Assessment Recording and Reporting Policy

Lakeside School Assessment Recording and Reporting Policy Rev 2014

Assessment Recording and Reporting Policy

At the time of this review we are still waiting for an appropriate replacement for NC levels. References to our normal assessments against NC levels have been removed at this time although we do have pupils working above P levels for whom we are seeking a suitable alternative.

Intentions:

It is our intention to have in place, a system for assessment, recording and reporting which:

Ø  meets our information needs in sufficient detail, but which is manageable (eg. must make efficient use of time)

Ø  is nationally recognized therefore enabling possible comparison of results between schools

Ø  is jargon free, especially for reporting to parents.

Ø  is clear, balanced and accessible,

Ø  involves pupils in their own recording, reporting and target setting.

Ø  can be monitored by the school senior leadership team and Governors.

Aims:

Assessment of and for learning is essentially ongoing, and should be seen as an integral part of an interactive learning process. The main purpose of assessing a pupil is to enable him/her to make the best possible progress in the development of skills, knowledge and understanding (Assessment for Learning)

Assessment, Recording and Reporting of pupil achievement is needed:

Ø  to lead to improvement in learning outcomes for all pupils.

Ø  to inform planning of individual programmes, focusing on priorities for future learning

Ø  to plan for progression, and maintain consistency and continuity.

Ø  to provide a whole picture of the learner and the learning process

Ø  to inform the contents of reports to parents.

Ø  to promote consistency between staff and others assessing the pupil

Ø  because we are accountable to pupils, parents, Governors, LA, DfE, Ofsted.

Ø  to provide evidence of the value the school adds to pupil achievement.

Ø  so that at short notice, a supply teacher could continue with individual pupil programmes.

Implementation:

In order to allow us to record pupil’s prior attainment every pupil will have an initial assessment against P Levels or Milestones within 6 weeks of starting at the school. Milestones will be used with students entering school post 16. Younger pupils will be assed against the Foundation Stage Profile, but the P level data will give us useful baseline data.

Pupils will be regularly assessed so that we can monitor the rate of progress each pupil is making. Formal assessments will take place twice a year – once in December and once in May. Standard National Curriculum tests would be used for any pupils reaching this level of attainment. This will be unlikely for pupils with SLD.

The Assessment Manager will liaise regularly with the Curriculum Manager to ensure that assessment and the curriculum are integral to each other and not separate entities.

Assessment data is stored electronically in PRYSM. This programme is used to produce the information needed for data analysis and to analyse the data.

The components of assessment at Lakeside are:

Baseline Assessment:

When a pupil first starts school (regardless of age) we will carry out an assessment against the ‘P’ levels in all subjects within 6 weeks of them starting school. If a pupil starts in Foundation Learning they will be assessed against Milestones. This will provide us with baseline information against which to monitor progress. A Lakeside Baseline Assessment sheet will be used to record the results of this assessment and a copy of the completed sheet given to the assessment manager. This baseline assessment will give us the information needed against which to make comparisons, at a later stage, in relation to value added and pupil progress.

Initial Target Setting:

Individual targets will be set within the first two months of a pupil starting at Lakeside, regardless of the age of the pupil. These targets are linked to the objectives on the pupils’ statement of special educational need or the outcomes on the Education health and Care plan The results of the Baseline Assessment are used to help with this task. A multi-disciplinary approach is used – with input from speech/physio therapists, and parents are invited into school to discuss and agree the targets.

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile:

It is a statutory requirement to complete the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile on every pupil as they reach the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This Profile provides a summary of each pupil’s development in relation to stepping stones and early learning goals. Teacher Assessments are made on the basis of accumulated observations and knowledge of the whole child. Alternative assessments can be used – P level assessments provide us with a better assessment tool for our pupils.

