence
Framework, colour coded at each stage by the addition of coloured labels. The
reading scheme revolves around the Oxford Reading Tree commercial
scheme, supported by Oxford Reading Tree Online, the Wellington Square
commercial scheme, a wide range of home made story sacks and an extensive
bank of photocopiable worksheets and talking books.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
3.4 Assessment and pupil performance recording sheets are available to cover all
aspects of the Reading Excellence Framework, including progression through
the school’s reading scheme. All literacy recordsshould be carefully
maintained, as relevant to each pupil’s ability level. Meticulous, continuous
assessment of pupil performance within the various stages of reading
acquisition and reading fluency can help enormously for informing effective
strategic interventions in the form of literacy related IEP targets and related
SILOs.
3.5 A powerpoint presentation about the Reading Excellence Framework is
available for staff induction purposes.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
4. Teaching of the key skill of numeracy
4.1 Many of our pupils will continue to function at a relatively early stage of
intellectual development for the rest of their lives so it is important that
numeracy (ie., one of the most important of life skills) is taught in ways that
will, for example, enable a child who has just the most basic of competencies
within mathematical skills and concepts to use their basic abilities in
functionally useful ways. The teaching of mathematics at Barrs Court School,
therefore, is delivered via discreet mathematics lessons and also, perhaps more
significantly, as an essential cross-curricular feature within the lessons of all
other subjects.
4.2 Having a basic ability within numeracy is important for coping with the
complex social and technological demands that typify the modern world so it
is essential we equip our pupils with the mathematical skills and concepts they
will require to cope with everyday living. It is also important we engage pupils
in enjoyable numeracy based activities that will motivate them to exercise a
natural curiosity into problem solving and provide them with sound insights
into mathematical concepts. Everyday practical activities are ideal for helping
pupils understand abstract mathematical concepts through their association
with real life objects, or situations that are familiar to them
4.3 A framework to promote excellence in numeracy and help pupils overcome
barriers associated with dyscalculia is currently being developed to
complement the school’s Reading Excellence Framework, but until this
framework is published, pupils should be empowered to apply numeracy skills
in order to solve problems, make informed choices and so extend their
opportunities to benefit from the ECM outcomes of enjoy and achieve, make a
positive contribution and achieve social and economic well being. The kinds
of practical numeracy activities than can be readily delivered via crosscurricular threads in the lesson plans of other subjects include:
 Using understanding of quantity and number to calculate how many place
settings may be required for a class lunch;
 Using knowledge and understanding of money to make purchases;
 Using knowledge of time to prepare symbolic timetables that indicate the
timing of different activities during a lesson or school day and monitor
outcomes by checking against timelines;
 Using knowledge of duration to calculate the anticipated time it will take
to undertake a journey and work out approximate departure and arrival
times;
 Using knowledge of data management to produce graphs and statistics for
presentation to others;
 Using the vocabulary of shape and space (geometry) to sort items by
shape, size and/or spatial position;
 Using understanding of fractions to divide a pizza into equal parts
4.4 In addition, the school’s Specialist Curriculum for Early Thinking Skills
contains many excellent examples as to how numeracy can be promoted with
pupils who are working at the very earliest stages of mathematical concept, ie.,
those working at Maths P Scale levels 1-4.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
5. The teaching of ICT
5.1 Introduction
Information and Communication Technology forms a critical element of our core
curriculum. As an essentially cross-curricular subject it enhances the quality of
teaching, learning, achievement and attainment across the whole school. We
provide effective and meaningful ways of accessing ICT, ensuring it is facilitated
for the least able pupils. We deliver training and support so that all members of
staff be confident in the teaching of ICT.
5.2 Areas of impact
 Facilitating sensory, perceptual and cognitive function (early thinking
skills);
 Facilitating augmentative modes of communication via the teaching of
cause and effect and use of communication devices;
 Developing alternative modes of communicating via the use of email,
texting, letter writing; on line applications; video conferencing etc.
 Rehearsing and assessing academic abilities especially in cognitive
function relating to memory and mathematics;
 Rehearsing and developing academic abilities in English, especially in
literacy;
 Developing independent research and functional interaction skills via the
use
of the world wide web and internet;
 Promoting creativity via the use of digital film making, music recording
and digital photography;
 Promoting pupil self-advocacy and self-review via the use of digital
profiling.
5.3 Curriculum
At Key Stages 3 and 4, the core ICT curriculum is drawn from EQUALS ICT
(SoW for pupils with Special Educational Needs, 2005). This scheme is enhanced
by a range of cross –curricular learning opportunities including:
 Tuition based on the school’s specialist curriculum for pupils who have
PMLD and complex needs.
 Music, Art and Design Technology SoW promote the use of digital
technology as creative media e.g. Clicker 5 and Sound Beam 2 for the
Music Motivator curriculum.
 Individual learning via ICT based curricula including; RM Maths,
ChooseIt, Smart Phonics and Communicate in Print.
 Use of functional ICT related skills in all subjects of the curriculum.
5.4 Assessment
Teacher assessment is ongoing throughout the academic year with evidence of
pupil achievement and attainment retained in each pupil’s Evidence File with
copies of any accreditations retained in each pupil’s Progress File. To support
cross-curricular ICT assessment we have adopted a pupil P Level assessment
tracker. When specific skills have been achieved they are recorded in the log
providing accurate and current data. This data is transferable into Evidence Files
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
with supporting documents.Reference is made to PIVATS P level descriptors
when making summative assessments as there is sound correlation with the SoW.
5. Hardware resources
All teachers are equipped with a laptop and memory stick for school-related
administration.Each class is equipped with a minimum of two networked
computer workstations and an interactive whiteboard. For group sessions, classes
can access a laptop trolley with an average of six workstations. The school has
four wireless routers which ensuring good coverage throughout the site. Classes
are also provided with a digital camera and printer. There is shared access to a
data projector for use with Power Point and similar audio-visual presentations.
Digital video cameras, music recording equipment together with an Apple Mac
computer are available for film-making projects too.
6. School Website (www.barrscourt.hereford.sch.uk)
Barrs Court have a recently updated website containing a wide selection of data
and information about the school. Once a term classes submit material to their
own dedicated web page. The content and presentation of this work is led by the
pupils.
7. Software
Software is available to support all subjects of the entitlement curriculum and
other areas of teaching and learning under the everyday managerial control of the
school’s specialist teaching assistant for ICT. There is also available to support
subjects of the specialist curriculum under the everyday managerial control of the
school’s specialist teaching assistant for ICT and specialist TAs for specific
subjects as relevant. Subject co-ordinators are given an annual opportunity to
request software as relevant to their subject for purchase via E Credits under the
everyday managerial control of the Deputy Headteacher. Teachers and teaching
assistants can request specific software to be placed onto a selection of computers
to enable them to deliver a particular section of the curriculum via the school’s
specialist teaching assistant for ICT (no other staff member will be authorized to
load software onto the school’s computers)
8. The Intranet
The school network is made up of a number of domains outlined below:
Common Staff Domain: Two folders will be retained in this Domain which in turn
will hold files as follows:
 Folder: The BCS Learning Environment: Details of curricula relating to
each key stage including Schemes of Work, Rolling Programmes,
Resource Lists, 10 week Lesson Outlines, Creative and Inclusive Learning
Activities and copies of subject policies.
 Folder: The BCS Assessment Environment: Details about the
achievements and attainments of the pupils in each class including Annual
Review of SEN and IEP targets; Annual Report to Parents and P level
attainments in the core subjects; progression in Numeracy, Literacy and
Physical Education; accreditation awards and qualifications; behaviour
record; silver book commendations.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
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Miscellaneous: Class teams are welcome to post files about school life that
will enhance provision at the school and assist with inter-departmental
communications
Policy Domain: A read only Domain that will be managed by the senior
management/administrative team which will include the following folders:
Folder: School Policies: Copies of all the school’s policies;
Folder: Assessment, Recording & Reporting: Summative reports and
records of pupil achievement and attainment for informing value added
analysis of whole school performance;
Folder: The Map of Learning: Definitive resource bank for retaining a
central copy of the school’s whole curriculum
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Strategies for Overcoming
Barriers to Learning & Well Being
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Individual Education Plan
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Strategic Interventions in Response to Barriers
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Personalised Learning Styles
The Pupil Profile ~ Focus Groups ~ Special Arrangements
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IEP Targets
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Strategic Intervention Level Objectives
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
1. The Individual Education Plan (IEP)
The Individual Education plan (IEP) defines the kinds of special provision that are
proposed by the school in response to the Aims of Provision as published in a
child’s Statement of Special Educational Need (SEN). The IEP will contain
information about a child’s SEN and the kinds of provision that will be organised in
response to the child’s:
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Personalised learning style: How the school organises teaching and therapeutic
care in response to different types of personal learning styles. The ways in which
we make specific provisions in response to each child’s personalised learning
styles are often referred to as special arrangements;
Barriers to learning and/or well being: How the school prioritises a child’s
idiosyncratic barriers to learning and/or well being in order to facilitate a range
of strategic interventions to help overcome or minimise the disabling effects of
these barriers.
