Collection of key stage 1 (KS1) and phonics screening check data
Early Warning Note
April 2017
Contents
Introduction 3
(1) Overview 3
(2) School Recording/Reporting Options 4
(3) Local Authority Software/COLLECT Submission 4
3.1 Creation of results file for submission to the department by local authorities 5
3.2 Submission of results by local authorities via COLLECT 5
3.3 Expected schools/pupils 5
3.4 Checking school returns for completeness 6
3.5 Year 2 pupils taking the phonics screening check in 2017 6
(4) Secure access and COLLECT access 6
(5) Submission Dates – 12 JUNE TO 28 JULY 2017 6
(6) Independent Schools and Academies 7
(7) Support 8
Introduction
This note is to advise on submission arrangements for 2017 Key Stage 1(KS1) teacher assessment and phonics screening check data collection.
The deadline for submission of results to the Department for Education (DfE) by local authorities is Friday 28 July 2017.
Results received after this date will not be included in the RAISEonline replacement service.
(1) Overview
Key stage 1
All state-funded schools including academies and free schools must report teacher assessment (TA) results for each eligible pupil at the end of KS1 (ie. those who will be moving to the KS2 programmes of study in the 2017 to 2018 academic year) to their local authority. They must report TA results in reading, writing, mathematics and science according to the 2017 Interim teacher assessment frameworks and pre-key stage standards along with P scales where appropriate.
Phonics screening check
The phonics screening check will be administered during week commencing 12 June to all children in year 1 and to children in year 2 who did not meet the expected standard for phonic decoding in the previous year. The threshold mark for pupils to be considered as working at the expected standard will be released on 26 June, by which time schools should have submitted results via their local authorities.
In returning results, you must provide marks obtained in the phonics screening check. Outcomes need only be reported if a pupil has left the school (L), is absent (A), did not participate in the check (D), or if the result is affected by maladministration (Q). As in 2016, we do not require the return of a ‘Wt’ (‘working towards’) or ‘Wa’ (‘working at’) outcome.
Local authorities will then submit pupil level KS1 and phonics check results data to the DfE via COLLECT.
For further guidance, see the assessment and reporting arrangements:
2017 Key stage 1: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
(2) School Recording/Reporting Options
The submission arrangements are the same as in 2016.
Schools can use their (updated) management information system (MIS) to enter and export KS1 and phonics data to their local authority in common transfer file (CTF) XML format. Schools can also record task/test results in their MIS if they wish (as parents may ask for these results). There will be an option in the MIS for the school to include KS1 task/test results in the CTF that is passed to the local authority if that is agreed with the local authority, but task/test results will not be included in the results that local authorities submit to the DfE. P Scales should be included where appropriate for KS1.
For schools (including independent schools and academies) that are unable to use their MIS for the recording and submission of 2017 KS1 and/or phonics results, an Excel based spreadsheet for each collection is available to enable the provision of the results in the correct format. This is available on request from the department and can be obtained by contacting the Helpdesk using the Service Request Form.
The 2016 version of the spreadsheets must not be used and should be discarded.
Schools are statutorily required to report results; and the local authority is statutorily required to pass these results to the DfE. Further information regarding KS1 and phonics assessments can be found on the department’s website in the KS1 assessment section and Phonics screening check section.
For a full explanation of P Scales, see the P Scales page on the website. If you have any queries on making the assessments please contact the National Curriculum Assessment Helpline on 0300 303 3013.
(3) Local Authority Software/COLLECT Submission
The department has provided software specifications to all commercial suppliers of local authority database processing systems, and to those local authorities that have indicated they wish to design their own systems or intend to use a new supplier’s software. The local authority processing software will accept a school MIS CTF export file or the DfE spreadsheet CSV export file and create the necessary DfE export file. Local authorities will fully meet the statutory requirements for the submission of its KS1 and phonics results by using appropriate software that will enable them to create the necessary file. Those suppliers that provided local authorities with software in 2016 will be able to supply the 2017 software.
The department will only accept KS1 and phonics results created from local authority software that can produce the information in the correct format to upload onto the COLLECT system.
3.1 Creation of results file for submission to the department by local authorities
The local authority software will check that each pupil’s unique pupil number (UPN), surname, forename, date of birth, gender and all KS1 assessment levels/phonics results are included in the school CTF or CSV export when these files are loaded (it is not possible for the school to create a CSV export file from the DfE spreadsheet if any of these data are missing or invalid). Where there are any errors/omissions in the data, these will be reported by the local authority software.
The KS1 and phonics result files that will be created by local authority software for submission to the department will be in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and will contain individual pupil results within each school. Further information can be found in the KS1 technical specifications and phonics screening check technical specifications.
All phonics results for 2017 (i.e. including both year 1 and those year 2 pupils who have taken the check) should be included in a single file. Where there are any errors/omissions in the data, local authorities are asked to correct these errors before submission of the results to the department.
