CATTON GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Striving for Excellence
A working document 2014-15
ASSESSMENT POLICY
At Catton Grove Primary our aim is to produce independent learners. We encourage
our children to be creative and imaginative and develop a lifetime love of learning.
The purpose of this policy is to support school improvement and the raising of
standards for all our pupils.
This policy intends to:
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make clear our vision of the role of assessment as part of teaching and
learning
provide clear guidelines for the implementation of the policy
make transparent the procedures in place for monitoring and evaluating
assessment practices
define clear responsibilities in relation to assessment
provide clear definitions and purpose for different types of assessment
Principles
The key purpose of assessment is to move children on in their learning and
maximise their potential. Continued monitoring of every child’s progress gives a
clear picture of what each child is doing and their next steps. Involving the children
fully in this process enables them to take ownership of their learning and to aim high.
All assessment should;
 Enable individual pupils to make progress in their learning
 Relate to shared learning objectives
 Be underpinned by confidence that every child can improve
 Help all pupils to demonstrate what they know, understand and are able to do
 Include reliable judgements about how learners are performing, related,
where appropriate to national standards
 Involve both teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting upon assessment
information
 Provide feedback which leads to pupils recognising the ‘next steps’ in their
learning and how to work towards achieving these
 Enable teachers to plan more effectively
 Provide us with information to evaluate our work, and set appropriate targets
at whole school, class and individual pupil levels
 Enable parents to be involved in their child’s progress
Assessment
Assessment opportunities, which are a natural part of teaching and learning, are
constantly taking place in the classroom through observation, discussion, listening
and analysis of work.
Strategies:
Planning which identifies valid learning and assessment objectives that ensure
differentiation and progression in the delivery of the National Curriculum.
Sharing learning targets and success criteria so that pupils know and understand
the learning objective(s) for every task and the skills, knowledge and understanding
required to be successful.
The use of a range of questioning techniques which enable pupils to be challenged
in their thinking and is essential to deepening learning.
The use of pupil self assessment and peer evaluation to enable them to evaluate
their own and their peers achievements as part of the learning process.
The use of Feedback which must reflect the learning targets and success criteria of
the task in order to provide clear and achievable next steps.
Target setting as a process to enable pupils to take ownership of the next steps in
their learning.
The celebration of achievement which enables pupils to become confident, self
motivated risk-takers.
Summative Assessment
Summative assessment (Assessment of Learning) is important for informing both
parents and teachers of a child’s attainment and progress. This will also inform
whole school target setting and the prediction of a cohort’s future attainment
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identify attainment through one-off standardised tests at any given point in time
record performance in a specific area on a specific date
provide age standardised information
provide end of key stage test data against which the school will be judged
ensure statutory assessments at the end of EYFS, KS1 and KS2 are met
provide information about cohort areas of strength and weakness to build from in
the future.
Assessment and Reporting in the Foundation Stage
Baseline Assessment:
Using Early Excellence, the children’s level of development is tracked at the
beginning of the academic year and the information is sent off to the DFE.
All children in Foundation Stage are tracked across Development Matters using long
and short observations. The observations are coded and links are made to the
Characteristics of Learning. From the long observations, ‘Next Steps’ are set and
tracked. The observations are recorded and evidenced in the children’s individual
Learning Stories. The learning Stories contain exemplar pieces of work mainly
produced independently by the children and observations made. The Learning
Stories are individual to the children and they are encouraged to bring things in from
home and look at them regularly with their Parents/Carers.
During focus activities teaching staff write comments on the child’s work, often
identifying the level of support needed or if the work was completed independently.
Next steps are also identified. Children are encouraged to comment on their work
and next steps are also discussed with the children in child friendly terms.
The observations and Adult Led activities are used to provide evidence to support
the exit data that is submitted to County. The children are judged to be Emerging,
Expected or Exceeding in the Early Learning Goals.
Assessment and Recording in Key Stage 1 and 2
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We use Pupil Asset Tracker as a vehicle to record each pupil’s progress in
reading writing and maths. Data is recorded as pupils achieve KPIs on
weekly/fortnightly basis using an electronic mark book. A summative assessment
is recorded each half term in order to establish the progress made by each
individual pupil. Through the monitoring of these achievements and progress
made, pupils are highlighted as soon as gaps in learning appear and intervention
is put in place.
Teachers use assessment for learning (AfL) to provide on-going assessment,
through the use of focused marking and/or observations of pupil’s work against
learning objectives and success criteria. This information is then used to assess
progress towards meeting learning targets and to identify and set next step
targets for each pupil.
Annotated plans and planning notes made by class teachers and other adults
involved with each pupil record other important information about the progress of
pupils in the class.
A variety of tests may be used from time to time as part of the assessment
process to identify progress and gaps in learning.
The SEND Register and Intervention Records ensure that children with identified
special educational needs and those children not making expected progress are
supported appropriately and their needs assessed regularly.
Cumulative Pupil Progress Profiles are kept for each class to record progress,
identify under-achieving pupils and set targets, in reading, writing and maths for
individual pupils and groups.
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Termly Pupil Progress Reviews are used to identify and analyse progress and set
targets, in reading, writing and maths for classes and cohorts.
Moderation
Regular moderation of levelling takes place each term to ensure consistency of
marking and stages. Teachers meet in phase groups or in cross phase groups to
analyse children's work against National Curriculum level descriptors or Early Years
Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP). During the summer term, teachers in Reception,
Year 2 and Year 6 are involved in formal teacher assessments, as part of end of Key
Stage assessments and local authority moderation.
Links to other policies and documents
Please refer to:
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Teaching and Learning Policy
Marking Policy
Curriculum Policy
Review:
This policy is subject to annual review, as part of the school self-evaluation process.
Its success in relation to the school’s attainment targets for assessment will be
evaluated as part of the annual assessment audit. The policy will be revised in line
with the new action plan targets set.
September 2015
Review 2016