Assessment and Target Setting

The principle of assessment is to check and identify what a child understands and what they need to learn next. It ensures that teachers can plan appropriately to enable our pupils to achieve more. Assessment is continuous throughout lessons and interventions.

To give information to parents and carers about their child’s progress:

• Progress in English and maths is checked four times a year
• Aspirational targets are set for the end of the year
• Some pupils will undertake tests and exams during the year
• Every pupil will receive a written report on achievement during the year
• There are three parent evenings meetings through the year where progress is discussed with the teachers
• The school uses its own assessment system to monitor and evaluate progress

Leaders have developed a clear framework for assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress. Assessment systems using ‘I can’ statements support planning to meet different learning needs. 

Pupils’ achievement is monitored through bespoke I Can statements within each subject. Progress against each statement is demonstrated through lateral levels to demonstrate depth of learning:

• Encountered
• Participated
• Involved
• Developed
• Achieved
• Mastered

It is recognised that progress will be individual and the expectation of how much progress each pupil will make will be considered against the individual’s: cognitive ability, syndrome, physical and sensory difficulty. Progress for one pupil may be evidenced by Mastered in a higher Stage in the school system; for another it may be recorded as being Involved in more concepts at a lower Stage. Both are regarded as equal in excellence.

The Government has announced that schools need to create their own assessment systems involving the following principles:

Give reliable information to parents about how their child, and their child’s school, is performing.

Help drive improvement for pupils and teachers.

Make sure the school is keeping up with external best practice and innovation

JCS equivalent grades