Assessment and Moderation Policy

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1 Sandgate School Aims and Mission We AIM to affirm the right to an appropriate education for every individual and to ensure that right for all, regardless of individual differences, and for pupils to: become motivated life-long learners, achieving the highest standard of which they are capable relating to functional life skills, qualifications and quality of life have high self-esteem, respecting others and the environment gain technological skills seek to extend themselves in mind, body and spirit Our MISSION for the school: We believe that each pupil will succeed through experiencing quality in: a broad and challenging curriculum an enriching programme of extra-curricular activities and visits a stimulating environment a creative, varied and up to date range of learning experiences innovative teaching and an investigative approach to learning an ethos of support, challenge and encouragement to succeed learning partnerships between school, home and the community RATIONALE The Assessment Policy details all elements of assessment within Sandgate School and the rationale behind it. Assessment lies at the heart of the process of promoting children s learning. Assessment is incorporated systematically into teaching strategies in order to diagnose any problems and to chart progress. It helps the school to strengthen learning for every child and helps teachers enhance their skills and judgements. It enables learners to recognise achievement and make progress, and teachers to shape and adapt their teaching to individual needs and aspirations Rigorous assessment and careful management of the results are key to developing good working practices in terms of target setting and progression. AIM This document clarifies how and why we assess students and gives guidance to staff to ensure their understanding of and involvement with the assessment process. PRINCIPLES Sandgate school aims to- Monitor progress and support learning 1

2 Recognise the achievements of pupils and celebrate their success Inform parents and the wider community of pupil achievement Provide information for professionals at the time of transition to new classes or educational establishments Comply with statutory requirements Guide future planning, teaching, and curriculum development We use a variety of assessment tools, some summative, some diagnostic and some formative. ACRONYMS In this document, the following acronyms will be used- CASPA CS GAP AR IEP ASDAN NOCN AQA Comparison and Analysis of Special Pupil Attainment Connecting Steps Group Analysis Programme Annual Review Individual Education Plan Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (awarding body) National Open College Network Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (exam and awarding body) TYPES OF ASSESSMENT- Formative- This is the on-going assessment carried out by school staff formally and informally during the term. Results and observations are kept in teacher s records or with the children s own work. Discussions about children s progress happen at class meetings. Examples- Observations, questioning of children, photographing, marking and completion of CS. Summative- These assessments happen at pre-determined times during the academic year. They include AQA awards, NOCN, ASDAN and Phonics Screening. Diagnostic- Specific tests can be done to establish particular difficulties. Individual Specialist teachers and therapists may use diagnostic tests to clarify need- for example, dyslexia screening tests or miscue analysis. SANDGATE SCHOOLS ASSESSMENT METHODS Annual Review The Annual Review is the statutory process of assessing whether a child s needs are being met with their current statement. The review involves a meeting with parents, students, teaching staff and other related agencies including- social workers, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists etc. The meeting is a chance to share progress and issues and to ensure that the students needs are still being adequately met. At the end of the review, the chair of the meeting (a member of the school leadership team) will ask all whether 2

3 the statement remains appropriate and whether any further advice needs to be sought. Annual review paperwork must be circulated to parents and all parties involved with the student no later than two weeks before the Annual Review meeting. On the completion of the review, an SENR3 is completed (a summary of the meeting) and submitted to the local authority. Students in years 9 and above also have a Transition Plan which details future plans for them. IEP Every child with a statement for their severe or profound needs has an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP consists of a maximum of five specific targets linked to the students statement and their current areas in which they need to improve. This plan is set and reviewed termly. IEP s will be written and shared with students whenever possible so they are aware of their targets. KS1 Phonics Screening In the Summer term, students in KS1 are required to take the Phonics screening test and inform the DfE of the results. The KS1 teacher will liaise with the Deputy Head teacher over the arrangements and administration. Moderation Moderation of student s work ensures that there is consistency between all teaching staff over the standard required to achieve a specific P or National Curriculum Level. Subject leaders hold annual moderation meetings and collate examples of each level in each subject area. Marking All work completed should be annotated with comments from school staff. Class staff should be aware that pieces of work need levelling against the Connecting Steps levels, ready for inclusion in the Progress Files once a level has been achieved. Marking should include how the student can improve on their work and therefore improve on their levels in that subject. It should also use the following annotations to ascertain how much help was given to the student- IND- Independent work HoH- Hand over hand VP- Verbal Prompt PP- Physical Help Progress Files Every student has a Progress File which follows them throughout the school. The Progress File contains sections for each of the core subjects. These sections show the completed level a student has achieved with a piece of work or witness statement which demonstrates evidence of this level of work. Class teachers add a new printed out connecting Steps level and the related evidence once the level has been mastered. A student who does not achieve progress to the next level within an academic year will have evidence of their continuing level added to their Progress File. 3