2. Strategic Interventions in Response to Barriers
Strategic Interventions in Response to Barriers (SIRBs) represent the second stage
in the making of school-based provision following agreement about the content of a
child’s IEP. The organisation of SIRBs will reflect the two aspects of a child’s IEP,
ie.:
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Operational details about how a child’s personalised learning style will be
implemented, monitored and reported on (The Pupil Profile);
Operational details about how interventions into a child’s “priority” barriers will
be implemented, monitored and reported on (IEP Targets)
2.1 The Pupil Profile: The Pupil Profile is located at the front of each child’s Pupil
File and is intended to benefit a child by empowering his/her personalised learning
style within the organisation of teaching and learning (including therapeutic care).
For example, if a child’s Pupil Profile includes a reference to the child exhibiting
challenging behaviour, then the profile should have that child’s Behaviour Plan
attached in the profile’s appendices to ensure consistent and empathetic working.
Similarly, any Speech & Language Therapy Programmes, Physiotherapy
Programmes etc., should be attached to ensure a full range of special arrangements
are readily available for a class team to implement. Monitoring should not, however,
just focus on the level of provision being made available, but most pertinently on
the outcomes accruing to the child, including references to the kinds of outcomes
generally associated with Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes, ie., being safe,
healthy, enjoying and achieving, and making a positive contribution and outcomes
associated with the DCFS’s newly defined cross curricular Personal, Learning and
Thinking Skills (PLTs). The kinds of outcome will vary significantly from child to
child and across a broad range of developmental areas. An excellent example of this
kind of ECM related outcome is the benefit that pupil “X” has as an outcome of
engaging her in daily passive movement sessions. Photograph (i) Is the child’s
typical postural alignment on arrival at school and Photograph (ii) Is the child’s
postural alignment at the end of a passive movement session.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Photograph (i)
Photograph (ii)
Before
After
2.2 IEP Targets: Sometimes, a child’s barrier to learning/well being will be of a type
that needs to be defined as an actual target for the child to work towards. These
targets are known as IEP targets. A child’s annual diet of IEP targets will be
identified via two routes:

Some IEP Targets will be identified following the assessment of a child’s level
of functioning when considered against the assessment and diagnostic criteria
found within the school’s Specialist Curriculum; the school’s Reading
Excellence Framework and other relevant sources of expert advice, eg., advice
from a clinical psychologist. These criteria referenced assessments will highlight
major developmental or conceptual “gaps” that some children have. These
developmental gaps can create barriers to learning and /or well being. IEP
Targets are designed to help fill these gaps and enable the child to overcome or
minimise the disabling effects of these barriers.
 The need for other IEP Targets will most likely be prompted after a child has
failed to make 1 level progress within the assessment framework of the National
Curriculum (ie., 1 National Curriculum level proper and/or each of the P levels
underpinning Level 1). This sort of “failure” has often been referred to as “W”
(working towards), or lateral learning. Whatever the label, whenever a child has
been judged to be not making the level of desired progress within the national
criteria, this will automatically trigger a strategic intervention in the form of an
IEP target directly relevant to the subject matter a child has been unable to make
progress in.
2.2.1 An IEP target begins with a clear statement of what a child can already do and
then state what it is that we want him/her to do next. It is this latter statement that
represents the IEP target. However, even this level of objectivity is not sufficient for
ensuring good standards of pupil progression because some targets are likely to be
too large in terms of the inherent skills and understandings that are pre-requisite to a
child ever being able to achieve the target in question. These sorts of “small steps”
or incremental levels can often be identified by application of the process known as
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Task Analysis and it is only through the frequent use of task analysis that teachers
and teaching assistants (TAs) will become proficient in setting effective IEP
Targets. These small steps are known as Strategic Intervention Level Objectives
and are further described below.
2.2.2 An effective IEP Target should not only incorporate the incremental levels that
must be taught in order for a child to achieve the anticipated learning outcome, but
should also provide a “stand alone” introduction to the IEP Target so that even a
stranger to the child would be able to understand and implement the target in
question, eg., a supply teacher. A well written and effective IEP Target should
include the following features:
 The subject or developmental area the target relates to;
 What the child can do currently within this subject which the school wishes to
build upon in order to facilitate further linear progression;
 What the school wishes the child to learn or do next to overcome the barrier that
is inhibiting linear progression;
 What the planning implications are for classroom management and timetabling.
 What incremental levels of learning will make up the actual target (ie., the small
SILO steps identified via task analysis published separately to the IEP Target
pro forma);
2.2.3 Any anticipated ECM outcomes will also be recorded on the IEP Target pro
forma. This is because barriers to learning are often closely related to issues about a
child’s safety, health, enjoyment and ability to make a positive contribution.
3. Strategic Intervention Level Objectives
3.1 It is SILOs that will be most likely to demonstrate the actual rate of progress a
child is making towards overcoming or minimising his/her barriers, as defined by
IEP Targets. This is because progression can only be reported on when there is
demonstrable evidence available with which to record progress objectively. In the
past IEP Targets have often been to be too “large” in scope for a child to achieve
within a school year, or too vaguely defined in order for the school to implement the
target effectively. IEP Targets need to be sufficiently SMART in order to be
effective and breaking a target down into incremental levels (SILOs) is very much
part of the SMART process. Use of the term “objective” has deliberately been
selected in order to underline the need to define very precise outcomes and/or
performance indicators, in order to ensure formative progression (ie., the child is
empowered to build upon concepts and skills that will eventually lead to
achievement of the target in question). Use of the term “level” has deliberately been
selected in order to suggest that incremental learning can be measured for use in the
statistical analysis of whole school performance.
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Objective: Objectives are very small, unambiguous statements about what it is
we want a child to be able to do as a consequence of our strategic intervention.
Objectives are intended to be “tiny” and relatively easy to achieve within a short
time frame. Objectives build upon one another, like the rungs of a ladder, to
enable a child to progress steadily towards the final learning outcome, ie., the
IEP Target.
Level: At the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year a numerical IEP
Achievement Scale was introduced to help monitor the rate of IEP Target
progression across the whole school. Mid-year analysis of this system
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
highlighted flaws within this simplistic approach and a revised numerical
approach is necessary if the school is to have an informed view about the
comparative rates of IEP Target progression pupils make. Without such an
informed view, pupil progression can only be judged against the DCSF
anticipated rate of 2 National Curriculum levels per key stage. In response to
these things, a new numerical formula is being introduced. Instead of an IEP
Target being worth “0”, it will now be worth “1”. However, each of the small,
incremental levels (SILOs) leading up to the target will also be worth “1”, in
much the same way as each P Level below Level 1 of the National Curriculum
is now counted by the DCSF as representing 1 National Curriculum level gain
(eg., the same as a National Curriculum level proper). There does not have to be
a maximum, or minimum, number of levels inherent within an IEP Target. This
is because the number of levels underpinning an IEP target will vary according
to the nature of the target and the ability of an individual child to assimilate new
learning and use this in a formative way to achieve the next level. This scoring
procedure will enable the rate of progression across all pupils to be judged
equitably, regardless of the severity of each pupil’s learning disability. The
assumption underpinning this procedure is that the most profoundly disabled
learners will require a greater number of incremental levels in order for them to
achieve an IEP Target and more academically able pupils will require fewer, but
the rate of relative progress may be anticipated to be roughly the same because
of the greater degree of differentiation being provided lesser able pupils.. This
procedure requires all teachers to be proficient in setting IEP Targets and SILOs
so judgements about teacher performance, therefore, will be partially informed
via the analysis of pupil performance data within IEP Targets, as it has to be via
the analysis of pupil performance in core subjects of the National Curriculum.
