LEAFLET TO EXPLAIN CHANGES TO ASSESSMENTS IN ST WERBURGH S AND ST COLUMBA S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL Changes to Assessment in 2015 Pupils from Year 1 to 6 now follow the new National Curriculum. The new curriculum is pitched higher. In April 2014 the Department for Education released 'Assessment Principles', a document outlining the core values all effective assessment systems should implement as part of the changes introduced with the 2014 National Curriculum. As the Government will not impose a single system for ongoing assessment, it is up to schools to implement a system that can: Give reliable information to parents about how their child, and their child s school, is performing, help drive improvement for pupils and teachers and make sure the school is keeping up with external best practice and innovation. Starting in September 2015 we are using a new assessment system to assess attainment and progress against the new National Curriculum. Pupils in Year 2 and 6 in 2014-15 were assessed against the old curriculum. SATS at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 have changed and pupils will be assessed against the new curriculum in the summer term 2016. Pupils will be not be given a level as in previous years. Pupils' results in KS2 SATs will be reported as scaled scores rather than levels. The expected standard will be a score of 100, and scores of above and below 100 will show pupils exceeding and failing to meet the expected standard. National Curriculum Levels are no longer in use. The changes are for children in Years 1-6. The National Curriculum has changed and with it the way all schools track attainment and progress. Previously, if you have had a child in school, teachers will have given you a level to represent your child s attainment, for example a level 3C. The number gave the level and the letter denoted steps within that level. So 3C would be a child just entering Level 3, and 3A a child who was secure in the level and ready to move on to Level 4. Because of the way the old curriculum worked the numbers did not automatically represent the year group a child would be in. The new National Curriculum gives Age Related Expectations for each year group. As a school we now use tracking methods to record attainment and progress using the new Age Related Expectations. The old levels will no longer be used. Bands will replace levels to reference attainment. The bands relate to each year group. Here are the new bands we will be working with. Each band is roughly 3 terms of learning. This is further separated into steps: B/W/S B - If a child is beginning the band W - If a child is working within the band S- If a child is secure in the band and is ready to move on to the next band. A + sign following any of the above letters (bws) will indicate when a child is well within that step. The table below demonstrates how children will be expected to progress through the steps and bands. YEAR GROUP BAND Year 1 BAND 1 Year 2 BAND 2 Year 3 BAND 3 Year 4 BAND 4 Year 5 BAND 5 Year 6 BAND 6 1
The new bands give the level of attainment Year 1 is band 1, and so on until Year 5 is band 5 and Year 6 is band 6. Because all children are individuals and develop at different rates and have differing needs, they will work in the band which is appropriate to them to make sure that learning makes sense. Extra help or challenge is given to make sure they are learning at the right level. Some pupils may be working in a band lower than their year group band. Progress within Bands: As children develop through each Band, we track their progress very carefully. Each Band is broken into 3 steps which roughly represents a term s progress. Over the year the steps are called: beginning, (B) working within (W) and secure (S). Not all children will start on B at the beginning of the school year. Year Autumn Spring Summer 1 1 B 1 W 1 S 2 2 B 2 W 2 S 3 3 B 3 W 3 S 4 4 B 4 W 4 S 5 5 B 5 W 5 S Teachers can further break down each step into two in order to tightly track children s progress and ensure they are constantly moving forwards and building on their previous learning. The extra steps are denoted with a +. E.g. 2W+ shows a child is working well within Band 2 This gives a total of 6 steps for a year. Wherever children begin their learning in September we expect them to make 6 steps progress so if they start at 2W+ in Year 3, we generally will expect them to be at least 3W+ at the end of Year 3. Over time accelerated progress of more than 6 steps will close gaps. Pupils working below band 1 Year 1 pupils who are working below the beginning of the Year 1 band could still be assessed within the Early Years Framework. In Reception children are continuing to be assessed against the Foundation Stage Profile. Evidence for judgments against each of the statements is collected through observations, books and discussions. The school engages in regular moderation of these judgments within our local cluster of schools and the Local Authority. 2
