Progress Reports
2014 - 2015
Contents
Page
What are we doing at Oasis to respond to the new criteria?
1
What is a level?
2
What is a target level or target grade?
2
What is a level of progress?
3
How many levels of progress is a student expected to make?
3
How can I tell if my child is on track to make the required levels of progress?
4
How can I help my child to make progress?
4
Example progress report with explanations
5
New Criteria
Ofsted uses many criteria when making a judgement about a school. Although the
percentage of students securing at least 5+ GCSE’s including English and Mathematics at
grade C or above is a key indicator of success, greater importance is now attached to the
levels of progress made by a student.
There is an expectation that all students will make at least 3 levels of progress between the
beginning of Year 7 and the end of Year 11.
What are we doing at Oasis to respond to the new criteria?
Last year at Oasis we introduced a five semester year structure. This means that throughout
the year we can closely monitor the levels of progress being made by all students in all
subjects. This academic tracking system provides teaching staff with a strategic tool for
identifying the skills that may be missing from a student’s skillset and therefore identify
students who are underachieving and allows us to take action where we feel progress is not
being made. It should be stressed here that whilst these formal progress measures are
important, teachers will be using a variety of assessments to monitor progress including the
assessment of homework, project work, contribution in lesson, practical work or a
performance. In addition to this formal progress measure, teachers will also assess mid -way
through the semester, therefore allowing for 10 opportunities for progress to be measured
throughout the year.
What is a level?
Throughout primary school and in Years 7, 8 and 9 of secondary school, a student’s
attainment is measured in national curriculum levels. These levels cover a wide variety of
skills and ability. To be able to show progress and allow students to ‘chunk’ down their
understanding of levels, we divide each level in to three sub levels, for example: a level 4 is
split into 4a, 4b and 4c, where 4a is the highest sublevel. 4a is therefore 2 sub levels above
a 4c, while 5c is two sub levels above a 4b.
In Years 10 and 11, the majority of subjects studied are GCSEs and these are graded from
G to A*. Again, to help measure progress more accurately and allow students to ‘chunk’
their skills into manageable sets, these grades are divided into three. To define the
difference between letters and numbers, for GCSE grades, we sub grade using a plus and a
minus sign, for example: a grade C is split into C+, C and C-, where C+ is the highest sub
grade. C+ therefore is two sub grades above a C- and a B- is two sub grades above a C.
For each subject, a level / grade is matched against skills that a student has to demonstrate
on more than one occasion to be sure they have mastered it. All students have a booklet
which they use in progress time, which tells them all the skills for all the levels / grades.
The grid below shows the range of levels and grades possible for your child.
Key Stage 3:
3C
3B
3A
4C
4B
4A
5C
5B
5A
6C
6B
6A
7C
7B
7A
8C
8B
8A
GCSE:
U G- G
G+ F- F
F+ E- E
E+ D- D
C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+ A*
D+
BTEC:
Fail
Pass
Merit
Distinction
Distinction Plus
What is a target level or target grade?
For every student target grades are be based on their KS2 levels which they achieved at the
end of Year 6 in English and Mathematics. For subjects other than English and Maths, all
students will complete an assessed piece of work in the first two weeks of them arriving at
the academy. This gives us a baseline to work from to set stretching but achievable targets.
Once we have the starting point for each student, we add on 3 sub levels per year to
determine a target for every year a student is in the academy. These targets can be
changed throughout the 5 year period, if a student is making better than expected progress.
Evidence of work and skills mastered will be asked for to ensure that any change to a target
is the right decision for the student. No target will be reduced.
What is a level of progress?
If a student was a 4b in June 2012 and is now a 5b in June 2013, he/she has made 1 whole
level of progress in a year. If he/she is now a 5c then he/she made 2/3 of a level in one year
or two sub-levels.
In years 10 and 11, a student would make one level of progress if they increased from a
grade C1 at the beginning of Year 10 to a grade B1 in Year 11.
How many levels of progress is a student expected to make?
From the start of KS3 (Year 7) to the end of KS4 (June Year 11) students are expected to
make a minimum of 3 levels of progress. As an academy, we believe that our students
should be achieving the same as every other student in the country, therefore we have set
our targets above the minimum expectation set by the government. All students have targets
which add up to 4 levels of progress as a minimum. For students with good KS2 results (a
level 5 or 6 in English and Maths) they are targeted to get A* grades at GCSE in the majority
of their subjects. So for the more able students, there is an expectation that on average they
will make one level of progress in every academic year.
Students with a level 4 at KS2 are expected to make between 3 and 4 levels of progress and
will be targeted to get a C or B/C, depending on the subject, at the end of Key Stage 4. This
is equivalent to 2 sub-levels for each of the 5 years in the academy.
How can I tell if my child is on track to make the required levels of progress?
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On the student’s Progress Report there is an end of year target level/grade for every
subject. These target grades are different for all subjects, so read each of them.
On the Progress Report, next to the year target you will see a progress target, this is
set for each semester, so will change through the year. This target is where we
expect your son / daughter to be when you receive the report.
On the Progress Report, look at the colours in the current progress column. If a
colour is not blue or green then they are falling behind where they should be. This
colour is matched against the progress target. Therefore, if you keep seeing orange
and red then your son / daughter is at risk of not reaching 3 levels of progress by the
end of year 11.
How can I help my son / daughter to make progress?






Ask to look at the skills booklet so you have an understanding of what your son /
daughter needs to learn.
Talk to them about their progress so you know if something is stopping them from
making progress.
Attend the PUR (Progress Update Review) days, to talk to their progress tutor and
raise any concerns.
Make sure they have attendance above 95%.
Provide them with a quiet space so that they complete their homework.
Take an interest – this is the biggest factor which has the greatest impact. If they feel
you care about their progress, so will they.
Your child’s name will appear here
Year 9 Progress Report – Oct 2014
Name:
Progress group:
Attendance:
This is percentage so far this year
9SS
100.0%
Total positive behaviour points:
Total negative behaviour points:
Subject
English
Maths
Science
Art
Drama
Food Technology
Geography
History
Information Technology
Modern Foreign Languages
Music
Physical Education
Product Design
Religious Education
Resistant Materials
Textiles
Each positive action has points – the higher the
points the better your child is doing in school.
Each negative action has points, the lower the
points the better your child is doing in school.
15
0
End of Year
Target
6b
6b
6b
5a
5c
5b
6b
6b
5b
5c
5b
5b
5b
6b
5b
5b
Faculty Leader Name
Mrs Endersby
Above Target
On Target
1 level below Target
More than 1 level below Target
This explains the colours above.
Progress
Target
5a
5a
5a
5c
4b
4a
5a
5a
4a
4b
4a
4a
4a
5a
4a
4a
Appointment Required?
Progress
Grade
Attitude to
Learning
3b
Unsatisfactory
This level / grade shows
what your child is
currently working at.
This column shows the level / grade
they should have achieved on this
progress report.
This column shows what your
child is working towards to
achieve at the end of the year.
Appointment
Time
Yes
If this box is filled in, a Faculty leader
has requested to speak with you. If
nothing appears here, you will just
need to speak with the tutor.