3.2 SILOs will be defined via a separate pro forma to the “parent” IEP Target, but
obviously the two pro forma are very closely linked and form part of the same
strategy.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Pupil Name:
The Individual Education Plan (IEP)
Types of provision specified in the child’s Statement of SEN:
Current National Curriculum Levels and End of Year Targets :
Current
End of Year
English:
English:
Maths:
Maths:
Pupil Profile
SIRB
(Child’s personalised learning style)
(Special provisions)
List of all Barriers to Learning and/or Well Being
Tick if current
IEP target
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Pupil Name:
IEP Target
Subject and strand or developmental area:
Related ECM/PLT outcome:
Description of current ability the school intends to build on and/or
description of barrier preventing further improvement:
Actual IEP Target to overcome/minimise barrier to learning/well being:
What the child will be able to do as a consequence:
General planning details that need to be built into class timetable
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Pupil Name:
IEP Target Strategic Intervention Level Objectives
IEP Target
SILOs
(introductory level at top followed by other levels leading to full target)
Small Step Objective
& Performance Indicator (where relevant)
When
Resources
(what & who)
Date
Achieved
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
Strategies for the
Transition to Adulthood
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Transition Targets

Progression Pathways

Rolling Programme of Accredited Modules at Key Stage 5

Exemplar SoW for Work Related Learning

Exemplar SoW for Independent Living Skills
(under development)
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
1. Introduction to Transition Targets
1.1 This Strategy for helping manage the Transition to Adulthood is designed to help
pupils benefit from the five key outcomes of Every Child Matters (ECM), ie., for
children to:
 Be healthy;
 Be safe;
 Enjoy and achieve;
 Make a positive contribution;
 Achieve social & economic well-being.
It is also aimed at enabling pupils achieve outcomes associated with the DCSF
framework of Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLT), ie., for children to
be:
 Independent enquirers;
 Team workers;
 Creative Thinkers;
 Self-managers;
 Reflective workers;
 Effective participators.
1.2 Well organised, vocationally biased learning has been demonstrated as being very
effective for facilitating:
 A significant impact on pupil motivation and success;
 Enhanced learning and improved employability skills;
 Aptitudes and capabilities not required from more academic subjects.
(Adapted from the Learning & Skills Development Agency 2007)
For these reasons, the teaching matter associated with this strategy will have well
organised vocationally biased learning at its core, suitably differentiated to ensure
relevance to pupils of all abilities and disabilities.
1.3 The setting of Transition Targets is part of the statutory Statement of SEN
procedure and the closely associated Annual Review of SEN of which Transition
Planning is mandatory for all pupils aged 14 years and over.
2. Transition Planning
2.1 The broad range of activities included in the arrangements for managing the
Transition to Adulthood include those generally associated with:
 Supported and independent living;
 Work related learning;
 Enterprise education;
 Work experience;
 College link courses.
For pupils who have severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties
(SLD/PMLD) these types of vocationally biased activities have an immediate
relationship with the process of Transition Planning and how these pupils are
prepared for the world after school.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
2.2 Transition Planning is a statutory procedure that, at Barrs Court School,
represents the fundamental process by which pupils will be ultimately empowered
to “benefit from a meaningful, contributing and rewarding adulthood” (Barrs
Court Mission Statement, 2003). Because of the contingent relationship between
vocational learning and the content of Transition Plans, it is intended that the
content of Transition Plan Targets will be based on the acquisition of sets of
relevant skills and understandings, cross referenced to the key outcomes
associated with ECM and PLT as described above (1.1). The spirit of the “Person
Centred Planning” approach currently fashionable in Adult Learning Disability
Services is already an integral feature within the Transition Planning process and
it is imperative that planning for the transition to adulthood is centred on the
child.
2.3 Because pupils on roll at Barrs Court School have widely varying potential for
achieving independent lifestyles, access to the full range of Transition Plan
related activities should not be considered as a pupil’s automatic entitlement. An
individual pupil’s access to related activities will be determined after due
consideration of how best a pupil can be assisted to achieve a satisfactory
standard of achievement within the outcomes associated with ECM and PLT ie.,
what are the most essential life skills an individual pupil can realistically be
expected to achieve?
3. Organisation of Transition Plan learning
3.1 Transition Plan learning is a component within the whole curriculum and the
percentage of time allocated to related studies will increase incrementally through
Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.
3.2 Transition Plan learning will be sub-divided into a number of learning areas that
will include:
3.2.1 Supported and Independent Living
 Eating and drinking skills including meal preparation;
 Dressing skills including the selection/purchase of appropriate clothing;
 Personal hygiene and grooming;
 Basic skills for maintaining good health;
 Housekeeping skills;
 Independent travel skills;
 Self-determination and assertiveness;
3.2.2 Work Related Learning and Work Experience
There will be a set of 10 vocationally biased Transition Targets to link transition
plan to the learning outcomes associated with:
 Japonica work related learning (NSP; ALL & ASDAN modules);
 Herefordshire Growing Point (NSP & ASDAN modules)
 Food Hygiene Certificate;
 Junior Leaders Certificate;
 Fully sheltered transition preparation in adult day care destinations;
 Fully sheltered school based work experience;
 School supervised work experience in local community venues (previously
called community service);
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes & Strategic Interventions (ARSI)
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Supervised vocational preparation organised via Workmatch;
Work experience with local employers (NVQ Level 1 in Retail)
Work experience leading to supported employment post school.
3.3 Enterprise Education will be relevant to pupils at Key Stage 5, but pupils at Key
Stage 4 will have an entitlement to an introductory Enterprise Education Scheme
of Work. At this school enterprise education will include:
 An introductory SoW for enterprise education (KS4)
 Enterprise Education (KS5)
3.4 College link courses will be relevant primarily to pupils at Key Stage 5 but
pupils at Key Stage 4 may also have access to taster courses at local colleges of
further education to help them exercise informed choices about the selection of
post school venues and/or rehearse specific Transition Plan Targets. The school
will seek to facilitate link courses with:
 Hereford College of Art & Design;
 Hereford College of Technology;
 Royal National College for the Blind.
4. Assessment and the accreditation of Transition Plan learning for pupils
aged 14-19 years
5.1The assessment of pupil performance will be undertaken by reference to whether
performance relates to:
 Achievements within individual Transition Targets;
 Achievements as they relate to a pupil’s perceived capacity for improvement
within the framework of learning outcomes as categorised under the five
ECM outcomes and those outcomes listed under PLT;
And/Or
 Attainments as they relate to a pupil’s progression within the national criteria
(eg., the P Scale levels of the National Curriculum and criteria relating to
qualifications and accreditation frameworks such as ASDAN; NSP; ALL;
NVQ.
5.2 Evidence of pupil progression will be retained in accordance with school policy
for assessment, recording and reporting and progress will be reported via the
Annual Review of SEN and Annual Report to Parents.