Routes for Learning

These assessment materials will be used for pupils with PMLD as a way to measure their progress focusing on early communication, social interaction and early cognitive development. Routes for Learning is specifically written to take into account the complex needs of learners with pmld and the interaction between the sensory impairments, motor disabilities and medical problems that many of them experience. This assessment takes a more holistic view of learners and focuses on how they learn. The Routemap provides an overview showing key milestones which every learner will go through, although the routes they use to get there may vary according to their physical, sensory and learning needs.

Autism Profile Assessment

For pupils with autism a school based Autism Profile Assessment (APA) is used to assess and monitor the impact that difficulties relating to the Triad of Impairments and sensory issues are having on individual pupils. The difficulties associated with these four areas are listed, and using a 5 point scale, staff assess the current challenge faced by the pupil against each of the statements. This information then informs target setting for pupils with autism. A baseline assessment is made using the APA when each pupil enters the school and then at 6 month intervals in line with the P Level assessment timetable.

Teacher Assessment:

P Levels cover all National Curriculum subjects. All pupils, regardless of age, are formally assessed against the ‘P’ Levels for English, Maths, Science, ICT and PSHE, twice per year – once at the end of the Autumn Term and again in May (in line with SAT’s). Students in the Foundation Learning dept. are assessed twice yearly against Milestones for English and Maths and P Levels in ICT, PSHE and Citizenship.

Teachers should select a level descriptor, which describes the types and range of performance that pupils working at a particular level should characteristically demonstrate. In deciding on a pupil’s level of attainment teachers should judge which level best fits the pupil’s performance. Since May 2008 we have been assessing using sub levels c, b and a, with the following as a guideline to decide which sub level to assign to each level:

c = just into the level (approx 25% of level achieved)

b = securely at level (approx 50 - 60% of level achieved)

a = at top end of level (approx 75 - 80% of level achieved)

It is a statutory requirement to collect assessment data. The Government collects data at the end of the summer term as part of their data collection exercise along with SAT’s results and end of key stage data. The data is also collected and analysed by the Local Authority as part of their data collection process. Our data is also sent to Durham University for analysis as part of the ‘Durham project’ where it is analysed as part of a much larger data set of special school assessment levels. We are also involved in a Special School Moderation and Assessment Group (SSMAG) where our data is processed and analysed as part of a cross county group of SLD schools.

The Assessment manager also works with individual class teachers to look at pupil progress with regard to Progression Guidance. Together they look at appropriate yet challenging “P” level targets in Maths and English and review these twice in each academic year. Teachers also complete a pupil profile and update these on a termly basis. This is where teachers can record other aspects of pupil progress that cannot be captured in “P” levels and record any other particular areas to which a pupil may have had access and any benefits gained e.g. Rebound therapy, reflexology etc.

SATs:

Pupils with SLD are by definition working at much lower levels than their mainstream peers and are extremely unlikely to reach levels required to take SATS tests.

Individual Pupil Profiles:

Individual Pupil Assessment Profiles are provided from the PRYSM database at the time of the pupils Annual Review of Statement. These Assessment Profiles give the last 4 assessment results for all subjects (see appendix 4). The aim of these profiles is to give an ‘at a glance’ overview of the level of each pupil, and the progress they are making. These profiles will be kept in each pupils IEP.

Whole School Moderation and Moderation Portfolio:

Assessment results are moderated during the year as appropriate - staff work in groups to discuss and agree levels. The Assessment Manager oversees this process. A county moderation portfolio exists, which is kept in the staff PPA room. It provides us with a ‘benchmark’ of what is considered to be acceptable evidence of levels of achievement relating to the ‘P’ Levels and National Curriculum Levels 1 - 3. This moderation portfolio has been compiled following LA moderation meetings. Within this portfolio there are also some examples of work, which have been moderated by a Special School cross county moderation group which the assessment Manager attends. Each teacher also has a copy of the LA exemplification materials for English and Maths. Each subject leader has a moderated portfolio of work for their subject, which has been compiled by our subject leaders moderating work with subject leaders in other Hertfordshire SLD schools. Teachers should refer to these portfolios and exemplification materials when assessing pupils against the ‘P’ Levels and National Curriculum Levels to check that their judgments are of the agreed level.

