Broadley Terrace
London
NW1 6LG
Telephone: 0845 2300426
e-mail ahs@abingdonhouseschool.co.uk
Assessment & Record Keeping Policy
2015 -2016
Policy reviewed by: Roy English
Review date: April 2015
Submission: April 2015
Policy actioned from: April 2015 – April 2016
Next review date: April 2016
Reviewer’s Signature:
Head Teacher’s Signature:
Circulation: This policy has been adopted by the governors, is addressed to all
members of staff and volunteers, is available to parents on request. It applies
wherever staff or volunteers are working with pupils.
Please note: ‘School’ refers to Abingdon School; ‘parents’ refers to parents,
guardians and carers.
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1. Initial Assessment
Pupils can enter AHS at any age between Year 1 and Year 9. Initial
assessment is designed to assess suitability for entry to the school, as well as
strengths and weaknesses, barriers to learning and learning style.
1.1 Previous reports
Upon receipt of an enrolment request, the parents are asked to provide copies
of all relevant reports e.g. Educational Psychologist’s Report, School reports,
Therapy reports, etc. The previous school, LA and/or other agencies may also
provide information.
1.2 Parent Visit
If it appears that the school would be suitable to meet the child’s needs, the
parents are then invited to visit the school for a tour and a meeting with the
Head. Before the meeting they are asked to complete a parental
questionnaire. They have the opportunity to give their view of the child's
strengths and weaknesses. If the parents wish to proceed with the enrolment
application, the child is invited to attend the school for a two-day observational
assessment.
1.3 Observation Days
Assessment is multi-disciplinary by a team consisting of Head, Teachers,
Educational Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and
Speech and Language Therapist and SENCO as appropriate. Some of these
may be done by external sources.
1.4 Educational Psychologist’s Assessment
WISC lV or WIPSI gives a full scale, verbal and performance IQ. Sub test
scores show patterns of strength and weakness.
1.5 Speech and Language Assessment
Strengths, weaknesses, need for therapy for receptive, expressive language
and for phonological awareness.
1.6 Occupational Therapy Assessment
Strengths, weaknesses, need for therapy for visual perception, visual
memory, motor skills and planning.
1.7 Physiotherapy Assessment
Strengths, weaknesses, motor skills and planning.
A key part of the assessment is informal observation. This includes an
informal session with the SENCO. Most pupils are observed in class
situations. This is completed over two days with key staff being involved in a
case conference during the first day to give time for further information to be
obtained prior to the place being offered.
1.8 Parental Interview
At the end of the second day, the parents are invited to meet with the Head
and the SENCO . Information on testing and observations is given to parents,
whose views are also sought by the assessment team. Parents are helpful in
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determining whether what was observed is typical or atypical of the child's
normal performance.
If it is deemed that the school can meet the child’s needs, the Head will make
an offer of enrolment. On rare occasions, further observation days or
assessment information may be requested.
2. Assessment once pupils at Abingdon House School
2.1 Introduction
At Abingdon House School we carry out a variety of assessments throughout
the academic year to assess current levels of working and identify areas for
development. In literacy and maths we use a combination of continuous
assessment and diagnostic tests to ascertain which national curriculum levels
the children are currently working within. Each academic year in mainstream
school, children are expected to make 2 sub-level jumps of progress e.g. level
3C > 3A is appropriate progress.
The following grid show age related expectations for national curriculum
levels.
Level End
End of End of
End
End
End
End End End
of Yr1
Yr 2
Yr 3
of Yr
of
of Yr of Yr
of
of Yr
4
Yr5
6
7
Yr8
9
1C
1B
1A
2C
2B
2A
3C
3B
3A
4C
4B
4A
5C
5B
5A
6C
6B
6A
7C
7B
7A
Working below age related expectations
Working at age related
expectations
Working above age related expectations
Exceptional working levels
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2.2 Diagnostic Testing
In addition to our national curriculum assessments, we use diagnostic tests biannually to assess progress in:
 Reading , Spelling, Mental maths age, Literacy ages (for the lower school
only)
2.3 Diagnostic Tests
Standardised assessments are subjective and therefore these test results are
used as a tool alongside teacher assessments. The assessment levels seen
in reports are a combination of diagnostic test results and continuous teacher
assessments.
The testing we use is dependent on the national curriculum levels of the
children we are working with. All of our assessments are specifically chosen
for their accessibility to children identified as having special educational
needs.
Across the school we use:
 Neale Diagnostic Reading Test
 Helen Arkell Spelling Test 2
 Hodder Basic Number Screening Test for Upper School Maths
 Hodder Numeracy Progress Tests for Lower School maths
 Hodder Early Literacy Test for Lower School literacy only (*often in place
of Neale)
2.4 Continuous Assessment – Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)
Our continuous assessment is carried out through the use of APP
assessment grids. These grids outline the skills the children need to
demonstrate independently in reading, writing and maths to attain each
national curriculum level. These grids are working documents which are
added to throughout the year as the skills develop.
2.5 Important Information
It is important to point out that there will often be a disparity between mental
maths ability age and national curriculum levels, as the national curriculum
assessments require correct and consistent use of a variety of strategies
which are not required in the ‘Mental Maths Age’ assessments.
In addition it is important to point out that in reading assessments, if there is
huge progress in one area of reading (such as comprehension) you may see
a slight relapse in other areas of reading such as reading rate, as children
who are reading with higher levels of comprehension, often slow their reading
pace.
The national curriculum expectations only give a broad indication of what the
majority of children nationally are expected to achieve. Children’s progress
may not always be in line with age related expectations. They may make a
huge leap one year and spend a year consolidating before forging ahead
again the next year. It is also important for teachers, parents and pupils to
focus on what the individual child is achieving. Consider how much progress
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they have made in the last year, rather than only considering age related
expectations.
2.6 Educational Psychologist’s Reassessment
Pupils are reassessed if:
Progress or behaviour is giving cause for concern at a level where
psychological input would be useful. Pupils are reassessed if it is apparent the
needs were not fully identified by initial assessment.
3. Transitions
3.1 Pupil Review including Moving to the Next Year Group
At the start of each term a class-based conference will be held with the class
teacher, SENCO, special provision staff and therapists to discuss the previous
term’s IEP cycle and make recommendations for the term.
Teachers also use information from a pupil's individual office file and/or their
class-based pupil profile to complement any relevant information passed from
the previous teacher. During INSET the Head will bring to the attention of all
staff any relevant matters concerning individual pupils.
3.2 When pupils are moving on to a new school
A Leaver's Pack containing work samples, the current IEP and the most
recent school report are forwarded. The school report provides the most
recent results of standardised testing and National Curriculum attainment
levels are also contained in the final report.
4. Record Keeping
4.1 Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are developed for each pupil and
reviewed every term. The IEP keeps a record of current priority learning
targets, and current and past assessments, and significant notes.
4.2 Pupil Progress Reports are sent home in February and July. They record
the latest National Curriculum levels, results of standardised and
diagnostic testing, and a descriptive narrative about their achievement.
4.3 Pupils Progress Reports are followed by Parent/Teacher meetings.
4.4 All IEPs and Reports are kept on file both electronically and in hard copy in
individual pupil files.
4.5 All results of standardised and diagnostic testing are passed on to the
School Office where they are recorded on the SIMS database.
4.6 In June each year, the Director of Studies produces a report summarizing
pupil attainment for the Alpha Plus Directors and Governors.
4.6 In July each year, the Head sends a report to parents on pupil
achievement which makes a comparison with national results/agereferenced norms.
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