5.5 External quality assurance for standards of teaching and learning will be sought
from relevant agencies and will include Careers Quality Mark.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Progression Pathways Supporting the Transition to Adulthood
Further/Higher Education
Employment
GCSE or
Diploma
Foundation
Diploma or GCSE
via inclusion links
with mainstream
schools & colleges
Apprenticeship
Or
Employment
Further
learning at
level 2
Supported
employment or
independent
living
To skilled
work or an
apprenticeship via
Workmatch &
Riverside Training
To first,
full level 2 via
college link courses
To supported
employment,
independent
living via Adult
Disability Team
Foundation Learning Tier progression pathways
Accredited Courses
Vocational
Key Skills
NVQ 1 (retail)
ASDAN
NSP
ALL
Getting a Life
Workmatch Vocational Prep
Work Experience
Food Hygiene Certificate
Enterprise Education
Literacy
Numeracy
ICT
Pre-Entry Level progression pathways
Individual Transition
Plan Targets
Independent living skills
Work related learning
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Key Stage 5 (16-19 years)
Three Year Rolling Programme of Accredited Learning
Year
1
Primary Modules for completion by all pupils:
 CREATIVE STUDIES- Performing Arts
 CULTURAL – The Environment
September to February
Independent Study Modules (ISM’s)
Theme: Work Related
(students complete 1 module)
Modules: Using ICT
Personal safety
NVQ Level 1(Year 14 pupils only)
Year
2
Independent Study Modules
(ISM’s)
Theme: Leisure/Recreation/Sport
(students complete 1 module)
Modules: Sport and leisure
Sports studies
NVQ Level 1(Year 14 pupils only)
Primary Modules for completion by all pupils:
 CULTURAL – The Wider World
 LEISURE/RECREATION/SPORT – Animal Care
September to February
Year
3
February to July
February to July
Independent Study Modules (ISM’s)
Theme: Personal
development/Citizenship/PSHE
Independent Study Modules
(ISM’s)
Theme: Creative Studies
(students complete 1 module)
(students complete 1 module)
Modules: Getting to know a group
Myself and others
NVQ Level 1(Year 14 pupils only)
Modules: Creativity
Making pictures
NVQ Level 1(Year 14 pupils only)
Primary Modules for completion by all pupils::
 CREATIVE STUDIES – Sound, Rhythm and Music
 WORK RELATED - Horticulture
September to February
Independent Study Modules (ISM’s)
Theme: Independent Living Skills
(students complete 1 module)
Modules: Independent living
Everyday living
NVQ Level 1(Year 14 pupils only
February to July
Independent Study Modules
(ISM’s)
Theme: Cultural
(students complete 1 module)
Modules: The world around us
Current Affairs
NVQ Level 1(Year 14 pupils only)
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Extract from one of the school’s assessment frameworks for linking Transition Plan Targets to
Work Related Learning
Accredited Work Related Learning in a Farming Environment
NSP (Animal Care / Horticulture / Environment)
ALL (Environment)
ASDAN Towards Independence (Improving the Environment)
Linking Vocationally Biased Transition Plan Targets to Accredited Work Related Learning
CODE
List of Transition Targets
TF 1 To research the different functions and features of out of school work venues in order to inform
decisions about future careers
TF 2 To research job descriptions and person specifications associated with different jobs
TF 3 To work as part of a team
TF 4 To demonstrate good time management for the completion of a set task
TF 5 To demonstrate a good understanding of what constitutes discrimination, bullying and harassment in
the workplace
TF 6 To carry out work related tasks with due regard for health and safety
TF 7 To use basic communication, numeracy and literacy skills in a functional way for the completion of a
work related task
TF 8 To be able to follow routines in a set order for the completion of a task
TF 9 To use initiative in the workplace by undertaking basic research and indicating findings to others
TF10 To accept personal responsibility in the workplace
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Transition Plan Targets
Associated Learning Outcomes
TF1 To research the different
functions and features of out of
school work venues in order to
inform decisions about future
careers
Student can:
TF1.Identify three different establishments where
animals are kept and cared for
TF1.2 Identify the main purpose of each of these
establishments
TF1.3 Identify three different activities carried out
in an animal care situation
TF1.4 Identify three different job roles in animal
care
Japonica
Animal Care
National Skills Profile
Module: 1
Grade: Third
Module title:
Find out about animal care
ECM
 Social & Economic
Well Being
PLT
 Independent enquirers
 Self-managers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
Student can:
TF2.1 Select a job role in animal care to find out
about
TF2.2 Identify three key tasks of this job role
TF2.3 Identify appropriate training and/or
qualifications for this job role
TF2.4 Identify personal skills useful for this job
role
TF2.5 Identify appropriate clothing for this job
role and the reason/s for wearing it
Identify the usual working pattern for this job role
Japonica
Animal Care
National Skills Profile
Module: 2
Grade: Third
Module title:
Select and find out about a
job role in animal care
ECM
 Be healthy
 Enjoy & Achieve
 Positive Contribution
 Social & Economic
Well Being
PLT
 Independent enquirers
 Self-managers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
TF2 To research job
descriptions and person
specifications associated with
different jobs
Venue & Accredited
Modules
Related ECM Outcomes
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Transition Plan Targets
Associated Learning Outcomes
Venue & Accredited
Modules
Japonica
Animal Care
National Skills Profile
Module: 3
Grade: Third
Module title:
Assist with handling and
moving animals
TF9 To use initiative in the
workplace by undertaking
basic research and indicating
findings to others
Student can:
TF9.1 Identify at least three reasons why an
animal needs to be handled
TF6 To carry out work related
tasks with due regard for
health and safety
Student can:
TF6.1 On two different days, handle an animal in
a way that minimises the risks to yourself and
others
TF6.2 On two different days handle an animal in a
way which minimises the risk of stress and injury
to the animal
TF6.3 To wash hands after handling animals
Japonica
Animal Care
National Skills Profile
Module: 3
Grade: Third
Module title:
Assist with handling and
moving animals
TF4 To demonstrate good time
management for the
completion of a set task
Student can:
TF4.1 Identify at least two appropriate feedstuffs
for an animal with which you are familiar
TF4.2 Identify the equipment required to prepare
and serve the animal feed
TF4.3 On two different days, follow instructions
to prepare the correct amount of feed
TF4.4 On two different days, dispose of stale and
unusable feed
TF4.5 On two different days, clean and store the
equipment used to prepare and serve the feed
TF4.6 On two different days, supply clean water
Japonica
Animal Care
National Skills Profile
Module: 4
Grade: Third
Module title:
Prepare animal feed
TF9.2 Identify at least one animal which you
work with that can safely be handled
Related ECM Outcomes
ECM
 Be safe
 Be healthy
 Positive Contribution
PLT
 Independent enquirers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
ECM
 Be safe
 Be healthy
 Positive Contribution
PLT
 Independent enquirers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
ECM
 Enjoy & Achieve
 Positive Contribution
 Social & Economic
Well Being
PLT
 Independent enquirers
 Self-managers
 Reflective workers
 Effective participators
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Summary
of
Assessment Procedures
Introduction to Assessment Procedures
Baseline Profiling
Literacy ~ Communication ~ Sensory ~ Motor ~ ICT
Disability Related Assessment Criteria
Communication ~ Sensory ~ Motor
Cross-Curricular Assessment Criteria
Literacy
Exemplar Common Assessment & Monitoring Form
with Witness Statement
Accredited Learning
ALL ~ NSP ~ ASDAN
Qualifications
NVQ
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
1. Introduction
1.1 At Barrs Court School a range of assessment procedures are used to ensure
that the school’s provisions are resulting in positive “whole child” outcomes.
Learning disabilities can be extremely complex and they can impact on
every aspect of a child’s development so it is important the school monitors
how well it is performing in terms of individual children’s progress. This
section of the ARSI is intended to serve as a summary of the school’s
assessment routes and provide examples of the kinds of assessment
procedures which are in everyday use. Elsewhere in this ARSI document
there are additional examples of assessment procedures (see sections on
Specialist and Entitlement Curricula) and this section needs to be read in
conjunction with those examples.
1.2 Some formative assessment schedules are used to baseline a child’s abilities
within basic areas of function, particularly in communication skills, sensory
development and motor development. Similar schedules may also used to
baseline a child’s baseline abilities in the acquisition of literacy skills.
Information from this sort of assessment can help inform a child’s Personal
Profile to ensure that the implications for personalised learning can be
properly addressed and to establish the extent of a pupil’s barrier to learning
and/or well being. (Examples of these sorts of diagnostic assessment
schedules have been provided later in this section for reference purposes).
1.3 Other assessments are used to monitor the rates at which children are making
progress across the whole curriculum. These assessment routes are used to
monitor:
 Outcomes resulting from the implementation of personalised learning targets
described in a child’s Pupil Profile. This information is likely to include
information from outcomes relating to special arrangements such as
behaviour strategies, therapeutic programmes, Focus Group activities, Duke
of Edinburgh awards, Silver Book commendations etc. Some of the
assessment information will relate to how well a child is overcoming barriers
to learning/well being that are not addressed via IEP targets. Some ECM and
PLT outcomes are also very likely to be assessed via this route ;
 Outcomes relating to the review of IEP Targets and corresponding sets of
SILOs that are used to enable pupils overcome barriers to learning and well
being;
 Outcomes relating to the review of Transition Targets in independent living
skills and work related learning that are used to prepare pupils for the world
after school;
 Outcomes relating to the assessment of Annual and end of Key Stage
curriculum targets in English, Maths and Science (as a minimum) to ensure
optimal attainment (see teacher guidelines for P scale level assessment;
 Outcomes relating to continuous teacher assessment of pupil performance in
the entitlement curriculum’s map of SoW at each key stage;
 Outcomes relating to each pupil’s annual number of accredited modules
(Key Stages 4 & 5);
 Outcomes relating to end of Key Stage qualification targets for high
attaining pupils (Key Stages 4 & 5);
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
1.4 Depending on a child’s personal circumstances, there may be other informal
assessment routes in operation, eg., monitoring of outcomes from temporary
changes in medication regimes.
1.5 An assortment of exemplar assessment schedules are copied below for
reference purposes:
2. Guidelines for informing teacher assessment in the National Curriculum
Levels and P Scale Levels
2.1 Levels of pupil attainment, in all subjects of the National Curriculum, are assessed
continuously during the school year. Teachers undertake their assessments by
reviewing examples of pupil work as they deliver each SoW and awarding
National Curriculum levels, or P Scale levels for those pupils working below level
1. To assist teachers make judgements about levels of attainment, each SoW has
its own set of learning outcomes cross-referenced to the P Scale levels.