4 Connecting Steps Connecting Steps is an electronic assessment and pupil tracking system, run by a company called B Squared. The software allows schools to monitor and analyse whole school performance for the National Curriculum, it also allows the monitoring and analysis of P Levels, the Foundation Curriculum and the Birth to 3 Matters Curriculum. It allows teachers to use the pupils' previous achievements to plan lessons effectively. The software also produces various reports for individual pupils which can be used as part of the annual review process or as part of the school report, making it easier to show what has been achieved by the pupil. The software provides standardisation across English, Maths, Science, ICT and PSHE within the school. GAP The GAP programme is a software package which is also run by B Squared. It takes the data from Connecting Steps and turns it into reports and graphs which show how individuals, classes and the whole school are performing. It allows the Senior Leadership team to analyse performance of different groups. GAP is also the tool with which target setting can happen, as it looks at prior attainment and then plots end of Key Stage levels. Teachers can then use these targets to help inform planning. CASPA CASPA is a national database. CASPA provides schools with a set of comparative data to allow the bench-marking of attainment and progress for both individual pupils and cohorts within the school and presents analyses to meet the needs of all those who require access to such information. Once the CS data has been ended at the end of the term, the administrative team and data manager import the data to the CASPA system. Letters and Sounds A large part of teaching at Sandgate is aims to develop the literacy skills of every student. Ensuring students have access to a phonics programme can help them in their literacy development. Sandgate uses the Letters and Sounds system of teaching phonics and the assessment tools within it. Every class teacher is responsible for assessing the student s level on a termly basis and keeping them in the Progress File. The results will be conveyed to the English Subject Leader. Social Sight Vocabulary- In consultation with the English Subject Leader, staff may feel that a student has progressed to a level where following the Letters and Sounds programme may be of limited benefit. At this point, it may be more appropriate for the student to carry out work on Social Sight Vocabulary to enable them to access the literate world they live in on a more practical level. Assessment for Learning (AfL) Assessment for learning is a method of teaching and assessing where all students are aware of what they are aiming to achieve within each lesson. Students are encouraged to give and receive feedback on their own and others work. It enables learners to know where they are in their learning and what they have to do in order to reach their next target. The key characteristics of AfL are- 4

5 Sharing learning objectives with students Helping students know what they are aiming for Use peer and self-assessment Provide feedback so students know their next steps, eg. Plenaries and mini plenaries Promote confidence and self-esteem in order for them to achieve Involve teacher and student in reviewing assessment information Target Setting All students have targets set for them linked to their IEP. They also have targets in individual lessons and subjects, related to the scheme of work. All students have end of Key Stage targets set using the GAP system. Progression Guidance Progression Guidance was developed by the National Strategies and the DCSF as part of the commitment in the Children's Plan Its aim is to provide better data for schools on the progress made by learners with special educational needs, learning difficulties and disabilities (SEN/LDD). Its purpose is to raise expectations and set out the evidence of progress already being made by learners with SEN/LDD. The focus is on those working below age-related expectations. The guidance focuses on the attainment and progress of learners with SEN/LDD in English, mathematics and science. Areas of Responsibility Head Teacher Deputy Head teacher Teachers Subject Leaders Administrative staff Has an overview of the current levels within the school. Chairing of Annual Review meetings. Responsible for overseeing and managing the assessment and moderation procedures within the school. Timetabling of moderation meetings. Chairing of Annual Review meetings. Using prior learning of students to inform curriculum planning. Inputting current levels achieved on the Connecting Steps system. Construction and reviewing of IEP s every term. Writing the Annual Review and being present at the meeting. Completion of Progress File evidence once a level has been met. Carry out Subject Leaders Monitoring of their area annually. Construction of the Annual Review timetable and informing all relevant agencies/parents. Migration of assessment data from CS to CASPA at the end of each term. 5

6 PARENT INVOLVEMENT The School actively encourages parents to be involved in assessment. Feedback is given to them during Annual Review meetings and at TACs. YEAR PLANNER September Base-lining of all new students All data on new students added onto CS October Annual Reviews begin Feedback to Governors on current standards and progress November / December All students CS profiles to be completed January / February / March All students CS profiles to be completed April / May / June All students CS profiles to be completed July All CS data migrated to CASPA Subjects are monitored by subject leaders annually. The timetable of moderation is fixed and held on the school year planner, drawn up in September. 6