At Audlem St James C.E. Primary School, we assess children continuously via ongoing teacher assessment and tests. This information is regularly reported to parents. Assessments are divided into two categories namely statutory and optional. Children have to complete statutory assessments under current government legislation. The statutory assessments are as follows:
End of Early Years/Reception:
Children are assessed against 17 aspects of learning and development. Children are assessed as Emerging, Expected or Exceeding for each aspect.
For a child to have a Good Level of Development (GLD) they need to achieve Expected or above in all areas with the exception of 'Understanding the World' and 'Expressive Arts and Design'. The GLD is a government measure for attainment in the Early Years.
Achieving Expected means a child has not only reached the expected level they have also achieved what is called 'The Early Learning Goal'.
End of Year 1:
Children undergo a Phonic Screening Check to see if they meet the required government standard. Children who do not meet the required standard in Year 1, repeat the check in Year 2. The pass mark in 2018 was 32 out of 40.
What is Phonics?
Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. They are taught how to:
recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes;
identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make – such as 'sh' or 'oo'; and
blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word.
Children can then use this knowledge to 'decode' new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.
Why Phonics?
Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read.
Almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment.
Children who have been taught phonics also tend to read more accurately than those taught using other methods, such as 'look and say'. This includes children who find learning to read difficult, for example those who have dyslexia.
What is the Phonics Screening Check?
The phonics screening check is a quick and easy check of your child's phonics knowledge.
How does the check work?
Your child will sit with a teacher he or she knows and be asked to read 40 words aloud.
Your child may have read some of the words before, while others will be completely new.
The check normally takes just a few minutes to complete and there is no time limit. If your child is struggling, the teacher will stop the check. The check is carefully designed not to be stressful for your child.
The 2019 check will take place during the week commencing Monday 10th June 2019.
What are 'alien words'?
The check will contain a mix of real words and 'alien words'. Your child will be told before the check that there will be alien words that he or she will not have seen before. Children will be familiar with this because they already use 'alien words' in our daily phonics lessons in school.
Alien words are important to include because words such as 'vap' or 'jound' are new to all children. Children cannot read the non-words by using their memory or vocabulary; they have to use their decoding skills. This is a fair way to assess their ability to decode.
After the check
We will tell you about your child's progress in phonics and how he or she has done in the screening check in the final half-term of Year 1. All children are individuals and develop at different rates. The screening check ensures that teachers understand which children need extra help with phonic decoding.
Helping your child with phonics
Phonics works best when children are given plenty of encouragement and learn to enjoy reading and books. Parents play a very important part in helping with this.
Some simple steps to help your child learn to read through phonics:
Ask your child's class teacher about how we teach phonics in school and how you can reinforce this at home. For example, your child's phonics teacher will let you know which letters and sounds your child is covering in lessons each half term via a half termly overview sent out to all EYFS and Key Stage 1 parents.
You can highlight these sounds when you read with your child. Teaching how sounds match with letters starts with individual letters such as 's', 'a' and 't' and then will move on to two-letter sounds such as 'ee', 'ch' and 'ck'.
With all books, encourage your child to 'sound out' unfamiliar words and then blend the sounds together from left to right rather than looking at the pictures to guess. Once your child has read an unfamiliar word you can talk about what it means and help him or her to follow the story.
Your child's teacher will also be able to suggest books with the right level of phonics for your child. These books are often called 'decodable readers' because the story is written with words made up of the letters your child has learnt. Your child will be able to work out new words from their letters and sounds, rather than just guessing.
Try to make time to read with your child every day. Grandparents and older brothers or sisters can help, too. Encourage your child to blend the sounds all the way through a word.
Word games like 'I-spy' can also be an enjoyable way of teaching children about sounds and letters. You can also encourage your child to read words from your shopping list or road signs to practise phonics.
End of Year 2 (Key Stage 1):
Do you have a child in Year 2? If so, they will take the national curriculum tests, also known as SATs, in May 2019. Your child's teacher will use what they have seen in the classroom, as well as the results of these tests, to help judge how well your child is progressing overall in maths, reading, writing and science. The combined results will also help teachers identify if your child needs further support, and to put this in place as early as possible.
Key Stage 1 Tests:
Teachers mark the Key Stage 1 test papers. The results (available on request) are reported as a scaled score.
A scaled score of 100 means a child is working at the expected standard for the end of the key stage.
A scaled score below 100 indicates that a child may need more support to work at the expected standard.
A scaled score above 100 suggests a child is working above the expected standard for the key stage.
If the scaled scores indicate that your child isn't working at the expected standard, you shouldn't worry. It's important to remember that these test results aren't the whole picture. Teachers use the test results as one piece of evidence to help them arrive at their overall teacher assessment judgements and help them identify what additional support your child may need.
End of Year 6 (Key Stage 2):
Do you have a child in Year 6? If so, they will take the key stage 2 national curriculum tests, also known as SATs, in May 2019. They are marked externally and the results sent to schools. Before the end of the summer term, we will send you a report. The report will include test results and teacher assessment judgements. Your child's teacher forms the teacher assessment judgements. They judge what your child has achieved in maths, reading, writing and science at the end of Year 6. Together, these tests and assessments should provide you with a good sense of the standard that your child is working at in these subjects.
Key Stage 2 Tests:
Your child will take tests in maths, reading and grammar, punctuation and spelling in May. We will report these test results as a scaled score for each subject. There is no writing test; writing is judged by teacher assessment only.
A scaled score of 100 means a child is working at the expected standard for the end of the key stage.
A scaled score below 100 indicates that a child may need more support to help them reach the expected standard.
A scaled score above 100 suggests a child is working above the expected standard for the key stage.
The highest scaled score a child can achieve is 120. At present a scaled score of 110 and over is considered as a high level of attainment (the equivalent of Greater Depth in writing).
Teacher Assessment:
Please note for teacher assessment 'working towards' and 'working at greater depth' are only awarded for writing. So apart from writing, a child can only be 'at the expected standard' or 'not at the expected standard' in reading, maths and science. Those judged to be at Greater Depth in writing are working above the national expected standard.
SCORES ON THE DOORS
Grammar & Punctuation Test (out of 50 marks)
Spelling Test (out of 20 marks)
Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling Test (out of 70 marks)
Reading Test (out of 50 marks)
Mathematics Arithmetic Test (out of 40 marks)
Mathematics Reasoning Test 1 (out of 35 marks)
Mathematics Reasoning Test 2 (out of 35 marks)
Mathematics Test (out of 110 marks)
MARKS REQIRED TO ACHIEVE THE EXPECTED STANDARD IN 2018:
Reading (Expected = 28/50, Higher level = 40/50)
Maths (Expected =61/110 , Higher level = 96/110)
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Expected = 38/70, Higher level = 56/70)
The end of KS2 assessments help teachers identify where children may need extra help and support as they move to secondary school.
If you have any questions about your child's results and what support they might need to do well in secondary school, please speak to your child's class teacher.
Some children won't take the tests if they are working below the standard of the tests. If this is the case for your child, their teacher will assess them separately using different national measurements, called pre-key stage standards.
If this situation applies to your child, we will discuss any extra support they may need with you.