2.2 The CASPA software used for analysing data about pupil attainment demands that
pupil attainment in the National Curriculum is reported in the form of sub-levels,
ie.,the small steps that make up one P Scale level. A pupil has demonstrate that
s/he can satisfy 80% of the learning inherent within a P Scale level before that
level of attainment can be awarded so the sub-levels represent the incremental
“small steps” that lead to the award of a full level. Although the process of
identifying these sub-levels can be onerous, this minutia of assessment also helps
to illustrate rates of pupil progression even when the pace of learning is very slow.
Some schools rely on commercial assessment schemes such as PIVATS to inform
judgements about progression with sub-levels, but in the ARSI approach, sublevel progression is defined by reference to the amount of evidence produced by a
pupil.
2.3 In the P Scale levels, each P level has four sub-levels: .2, .4, .6 & .8 with
progression through these sub-levels dependent upon the number of assessed
evidence sheets a pupil produces:
.2
.4
.6
.8
1 evidence
2 evidence
3 evidence
4 evidence
sheet
sheets
sheets
sheets
2.4 Because Herefordshire local authority demands that pupils must attain 80% of a P
Scale level before that level can be awarded, it is possible, in theory, to award a
full level when only 4 pieces of evidence have been assessed as being at that level.
However, a 5th piece of evidence makes a teacher’s judgement more secure by
providing more examples of pupil work for external moderation. It is left to the
teacher’s own discretion whether a 5th piece of evidence is deemed necessary to
secure a full level award for an individual pupil.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Exemplar Baseline Assessment Schedule taken from the Specialist
Curriculum for Early Communication from which information is used to
inform a child’s Personal Profile in the area of Communicative Ability
1.
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Activity Level
Does the pupil engage in any spontaneous activity? Give details.
Is the pupil passive or active most of the time?
Do the pupil’s actions appear to be mostly random or intentional
behaviours?
Does the pupil recognise / respond to changes in their surroundings? If
so, how?
Is the pupil’s activity directed mostly towards objects, people or events
in the environment?
Does the pupil withdraw from contact with people?
Does the pupil withdraw from contact with objects?
Is any of the pupil’s activity self-directed and if so, what form does it
take?
Does the pupil engage in stereotyped behaviours?
2. Motivation
Does the pupil need very strong incentives or encouragement to begin
or change an activity?
What incentives or rewards are effective with the pupil eg. favourite
object, praise, hug, food, drink, etc?
3. Independence
Does the pupil show awareness of their own needs eg. hunger,
discomfort, attention, etc? Give details.
Does the pupil show a preference for specific people, objects, activities,
etc? Give details.
What strategies does the pupil use to attract your attention?
What strategies does the pupil use to indicate needs or preferences?
4. Interaction with others
Does the pupil show awareness of the presence of others? If so, how?
Does the pupil accept physical contact?
Does the pupil withdraw or resist when approached by others?
Is the pupil passive when approached by others?
Does the pupil show pleasure when approached by others?
Does the pupil respond to talking directed towards him/herself? If so,
how?
Does the pupil respond to talking in general?
Does the pupil demand attention? If so, how?
Does the pupil exhibit different responses with different people?
Does the pupil vocalise or engage in turntaking activities?
Does the pupil initiate interaction intentionally? If so, how?
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
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5. Communication
Does the pupil express need or discomfort by crying, vocalising or body
movement?
Does the pupil attend to the person who is communicating with him? If
so, how?
Does the pupil appear to want to communicate? How does he/she
indicate this?
Does the pupil respond appropriately to simple spoken communication
accompanied by gesture / signs? Give examples.
Does the pupil communicate consistently through body language or
gesture? Give details.
Does the pupil communicate consistently through vocalisation?
Does the pupil communicate consistently through use of
communication aids, speech input devices, etc. (specify type)?
Does the pupil communicate consistently through use of signs (specify
signs used)?
Does the pupil communicate consistently through use of symbols
(specify symbols used)?
Does the pupil communicate consistently through use of speech
(specify words used)?
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Exemplar assessment criteria taken from the Specialist Curriculum
for Early Communication Skills in the area of Speaking and Listening
from which information is used to help identify IEP Targets
SL.1 To develop oral-motor skills of sucking, chewing, licking,
swallowing, lip closure and breath control
SL.2 To acquire a persistent self image
SL.3 To develop an understanding of the immediate surroundings within a
responsive environment with limited distractions
SL.4 To discover how their body moves and the effect their actions can
have on the environment
SL.5 To develop an awareness of self in relation to others
SL.6 To locate and track sounds
SL.7 To explore named objects and their function
SL.8 To experience vocalising
SL.9 To look at and listen attentively to another person speaking
SL.10 To respond to the sound of their own name
SL.11 To anticipate actions and events
SL.12 To use body language / natural gesture to communicate basic needs
and emotions
SL.13 To imitate actions / sounds with and without objects
SL.14 To vocalise with intent to communicate
SL.15 To initiate and maintain interaction with a familiar person
SL.16 To work with interactive toys and equipment in order to develop
more complex and intentional actions on the environment
SL.17 To activate and listen to speech and a range of sounds through the
use of ICT and access devices
SL.18 To link pictures to named, familiar objects, people and places
SL.19 To develop an effective means of expressing choices, needs and
preferences
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Exemplar assessment schedule taken from the
Reading Excellence Framework and used for
helping baseline a child’s stage of literacy
acquisition
Stage
Logograhic
Phase
Stage of Reading Skills
Pupil can:
Recognise a range of familiar words, may be
able to read or write familiar words by rote.
Recognises familiar logos, e.g. McDonalds,
Coca-Cola, Disney. Will read these logos, even
when some details, or letters, have been
changed so that they do not actually read as
McDonalds, Coca-Cola, or Disney. This is
because the word has been learned as a whole
entity, by the “look and say” method.
Alphabetic
Phase
Begins to use their knowledge of letter- sound
relationships to read new words. They do not
have to learn every word on an individual basis.
Pupils begin to link one letter to one sound, this
will help them to spell or read e.g. c/a/t, cat, or
d/o/g, dog.
Orthographic
Phase
More proficient readers: can recognise and read
groups of letters, including: prefixes (word
beginnings), suffixes (word endings), digraphs
(two letters making a single sound), and roots
of words. Combine knowledge of parts of
words with knowledge of letter sounds to
accurately read new words. Can use this
information to accurately spell words. Can
read and spell independently. Proficiency
increases during this final phase.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Assessment schedule used for identifying a child’s current
difficulties in early reading
Early Reading Checklist (DfES, 2001)
Early Reading Skills.
Book Introduction
Knows how to hold a book
Knows front and back cover
looks through book without being prompted
to do so
Knows when to start reading
Left page is read before right page
Strategy Check
Matches a spoken word to a written word
Uses pictures to access meaning
Reads the print from left to right on two
lines of text
Can find known words within the text
Searches for information cues
Cross checks on information cues
Independent reading
Reads using expression
Reads using phrasing
Notices if something doesn’t make sense
Attempts to self correct
Uses initial letter sounds when reading
words
Is able to segment and blend CVC words
Recognises high frequency words
Has a second try when stuck on a word
Achieved
Skill
Page 1
Areas to Work On.
Note any Difficulties.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
Attainment Routes and Strategic Interventions
Exemplar assessment schedule of learning outcomes from a
KS3 Science SoW cross referenced to National Curriculum
and used to inform continuous teacher assessment
Pupils explore assorted magnets and objects / materials provided by picking
up and moving items; placing them together, etc.
P4
Pupils remember that moving a magnet closer to certain objects may cause
the magnet to ‘stick’ to the object. Pupils communicate awareness of what
has happened by gesture, facial expression, vocalising, etc. Pupils
understand and use some single words within the context of magnet
activities eg. pull, spoon, etc.
Pupils indicate appropriately ( by pointing, gesture, reaching, eye pointing,
etc.) when asked ‘Where is the magnet?’
P5
Pupils engage in experiments with a range of magnets and objects to find
out if items are magnetic or not eg. assorted objects made from wood,
metal, plastic, rubber, cloth, etc.
Pupils explore classroom / school environment, with prompting, to discover
magnetic properties of different objects and materials
Pupils recognise that not all objects can be picked up with a magnet.
Pupils group objects according to strongly contrasting properties eg. wood
and metal; metal and rubber, etc.