3.2 Submission of results by local authorities via COLLECT
KS1 and phonics results should be submitted by local authorities to the department via COLLECT. Further details on how to do this will be provided in the collection guide. The department cannot accept results submitted directly from schools.
3.3 Expected schools/pupils
The Helpdesk will update the expected list of schools on COLLECT with an extract taken from the Spring School Census. Local authorities can view these lists when the collection goes live on 12 June. Local authorities should check the lists for any schools that need to be added or removed and advise the helpdesk using the Service Request Form. If the COLLECT system is not updated with the correct schools you will be unable to load your data returns.
Local authorities need to ensure that KS1 and phonics results are collected from every expected school and include all eligible pupils. For phonics this includes those disapplied (which could be whole cohorts in some schools) or absent from the check. If, for example, a special school believes that all of their year 1 pupils and all of their year 2 pupils should be disapplied they must provide a full individual pupil return for both cohorts showing as such. Local authorities are required to make any changes to the expected list by 30 June.
3.4 Checking school returns for completeness
As part of its checks on data completeness, the department will compare the number of boys and the number of girls included in each school’s KS1/phonics return against the school’s 2017 spring census return. Where these numbers show a significant difference the department will contact the local authority for confirmation that the school’s submission is complete.
3.5 Year 2 pupils taking the phonics screening check in 2017
All year 2 pupils who did not reach the required standard of phonic decoding in year 1 must retake the check in year 2. Any child currently in year 2 who was not assessed in 2016 should be considered for the phonics screening check in 2017. If a pupil was disapplied from the check in year 1, head teachers should consider if that disapplication is still relevant.
The number of year 2 pupils required to take the check in each school has been emailed to each local authority from the Helpdesk. Local authorities are advised to cascade this to schools promptly so that schools can plan in advance for these pupils to take the check.
In most cases schools should be aware which year 2 pupils need to take the check. If schools are unsure which year 2 pupils need to take the check they can use the ‘Searchable data’ function of the Key to success website to search for those pupils by their UPN. Pupils who do not need to take the check again will be indicated by a phonics outcome of ‘Wa’.If a search of Key to success finds no data for the pupil they may wish to contact the pupil’s previous school directly.
(4) Secure access and COLLECT access
User names and passwords for COLLECT are managed by the Secure Access system. Your local authority has a delegated approver(s) who can allocate you access to departmental systems that use secure access. If you require access to key stage 1 or phonics on COLLECT, please contact the approver in your local authority.
More information is available on the Secure Access help screen.
You can also get help using the Secure Access service request form.
(5) Submission Dates – 12 JUNE TO 28 JULY 2017
The deadline for local authorities to submit their 2017 KS1 and phonics results to the department is 28 July 2017. Results received after this date will not be included in the Phonics and KS1 Statistical First Release (SFR) or in RAISEonline replacement service. If the local authority is able to submit any of its schools’ results ahead of this date, this will be much appreciated.
Schools are required to forward the results to their local authority by the end of the summer term or as agreed between the local authority and the school. If making a further submission, please do not include any schools already submitted unless the results have changed. The earliest date local authorities can submit the school’s KS1 results is 12 June 2017.
If any local authority experiences difficulties in obtaining full or correct results from any school or if it becomes likely that any schools are not going to be able to meet the submission deadline, they are asked not to hold back their submission beyond the deadline but to submit whatever results they hold by then. The department’s processing system will identify any errors/omissions when the data are loaded and the Helpdesk will contact the local authority for the corrected/complete details and for missing schools’ results.
The department will take a provisional cut of the KS1 and phonics database immediately after the deadline to create a dataset for the 2017 national and local authority analysis, and for production of the 2017 KS1 and phonics SFR. These results will also be passed to the RAISEonline replacement service and added to the National Pupil Database (NPD). Local authorities are, therefore, asked to make every effort to ensure that results are submitted by the deadline and are as complete and accurate as possible.
There will be an opportunity for local authorities to submit late and/or corrected results which will later feed into the National pupil database, but these will not be included in the statistical release. Late and/or amended KS1 results must be submitted to the department by 31 October 2017. Late and/or amended phonics results must be submitted by 29 September 2017.
(6) Independent Schools and Academies
The data collection and processing arrangements that applied to independent schools and academies in 2016 will continue in 2017. Further information regarding this can be found in the Assessment and Reporting Arrangements document. The local authorities that undertake to complete academies or independent school returns must be able to provide the department with proof that the academy or independent school has been moderated within the last four years.
(7) Support
If you have any queries about this note, COLLECT, KS1 or phonics results in general, please use the Data collections service request form.
Finally, I would like to thank you for your help in ensuring that the collection of KS1 and phonics results continues to be a successful exercise. This is much appreciated.
Regards
Data Collections Helpdesk
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