Assessment

Year 2 National Curriculum Testing – Information for Parents

Year 2 children will take the national curriculum tests, also known as SATs, in May. Your child’s teacher will use the results of these tests to help them judge how well they are progressing, but they won’t be using the test results alone. Instead, they’ll be thinking about what they’ve seen over the whole of years 1 and 2 so they can get a full, accurate picture of how well your child is doing. School will send you a report on their progress by the end of the summer term.

Assessment is important because it helps teachers to understand how your child is doing and put in place support to help them improve if they need it. If, for example, your child is struggling with their reading, it is vital that the school knows this early on, so they can give them the help they need to get back on track. Without these assessments, there is risk your child is struggling and they do not get the support they need.

What you will receive from school

After your child’s teacher has considered your child’s work across years 1 and 2, as well as their scores on the tests, they will make their assessment. The school will then provide a report on what your child has achieved in mathematics, English reading, English writing and science, and you will receive this report by the end of the summer term.

When making their decisions, teachers will think about what your child can do against the national standards, that is how other children are performing across the country. The report from the school will tell you whether your child is performing at the expected standard for their age in maths, English reading and English writing or whether they need some support to achieve this.

How are the tests marked?

Your child’s teacher will mark their test papers, and the results will be reported using what’s known as a scaled score, where a score of 100 means a child is working at the standard expected of them. A score below 100 indicates that a child needs more support and a score of 100 or above suggests a child is working at or above expectations for their age. The maximum score possible is 115, and the minimum is 85.

It’s important to remember that these tests aren’t the whole picture though. Teachers will also make judgements based on how your child has performed in the classroom over the last two years and they will use the tests as one piece of evidence to make their judgements. The reason for having these tests in addition is it gives teachers a way of comparing your child against a consistent national standard.

School does not publish the test results, and they are not sent to the government. You won’t receive your child’s results from the school, but if you’d like to see them you’re free to ask for them.

Should I be worried if my child isn’t at the expected standard in the test?

Absolutely not, these tests are taking place to help teachers identify where children might be struggling so they can put support and extra assistance in place to get them back on track with their reading or maths learning.

Also these tests are just one element of the overall assessment for children at year 2, and teachers are also considering how pupils performed over the whole of years 1 and 2 when they are making their judgements.

What happens next?

You should wait until the full teacher assessment is completed by the end of June, so that your child’s teacher can give you all the information you need to understand how well your child is doing.

This information will be used by your child's class teacher, the school's leaders (Mr. Smith, Mrs. Haves and the Governing body) and you, to ensure that your child is getting the right support to master the curriculum as they move into year 3.

 Further Information

Your child’s teacher will be able to answer any queries about the tests and the overall teacher assessment judgements, or you can visit www.gov.uk/STA for more details.

Y1 Phonics Screening Check – Information for Parents

The Phonics Screening Check is used to show how well your child can use the phonics skills they’ve learned up to the end of Year 1, and to identify pupils who need extra phonics help.

The check consists of 40 words and non-words that your child will be asked to read one-on-one with a teacher. Non-words (or nonsense words, or pseudo words) are a collection of letters that will follow phonics rules your child has been taught, but don’t mean anything – they will need to read these with the correct sounds to show that they understand the phonics rules behind them.

The 40 words and non-words are divided into two sections – one with simple word structures of three or four letters, and one with more complex word structures of five or six letters. The teacher administering the check with your child will give them a few practise words to read first – including some non-words – so they understand more about what they have to do. Each of the non-words is presented with a picture of a monster/alien, as if the word were their name.

School will administer the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check the week beginning 8th June 2020.

In past years the “pass threshold” was 32, which means children had to read at least 32 words out of 40 correctly. The threshold mark is communicated to schools at the end of June after the test has been taken so that teachers can mark the Check.

You will be informed of your child’s score in their end of year report. If a child’s score falls below the standard, they will be given extra phonics help and can retake the Phonics screening check in Year 2.

Early Years Foundation Stage Assessment – Information for Parents

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child in our Nursery and Reception classes.

Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise children’s progress, understand their needs, and to plan activities to help children progress. Ongoing assessment (also known as formative assessment) is an integral part of the learning and development process. It involves practitioners observing children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and to then shape learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations.

In the final term of the Reception year the EYFS Profile must be completed for each child. Each child’s level of development must be assessed against the early learning goals and children are expected to achieve a ‘Good Level of Development’ (GLD). Practitioners must indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are exceeding expected levels, or not yet reaching expected levels (‘emerging’).

Reception Baseline

What is the reception baseline assessment?

The reception baseline assessment is a new national assessment for all children starting in reception classes from September 2021.

The assessment will take place during the first six weeks of the autumn term and will take around 20 minutes in total.

Each child will work with the class teacher on simple tasks in the areas of communication, language and literacy and maths. The activities may involve using some resources, such as counters to answer some questions.

The teacher will ensure each child is at ease and happy to take part, and they will use the findings to plan for the development of each child. There will be no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ and no score.

The assessment will form the baseline for primary progress measures, allowing schools to receive credit for the progress their pupils make throughout their time in primary school.

Multiplication tables check