P6
Pupils observe the movement that takes place when magnets are placed on
or near certain objects eg. when a magnet is placed close to a pile of paper
clips or under a sheet of paper with iron filings on; when one magnet is
held near another magnet such as in a magnetic fishing game or to move a
magnetic model boat across water
Pupils sort objects / materials into groups eg. magnetic and non-magnetic.
P7
Pupils understand and use some simple vocabulary relating to magnets eg.
magnet, metal, push away, pull towards, stick to, pick up, etc.
Pupils explore whether the pull of the magnet can pass through other
materials eg. paper, thin plastic, cloth, rubber, wood, etc. to see whether
they still ‘stick’ to each other.
P8
Pupils explore and observe similarities / differences in features of magnetic
/ non-magnetic items eg. wooden, plastic and metal spoons; steel cans /
aluminium cans.
Pupils can communicate their findings eg. these stick to the magnet; these
do not stick to the magnet.
Pupils indicate which magnet is the strongest eg. using a range of magnets
to pick up metal paper clips (all same size) and counting how many paper
clips each magnet can pick up at once
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
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Exemplar Transition to Adulthood Work Related Monitoring Assessment Schedule
Pupil Name:
Transition Plan Target Monitoring
List of Vocationally Biased
Transition Targets
1. To research the different functions and
features of out of school work venues in
order to inform decisions about future
careers
2. To research job descriptions and person
specifications associated with different
jobs
3. To work as part of a team
4. To demonstrate good time management
for the completion of a set task
5. To demonstrate a good understanding of
what constitutes discrimination, bullying
and harassment in the workplace
Codes for Completed Work
Related &Work
Experience Outcomes
Evidence of ECM
Outcomes
Evidence of PLT
Outcomes
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Recording & Reporting
Pupil Progress
Exemplar Common Assessment & Monitoring Form
with Witness Statement
Files
Pupil File ~ Evidence File ~ Progress File ~ Accreditation Files
Reports
Annual Review of SEN ~ Transition Plan ~ Annual Report to Parents
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Exemplar Common Assessment & Monitoring Form used to record
evidence of pupil achievement and attainment
Pupil Name:
Date:
Photocopy of pupil’s work/Photograph of the pupil at work
Description of learning experience and any pertinent observations
Subject & National Curriculum Level
IEP Target / SILO Reference
ECM/PLT Reference
Accreditation Scheme Reference
Statement of Attainment
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The Pupil File
The Pupil Profile
The Pupil Profile is part of the school’s SIRB infrastructure and represents
information that is essential for securing effective special educational provision. The
Pupil Profile should describe a child’s personalised learning style, together with a
corresponding statement about what “special arrangements” (ie. specific provision)
needs to be implemented to help empower the child and minimise any barriers
associated with the child’s disabilities. These important needs should be written
sufficiently clearly so a class team can monitor the progress a child makes in
overcoming his/her barriers to learning and well being. As relevant, specific mention
should be made of ways in which the pupil can be helped to benefit from ECM and
PLT related outcomes so these too can be monitored and recorded.
Pupil Profile
SIRB
(Child’s personalised learning style)
(Special provisions)
List of all Barriers to Learning and/or Well Being
Tick if current
IEP target
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Pupil Profiles should be written succinctly, in objective, first person terms* and
updated in October of each year with a copy attached to a pupil’s Annual Review so
the local authority may have up to date information with which to update Statements.
Whenever a pupil has a significant need, ie., the pupil has a care plan; behaviour plan;
physiotherapy programme etc. then mention of the existence of these important
guidelines must be made in the profile and a copy of the actual programme attached
immediately behind the profile to facilitate implementation, monitoring and reporting.
* It is intended that more able pupils will contribute to writing their own Pupil Profile
as part of their Transition Plan to adulthood, so hence the use of the first person in the
profile.
Other Sections
Intervention Programmes
Immediately following the Pupil Profile there should be a section containing copies of
all intervention programmes required for working with a specific pupil, including:
•
Current behaviour plan;
•
Current care plan ;
•
Current communication schedule;
•
Current physiotherapy programme;
•
Current postural care guidelines;
•
ASD schedule
•
Any other pertinent guidelines
Permission Slips
Immediately following the Intervention Programmes section there should be copies of
all parental permission slips so class team members know what activities are agreed
by parents together with any that are prohibited.
Reports
The next and final section of the Pupil File should contain the current Annual Review
of SEN and associated IEP/Transition Targets and the current Annual Report to
Parents.
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The Evidence File
Section 1: IEP Targets & Associated SILOs
Copies of Common Monitoring and Assessment Forms should be completed and
added to the file each time a staff member observes progression within a pupil’s IEP
targets and associated SILOs plus progression in other barriers that are not currently
being managed via an IEP Target, eg., evidence from focus groups; hydrotherapy;
rebound therapy; behaviour programmes etc. as all of these provisions are intended to
help minimise the handicapping affect of a pupil’s idiosyncratic disabilities. A witness
statement must also be completed to describe the actual progression that has been
noted, plus any other pertinent information that may relate to ECM or PLT outcomes.
Section 2: Attainment in the National Curriculum
Copies of Common Monitoring and Assessment Forms should be completed and
added to the file each time a pupil demonstrates new learning in subjects of the
National Curriculum/FE Curriculum. A witness statement should be completed to
describe the actual progression that has been noted plus any other pertinent
information such as the National Curriculum level awarded. Section Two should be
sub-divided by reference to specific subjects. For pupils at Key Stages 4 & 5 it is
likely that some evidence will have to be duplicated from that which is also being
retained for national accreditation (ALL;NSP;ASDAN) and the teacher will need to
decide which subject the evidence pertains to and what P level grade is to be awarded.
For the English sub section, careful evidence will need to be retained about a pupil’s
progression within literacy (reading scheme, phonological awareness, first 25 words
etc.). For mathematics, half termly RM maths print outs should be added for those
pupils who are accessing RM Maths. Detail from these finely tuned assessment
procedures for literacy and numeracy can be very helpful for informing IEP targets in
these important cross curricular key skills.
Section 3: Transition Plan Target Sheets
(Independent Living & Work Related Learning)
Copies of Common Monitoring and Assessment Forms should be completed and
evidence retained each time a pupil demonstrates progression within his/her set of
Transition Plan Targets. A witness statement should be completed to describe the
actual progression that has been noted, plus any other pertinent information that may
relate to ECM or PLT outcomes.
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The Progress File
Teachers should keep an up to date “contents” page at the front of each Progress File
to list each new award, or certificate, as it is added to the file, together with a date for
the award and a quick reference as to whether the award may also represent a positive
outcome for the learner in terms of ECM and PLT related criteria.
Maintenance of the Progress File is essentially a teacher responsibility. The evidence
to be retained in a Progress File should include:
 Copies of any in school certificates that have been awarded, eg.,
commendation award for 20 entries in the Silver Book; swimming certificates,
rebound therapy etc.
 Copies of all nationally recognised accreditation certificates, awards or
qualifications a pupil may have gained during his/her school career (eg. ALL;
ASDAN; NSP; NVQ; Food Hygiene Certificate).
 Copies of any extra curricular awards or certificates a pupil might gain, eg.
Duke of Edinburgh Award.
 Copies of any summative monitoring pro forma (eg. Transition Plan Target
Monitoring Pro Forma)
Accreditation Files
Much of the learning that pupils undertake at Key Stages 4 & 5 is cross referenced to
national accreditation schemes such as ALL; NSP; and; ASDAN. Evidence of the
learning being achieved by pupils that is relevant to accredited schemes needs to be
kept in discreet files for the purpose of assessment and regional moderation. However,
it is also likely that some of the evidence will be replicated for inclusion into Evidence
Files, particularly where this work relates to the core subjects of the National
Curriculum. Accreditation Files need to be organised in strict accordance with
national guidelines and guidance is available via the school’s accredited tutors.
Evidence of pupil learning is moderated in school before being submitted for
moderation and verification on a regional basis. When verification is confirmed, the
accreditation scheme organisers issue an award in the form of a certificate. A copy of
each certificate needs to be retained in Progress Files whilst originals may be retained
by the pupil.
Barrs Court Specialist (SEN) School
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The Annual Review of SEN Report
September-October
1. Complete IEP pro forma
 Define personal learning style and
write Personal Profile supported by
any therapeutic interventions and
special arrangements;
 Complete list of all barriers to
learning and/or well being.
2. Complete SILOs for priority IEP
Targets.
3. Confirm current levels in core
subjects and targets for end of year
and end of key stage.
The Annual Review (end October)
1. Annual Review end of the first half term
to ensure class team has ownership of
Personal Profile, IEP targets, SILOs and
predicted end of year core subject
targets.