KEY CHANGES TO THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM 2014 The Curriculum at St Werburgh s and St Columba s Catholic Primary School The new 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England is now firmly in place. During the course of the previous academic year (2014-2015) the obligation to teach programmes of study from the previous National Curriculum have been dis-applied and new programmes of study and attainment targets have been put in place. Why the big curriculum change? The main aim is to raise standards. Although the new curriculum is intended to be more challenging, the content is actually slimmer than the current curriculum, focusing on essential core subject knowledge and skills such as essay writing and computer programming. The main changes. The table below summarises the main changes in the core subjects. Subject English Maths What s new? Stronger emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar, punctuation and spelling (for example, the use of commas and apostrophes will be taught in KS1) Handwriting (not currently assessed under the national curriculum) is expected to be fluent, legible and speedy Spoken English has a greater emphasis, with children to be taught debating and presenting skills. Five-year-olds will be expected to learn to count up to 100 (compared to 20 under the current curriculum) and learn number bonds to 20 (currently up to 10) Simple fractions (1/4 and 1/2) will be taught from KS1, and by the end of primary school, children should be able to convert decimal fractions to simple fractions (e.g. 0.375 = 3/8) By the age of nine, children will be expected to know times tables up to 12 12 (currently 10 10 by the end of primary school) Science Design & technology ICT 3 Strong focus on scientific knowledge and language, rather than understanding the nature and methods of science in abstract terms Non-core subjects like caring for animals will be replaced by topics like the human circulatory system Design and Technology has become more important in the new curriculum, setting children on the path to becoming the designers and engineers of the future More sophisticated use of design equipment such as electronics and robotics In KS2, children will learn about how key events and individuals in design and technology have shaped the world. Computing replaces Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with a greater focus on programming rather than on operating programs From age five, children will learn to write and test simple programs, and to organise, store and retrieve data
Languages From seven, they will be taught to understand computer networks, including the internet Internet safety currently only taught from 11-16 will be taught in primary schools Currently not statutory, a modern foreign language or ancient language (Latin or Greek) will be mandatory in KS2. Children will be expected to master basic grammar and accurate pronunciation and to converse, present, read and write in the language. Frequently Asked Questions Why is the system changing? It is part of the new revised National Curriculum. The Government wants a simpler system for parents to understand and for each school to develop their own assessment and tracking system. Will children still have SATs? Yes however this academic year 2015-16 SATs will change and children will be assessed against the new National Curriculum expectations. Children will not receive a level after completing these tests. What can I do to help my child? Parents can help with reading along with time tables, spellings and practising number bonds. Try to ensure your child completes their homework and talk about what they are learning at school. Our website has links to supporting websites and the BBC website where there are lots of fun games to support primary learning. What do teachers use to gauge children s progress? Children s independent work is the biggest indicator of what they can do and how they do it. Teachers use this on a daily basis to know and check pupil understanding and progress. Special pieces of work to inform assessment are planned throughout the year. Formal testing takes the Phonics Screening Test in Year 1 and Year 2 and Year 6 SATs. As a school we will use a range of formal tests including end of term and end of topic tests in maths. Teachers assess independent writing across the curriculum. We are working alongside other schools to bench mark and moderate writing assessments. Will all children in each year group be at the same starting point in September? Not all children will start at B at the beginning of the year or be working within the band for the year group they are in. It will depend on individual children and their needs. Each child will still have their own starting point as they progress through the school and their individual progress will be tracked. How do all schools know that their judgements about progress and attainment match up with each other? We work across our school and in partnership with other local schools to agree and moderate attainment levels and regularly have external moderation from the Local Authority. What happens when my child goes to High School? High schools too will have their own systems and will work with the primary schools to ensure that the systems work together, so there is continuity for children s progress. 4
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