Assessment

In Reception, children are required to complete a short interactive baseline assessment within the first 6 weeks of them starting the year. This assessment has been developed by the DfE and is practical and focuses on maths and communication and language. The data from this assessment is not shared with schools or families, it is stored by the DfE and then used to measure progress throughout their time in primary school.

At the end of a child’s year in Reception, the EYFS profile is completed for them. The profile covers all 17 areas of the Early Years and Foundation Stage curriculum, and children are graded in the following way:

1 – working towards the expected standard
2 – working at the expected standard

The outcomes of a child’s EYFS profile are sent to the local authority and then collated nationally. These are then shared with parents and carers and teachers use these to support their transition discussions with Year 1 teachers.

From the 2019/20 academic year, all pupils in Year 4 take part in the Multiplication Tables Check. This is an online assessment that takes place during a two-week period starting in June. The assessment tests pupil’s ability to recall their multiplication tables up to 12×12. The purpose of the table check is to determine whether pupils can recall times tables fluently. There is no expected pass mark for this check, however, staff will use the outcomes information to inform their planning and support for individuals. Details of pupils’ individual scores will also be shared during transition meetings with their new teachers as they move into Year 5.

The Process

The national statutory assessment for KS2 takes place towards the end of Year 6 (see Key Dates below). This assessment process calls upon the pupil’s prior learning from Year 3 through to Year 6. The assessment is made up of six tests (English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, Reading and Mathematics which is split into 3 papers) and two Teacher Assessments (Writing and Science). The tests are completed under strict test conditions on set dates. These tests are stored securely until they are taken away for external marking. Throughout the academic year, pupils are given opportunities to become familiar with this process, this allows pupils to go into their SATs with confidence and clarity.

The Teacher Assessments are completed by class teachers and submitted to the Local Authority following an internal moderation process. Teachers follow a strict assessment framework and use exemplar material to aid their judgments. Children produce a selection of six written pieces which are teacher assessed. This work is produced over the course of several weeks, following Year 6 SATs week and is an important part of the national assessments. It is absolutely vital that children attend fully at this time. Once the six pieces are completed, the class teacher follows a strict assessment framework in order to assign a writing level to each child. Teachers also refer to exemplar materials and will internally moderate their judgements with another primary school from TGAT. These outcomes are then submitted to the Local Authority.

External moderation may take place, in which the Local Authority will visit during the testing periods and monitor the storing of material as well as the administration of the tests. The Writing Teacher Assessments may also be externally monitored; this process involves a moderator visiting school and checking teacher judgments against pupil’s books as evidence. During the 2023/2024 and the 2017/18 academic year, the KS2 Writing Teacher Assessments were externally moderated, and our judgements were found to be in line with that of the moderator.