2. Pupil File updated
3. Evidence File has records of
achievements/attainment from Sept-Oct
to endorse Annual Review report.
4. Transition Plan (as relevant) completed
(see quick guide)
5. Specialist TAs submit records from
Focus Groups and individual support
sessions together with any draft SILOs
as relevant to circumstances of pupil
under review.
The Annual Report (July)
1. Levels of attainment are reported in all subjects.
2. Targets in core subjects are predicted for end of next school year
and end of key stage (where this is different).
3. Summary reports about pupil performance are provided in all
subjects with specific comment on ECM and PLT outcomes.
4. Summary reports provided for all accredited learning with specific
comment on ECM and PLT outcomes.
5. Levels of achievement in IEP targets and associated SILOs
reported.
6. Levels of achievement in Transition Targets reported with specific
comment on ECM and PLT outcomes.
Termly Appraisals
1. Pupil, Evidence & Progress Files
appraised three times per year by
SMT:
• Autumn term as part of Annual Review
procedure;
• Spring term to monitor rates of
progress and moderate evidence;
• Summer term as part of the Annual
Report procedure.
2. In the spring and summer term
appraisals, subject co-ordinators
monitor and moderate evidence of
pupil progression within their relevant
subjects and use data to inform their
annual subject reports to governors.
Use of Data
1. Individual pupil attainment analysed to give value added
indications and test predicted attainment levels being set by
teachers for the coming year and end of key stage (undertaken
by subject co-ordinators and SMT).
2. Rates of IEP Target/SILO achievement and Transition Target
achievement analysed to give value added indications.
3. Performance data analysed via CASPA by reference to year
group and disability type, both in house and nationally, and
used to inform PDIs and SDIP.
4. Tracking of ECM and PLT related outcomes.
5. Data on end of key stage attainment levels submitted to DCSF
and SIP.
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The Transition Plan
Progress a pupil has made
in Transition Plan targets
Objective progress a pupil has
made towards preparing for
life after school with specific
reference to:
1. Independent living skills
2. Work related learning
Progress should be crossreferenced to:
 ECM Outcomes
 PLT Outcomes
Transition Pathway
The pupil should be assisted
to complete the “My Life My
Future” pro forma and/or this
task should be completed by a
trusted advocate (the
specialist TA for Transition
pathways is able to assist with
this task).
Transition Action Plan
During the review meeting the
headteacher, or nominated
lead worker, will make a
record of all Transition Plan
related action points and
copies of this Action Plan will
be forwarded to all relevant
key players.
Transition Plan Target
Transition plan targets should build upon a pupil’s Transition Action Plan within the curriculum areas of
independent living skills and work related learning in order for the pupil to benefit from the ECM and PLT
outcomes of:
 Be healthy;
 Be an independent enquirer;
 Be safe;
 Be a team workers;
 Enjoy and achieve;
 Be a creative thinkers;
 Make a positive contribution;
 Be self-managing;
 Achieve social & economic well-being
 Be a reflective worker;
 Be an effective participator.
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The Annual Report to Parents
Current Attainment Levels
State current attainment
levels in all subjects after
checking there is supporting
evidence contained in
Evidence File with which to
substantiate teacher
assessment. Remember to
report attainment in subject
“strands as relevant
Progress within IEP Targets
Describe any special
arrangements that have been
made to help implement IEP
targets and personalised learning
styles. State objectively the
progress achieved within the
past year’s IEP targets and
associated SILOs, together with
any progress generally secured
via implementation of pupil
profile.
Access to the
Entitlement Curriculum
Give the titles of all
Schemes of Work the pupil
has participated in during
the year, together with
titles of all accredited
modules and qualifications
the pupil has gained during
the year.
Descriptive Narrative
Provide commentary about the pupil’s general
curriculum performance during the year. Give
special mention of actual progression within
literacy and numeracy (ie what s/he can do now
s/he could not previous year) Describe any
additional outcomes as they might relate to ECM
and/or PLT related outcomes. Give an explanation
if the pupil has not attained at the anticipated
level.
Predicted P levels in core
subjects for end of next
academic year& key stage
State what you feel the pupil is
capable of attaining by end of next
academic year and key stage in
core subjects. If setting lateral
targets then there must be an
associated IEP target in current
use. If not, a relevant draft IEP
target and SILO should be
attached
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Analysis of Pupil Performance Data
&
Target Setting
Definitions of teacher assessment
The Data Analysis Chain
Methods of gathering different types of data
Standardisation and moderation of teacher assessment
The analysis of pupil performance data
Using findings from data analysis
Summary of Target Setting
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2. Introduction
1.1 At Barrs Court School we gather a considerable amount of information about
pupil performance and this information is important for helping us understand:
 How well each pupil is progressing during the course of each school year
during the course of each school year in every aspect of their development
(often referred to as value added progress);
 How well different cohorts of learners are progressing when compared to
other cohorts in the school and in schools of a similar nature;
 How effective particular teaching and therapeutic strategies are for
enabling good rates of pupil performance.
1.2 Definition of Assessment: We define assessment in two ways and regard both
routes as being of equal importance:
 Pupil Achievement = Measures of progress a pupil makes within “in
child” development, particularly overcoming barriers to learning and well
being and securing ECM and PLT related outcomes;
 Pupil Attainment = Measures of progress a pupil makes when considered
against national norms, particularly in subjects of the National Curriculum
and obtaining recognised qualifications.
The evidence we collect about pupil achievement and attainment is assessed in
readiness for reporting. Once this evidence has been assessed it is often
referred to as pupil performance data.
1.3 The Data Analysis Chain: The various ways in which pupil performance
data is gathered and reported on is described elsewhere in this document
(Sections 6 and 7), but in this section the focus is upon what happens to pupil
data once it is gathered and reported. This process is called the Data Analysis
Chain and the four stages within the Data Analysis Chain can be defined as:
 Data: The evidence which teachers base their assessment of pupil
performance is often awarded a numerical value to help with statistical
analyis. For example, assessment data relating to pupil progress in the
National Curriculum is cross-referenced to National Curriculum Levels in
each subject or in the sub-levels generally referred to as the P Levels. Thus
a teacher may assess a pupil’s overall performance in a subject as being P6
and this represents the numerical value. Performance that has been
assessed within a pupil’s IEP Targets and associated SILOs are also given
numerical values. Each IEP target and SILO is given the numerical value
of “1”. For example, if a pupil has achieved 4 of his 5 SILOs as he works
towards a particular IEP target, the numerical vaue of 4 will be given
against this achievement. Was he to achieve the final SILO then the overall
numerical value would be 6. There are some aspects of pupil performance
that cannot be easily awarded a numerical value., eg., outcomes associated
with ECM and PLT. Although it may not be possible to analyse this sort of
data as readily as data awarded numerical values, the data is still very
helpful for monitoring “value added” progress, ie., how well pupils have
progressed over time. Having sufficient data with which to reflect on a
child’s holistic rate of performance is very important.
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


Information: When performance data can be assigned numerical value,
this data is entered into CASPA on behalf of individual pupils. The
software enables SMT to aggregate pupil performance to provide
information about how well individual pupils, groups of pupils, or the
school population as a whole, are progressing, e.g. what % of pupils are
attaining the DCSF’s average rate of x 2 National Curriculum (or P levels)
per key stage and/or how many pupils with ASD are achieving their IEP
targets and associated SILOs.
Knowledge: The analysis of assessment findings can be very helpful for
understanding how individual pupils are performing, eg., for alerting SMT
when a particular child may be failing to make progress, perhaps because a
strategic intervention into a learning barrier is not be being managed
effectively. This sort of knowledge can be used forensically, perhaps to
inform performance management interviews with teachers and TAs to see
if their strategic interventions can be improved upon. Data can also be used
via CASPA to provide a sharp insight into how various groups of pupils
are performing, eg., whether pupils who have moderate learning
difficulties at Barrs Court are underperforming when considered against
similar pupils in other schools.
Action: The forensic interpretation of pupil performance data enables
SMT to plan how provision can be improved upon and to monitor how
well previous initiatives may have resulted in higher standards of pupil
performance. It is important that school improvement planning and the
monitoring of school effectiveness is rooted in firm evidence and the ways
in which assessment, recording and reporting is managed at Barrs Court
School are all designed to facilitate sound, evidence based teacher
assessment.
