Enjoy • Achieve • Aspire
The aim of this guide is to clarify the approach to assessment taken within Innsworth Junior School and how this links with the Key Stage 2 SATs.
Teachers are assessing your children all the time in a variety of every day ways which vary from conversations to analysis of written work. Your children will be given regular feedback about their learning and progress. The following document is a guide to the symbols teachers will use when marking work and what they mean.
More formal assessments are also used to track children’s progress and identify any gaps in their learning.
Children’s writing is assessed 3 times a year against the appropriate Year group’s standards. We record whether each child is working below, at the expected standard or at greater depth.
We use the NFER Grammar and spelling tests, 3 times a year. These give children a standardised score. Progress is also assessed informally through looking at their writing. This allows staff to identify areas for development which can then be planned for in future writing units.
We track children’s reading progress through the National Book Band scheme and assess informally during whole class reading (WCR) sessions. The NTS reading papers are used 3 times a year which gives us a reading age and a standardised score for every child. We also use ‘Rapid Reading’ assessments or the Salford Reading Test to identify gaps or small steps in progress for children with SEN.
We use termly assessments which allow teachers to identify strengths and areas for development within the content taught in that term. This is then followed up in future planning and addressed during Maths on Track (MOT) sessions. We also hold pupil progress staff meetings termly in which we plan provision for any children whose progress is a concern.
In Year 4, we carry out the Multiplication Tables Check. The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will help schools to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided.
In Year 6 we carry out National Assessments (SATs) in Reading, Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, and Mathematics. Key Stage 2 assessments results are reported using a National Scaled Score. Writing is assessed using teacher judgements and is moderated. More information on this can be found on the DFE website.