Individual/Class Pupil Response/Record Sheets:

Teachers devise their own system for recording pupil progress on an ongoing basis. Individual/Class Response/Record Sheets are used to record pupil progress against their targets - keeping each target under continuous review, which allows for more sensitive/ regular planning for progression. It is a flexible recording system which enables unexpected outcomes to be noted, or for the value of the experience to be recorded. Teachers should encourage all staff who fill in these sheets to record the date and to make concise notes as the information on these sheets can be used for writing annual review reports and when completing teacher assessment levels.

A3 P level sheets: P level recording sheets for all subjects are in place for all pupils. Teachers highlight in orange the sentences in the P levels, which the pupil has achieved. These sheets are kept updated on a regular basis/as appropriate. Teachers then use the information recorded on these sheets to assist them in making their Teacher Assessment judgments.

Learning Journals:

In the EYFS department teachers will maintain a learning Journal for each pupil to which parents are able to contribute. Pupils will be involved as far as possible in the collation of these journals which celebrate achievements in all areas of a child’s work and development

Progress Files:

Along with the teachers’ records each pupil in the NC department will have their own Progress File . These are the property of the pupil although they are held in school unless a parent requests otherwise. Students are encouraged to choose pieces of work, photographs or larger pieces of work to include as a record of their progress. They must make the decisions about what to keep themselves as far as is possible and to be very involved in all aspects of producing the file. Whilst for the younger or less able pupils teacher involvement will be greater, the file will always be filled in alongside the pupil, involving them as much as possible in the process. In addition to a paper based version, some students are compiling an ICT based Progress file – updated as they move through the school.

Reporting to Parents:

The main method of reporting to parents is through the Annual Review of Statement / EHCP and the Annual Report. The annual review process, where previous targets are reviewed and new targets are set, meets the statutory requirements in reporting to parents, and the additional information on other areas of progress and development provides much more detailed information on each curriculum area. The class teacher writes them with contributions made by other teachers who work with the pupils i.e. for music, PE, Sensory, Design & Technology and Science.

The Head and Deputy Head monitor the Annual Review reports and the targets set in them.

Self-Assessment:

There is an ethos at Lakeside of giving pupils the opportunity to participate in self-assessment. Because self-assessment becomes very important for the students in the upper end of the school, we feel that developing these skills is essential throughout the school. Self-assessment takes place mainly through plenary sessions. Pupils are encouraged to talk about what they have been learning, including how they can improve, and the progress they have made. Visual representations of individual pupil targets are use as appropriate to enable pupils to be actively involved in reviewing their progress.

Equal Opportunities:

By monitoring the curriculum coverage and experience of every individual pupil, and by monitoring the targets that are set for each pupil and their rate of progress, we will as a school be able to identify if all pupils are having access to a curriculum to which they are entitled and which is relevant to their special needs.

All pupils regardless of gender, creed, race, ability or social class have access to relevant external accredited schemes (e.g. ASDAN Personal Progress units and Personal and Social Development; AQA Unit award scheme;) as appropriate during their time at Lakeside

Continuity and Progression:

Good assessment, recording and reporting procedures will enable pupils to make the best possible progress in the development of skills, knowledge and understanding, and will allow greater consistency of teaching and learning when pupils change class and/or teachers. The Head and Deputy Head monitor pupil progress through scrutiny of annual review reports, the setting of individual pupil targets and regular lesson observations. The Deputy Head also monitors pupil progress through analysis of Teacher Assessment levels. Pupil progress is analysed against the benchmark given in the National Strategies Progression Guidance 2009-10. External monitoring is routinely conducted for end of Key Stage Assessments (SAT’s); ‘P’ Level assessments and Early Years Foundation Stage Profiles, as well as externally accredited courses. The senior leadership team regularly reviews this process.