Assessment

Statutory Requirements

At Akaal Primary School, we undertake the following statutory assessments:

Reception baseline assessment
Year 1 phonics check
KS1 SATs
Year 4 multiplication check
KS2 SATs

Assessment at Akaal Primary School

We have data checkpoints every 6 weeks which are based on teacher assessment. This assessment is linked to ARE (Age Related Expectations) which checks progress and attainment of the individual child.

Following from this each teacher meets with a member of SLT (Senior Leadership Team), during pupil progress meetings, to discuss where further support or challenge is needed.

EYFS

In Reception, children are assessed using non-statutory guidance called Developmental Matters and the new EYFS Framework 2021. We capture evidence of each child’s learning to show the skills, knowledge and understanding that the children have acquired throughout the year. We then assess against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) in five out of the seven areas of learning, which indicates a child’s good level of development during their time in Reception.

The seven areas of learning are separated into the Prime and specific areas. The Prime areas of Learning include: Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development.

The four specific areas of Learning include:

Literacy
Maths
Understanding of the World
Expressive Arts and Design

Our focus for the children’s learning is through play which includes a range of focussed tasks, carpet time learning and independent learning that build up knowledge of a child. Staff collate these practises and with professional conversations on a regular basis, help to inform where children are currently at and can then progress to next.

We also use Tapestry, which is a secure online learning journey to capture each children’s experiences, along with ‘wow moments’ that showcase each child’s learning. Parental involvement is encouraged using photos, videos and commentary that enables parents to contribute to their own child’s development.

Reflective Logs

All teachers are required to keep a ‘reflective log’. These contain teacher’s assessments of the day’s learning, as well as any next steps which are needed to help pupils progress. Reflective logs are checked at regular points by a member of SLT and form the basis of teacher’s assessments for children.

Topic

Mission briefs are given and explained at the start of every new unit - these highlight the assessment criteria to the pupil and how they can achieve.

Topic assessment is done formally through a ‘Mission Debrief’. The children’s work is marked in line with the marking policy and any specific feedback is given with reference to the missions objectives.

Children are given the chance to ‘Deep Dive’ and achieve Greater Depth by manipulating the objective – this is also referenced on the Mission Brief and Debrief sheets.

Children who have completed the criteria and achieved the objectives are awarded with either a purple or gold stamp.

Maths

Summative assessment: Pre-assessments are undertaken at the start of each unit of maths – these identify any gaps in the children’s learning and highlight them to the teacher(s). Post-assessments are done at the end of each unit of maths and are used to show pupil progress, also highlighting if there are any areas which the child still needs support with – this may be covered in ‘Can You Still…’ time.

Chapter introductions are written so that children know what they are learning about and how they can achieve.

Formative assessments are conducted throughout the learning and recorded in the reflective log – this helps the teacher to plan the child’s next learning.

In the moment marking and assessment are used in order for children to progress as quickly as possible. Feedback is completed against chapter introductions – pupils are able to independently view the success criteria at any time and know what is expected of them.

When children have completed the learning objective, they are given a purple stamp. They then have the chance to dive deeper into their learning; manipulating or applying the objective to new concepts – this is made clear on the gold chapter introduction. If they do this successfully, they are awarded the gold stamp.

Maths Reasoning

Maths reasoning assessments take place once a week.

Assessments are written out and recorded in class maths reasoning books, along with any next steps to be taken by the teacher(s).

Can You Still?

Can you still books are used as a form of retrieval at the start of maths and reading sessions. They allow teachers to assess if previous learning has been remembered and again identify any gaps that will affect pupil progress.

English

Chapter introductions are written so that children know what they are learning about and how they can achieve.

Formative assessments are conducted throughout the learning and recorded in the reflective log – this helps the teacher to plan the child’s next learning. This is done through draft writing, which can be edited. The children will then be expected to write a ‘Final Piece’, which is assessed so that the teacher can plan for any learning that needs to be revisited.

Reading

Reading assessments take place once a week.

Assessments are written out and recorded in class reading books, along with any next steps to be taken by the teacher(s).