3. Methodologies for gathering pupil performance data
2.1 Data about pupil achievement is drawn from the evidence recorded in each
child’s Evidence File. No claims about pupil achievement or attainment can be
made unless there is a sound body of demonstrable evidence with which to
endorse a teacher’s assessment of pupil performance. The accuracy of teacher
assessment is also subject to moderation to ensure that the judgements which
teachers make about pupil performance are consistent across the school and
against national norms.
2.2 Data about pupil achievement: Pupil performance data is gathered about
individual progression within each child’s set of IEP Targets and SILOs and
additional data is gathered about the outcomes accruing to pupils from
implementation of Pupil Profiles and associated therapeutic “programmes”. A
photographic example has already been provided in the section dealing with
recording systems that illustrates how benefits from engagement in a daily
passive movement session can enable a child to achieve the ECM outcome of
“being healthy”. For more able pupils, being healthy outcomes are more likely
to focus on things such as basic hygiene, with the most able being able to
attain the Food Handling Certificate qualification. Behaviour programmes can
be directly related to the ECM outcomes of “staying safe”, “enjoying and
achieving” and “making a positive contribution” as well as the PLT outcome,
“self-managing” and “effective participant”. Things such as Silver Book
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Commendations, Hydrotherapy Certificates, Swimming Certificates, Rebound
Certificates, Duke of Edinburgh Awards are good evidence based indications
of how well a child is being helped to “be healthy” “make a positive
contribution” and “enjoy and achieve” so these accreditations need to feature
whenever pupil performance is being reported and analysed. Data about IEP
and SILO progression is monitored mid-school year so the information can be
used to revise targets and strategies. End of year analysis of the pupil
performance data within IEP targets, SILOs and Pupil Profile special
arrangements informs SMT about individual rates of “in child” progression,
but also about how the rates of progress being achieved by different cohorts of
pupils when compared with the rates being achieved by other cohorts. This
information can help illustrate the relative effectiveness of the school’s
different types of strategic interventions and the findings are then used to raise
standards of SEN related provision.
2.3 Data about pupil attainment: The kinds of pupil performance data that has
been described thus far has focussed largely upon rates of “in child”
achievement, but it is also important the school has a clear focus upon pupil
attainment within subjects of the National Curriculum. For this reason, there is
continuous teacher assessment against the learning outcomes accruing to
individual pupils from their participation within SoW and this data is gathered
on a regular basis. As well as monitoring pupil progression in the National
Curriculum assessment criteria, from key stage 4 onwards the school accesses
pupils to learning modules that are accredited by national examination boards
(eg NSP; ALL; ASDAN). For the most able pupils, NVQ Level 1 qualification
routes are available, particularly where such qualifications can be readily
associated with the ECM outcome of “achieve economic well being” and all of
this data is gathered as part of the Data Analysis Chain. Data about pupil
attainment in the National Curriculum is collected by reference to:
 Current levels of attainment in all subjects at the beginning and end of
each academic year;
 Predicted levels of attainment in the core subjects for the end of the year
(once in July when summative levels are reported and once in October
when predicted levels set at the end of the preceding school year are
endorsed;
 Predicted end of Key Stage levels of attainment for Year 8, 10 and 12 .
As with the data analysis of pupil achievement, the analysis of data about
pupil attainment is used to judge whether the progress rate of individual pupils
is deemed good enough by SMT, and also whether the standards being
attained by different cohorts of learners is of a sufficiently high standard.
2.4 Data about cross curricular skills: Additional data about about pupil
performance in cross-curricular literacy and numeracy is generated via the
assessment of pupil performance within the school’s Reading Excellence
Framework and via self-monitoring software such as RM Maths. Analysis of
this data provides information about specific areas within the acquisition of
literacy and numeracy skills that are posing individual pupils with particular
difficulties and so provide formative assessment data that can be used to help
pupils overcome their temporary difficulties in these important cross curricular
areas of learning.
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2.5 Standardising teacher assessment data: To strengthen the accuracy and
standardisation of teacher assessment P levels are sub-divided into 5 sub-levels.
Whilst the QCA recommend this approach, sub-level descriptors are only provided by
commercial schemes such as PIVATS. In this instance the sub-levels have a letter
suffixed to indicate the incremental level achieved. The letter suffixes are changed
into numerical correspondences when data is entered into CASPA. It is very important
to note that PIVATS uses a scoring system that shows degrees of progress towards a
level, whilst CASPA uses degrees of progress beyond a level. The table below
illustrates the relationship between the two.
PIVATS
P7e
P7d
P7c
P7b
P7a
CASPA
P6.2
P6.4
P6.6
P6.8
P7.0
P LEVEL
P6
P6
P6
P6
P7
The levels being predicted for end of year and key stage are entered into CASPA, as is
end of year summative attainment levels and enables SMT to judge whether pupils are
being suitably challenged when compared to their actual rate of attainment.The APP
assessment guidelines suggest that letter suffixes for National Curriculum levels be
replaced with ‘high’, ‘secure’ or ‘low.’
Illustration for assessing Level 1:
APP level
Level 1
LOW
SECURE
HIGH
P level/ Entry
1C
1C
1C
1C
1C
1B
1B
1B
1B
1B
1A
1A
1A
1A
1A
CASPA
1C.0
1C.2
1C.4
1C.6
1C.8
1B.0
1B.2
1B.4
1B.6
1B.8
1A.0
1A.2
1A.4
1A.6
1A.8
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2.6 Data about accredited learning and qualifications: Accredited studies and
qualifications are another route by which data about pupil performance is used
to judge standards. These national awards provide challenging targets for
pupils to aspire towards and are helpful for enabling the school’s overall
performance to be judged against those of other, similar schools. Accredited
studies include ALL, NSP and ASDAN and the current qualification being
promoted is NVQ Level 1 although individual pupils are accessed to GCSE
and/or BTEC Diploma as necessary. Other qualifications include those that are
helpful for ensuring healthy outcomes such as the Food Hygiene Certificate,
and those of a more personal challenge such as the Duke of Edinburgh bronze
and silver awards.
2.7 Moderation: The evidence which teachers use to endorse their judgements is
moderated by comparing examples of one pupil’s evidence (ie. the pupil’s
work) with that of another pupil who have both been awarded the same
attainment level. Moderation is not an easy task, so it is important there is a
good body of evidence, gathered via continuous teacher assessment, with
which to consider and be confident the level being awarded is as accurate as
possible and is properly representative of a pupil’s actual ability level.
2.8 The analysis of pupil performance data: Pupil performance data is loaded
into the software system known as CASPA. CASPA provides statistical
analysis in a number of ways of which the following are the most frequently
used:
 Percentile analysis;
 Average annual progress analysis;
 Average annual attainment analysis.
This sort of data analysis demonstrates the progress that children make by
reference to:
 Individual “value added” progression over time:
 Subject;
 Peer group;
 Disability type;
 Groups of similar learners nationwide.
2.9 Using findings from data analysis: As well as being used for judging,
predicting and analysing standards of individual pupil performance, data is
also helpful for informing judgements about school provision, ie.:
 Is teaching in one class resulting in higher standards of pupil performance
when compared to another class?
 Are pupils attaining higher standards in one subject when compared to
other subjects?
 Are particular strategic interventions (eg Focus Group activity) resulting in
higher standards of achievement in “in child” development?
 Is a new strategy (eg RM Maths) resulting in higher rates of attainment
than previously?
 Are individual members of staff more effective for raising standards of
pupil achievement and attainment (staff performance targets are linked to
pupil performance)?
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4. Summary of target setting for securing individual pupil progress
3.1 To ensure that target setting for raising standards of pupil performance is
effective, assessment data is used formatively, ie., new skills and understandings
are only introduced after it is known a pupil has fully grasped a concept before
being expected to progress to the next step of learning. The use of Task Analysis
is promoted for breaking down target skills into smaller, inter-related steps to help
ensure effective learning.
3.2 Each pupil has a menu of learning targets to aspire towards to ensure that s/he will
be suitably challenged within whole child development, not just within academic
attainment. The range of target setting employed at Barrs Court School can be
summarised as:
 Long term personalised learning targets based on ECM and PLT outcomes;
 Annual IEP Targets and corresponding sets of SILOs to overcome barriers to
learning and well being;
 Annual Transition targets in independent living skills and work related
learning to prepare pupils for the world after school;
 Annual and end of Key Stage curriculum targets in English, Maths and
Science (as a minimum) to ensure optimal attainment;
 Annual target number of accredited modules (Key Stages 4 & 5) to ensure
optimal attainment;
 End of Key Stage qualification targets for high attaining pupils (Key Stages 4
& 5) to ensure these learners are suitably challenged.
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