Assessments
At Phoenix, we believe that regular assessment is an integral part of growth and recovery. Strong assessment procedures lead to strong outcomes. We use the REAch2 assessment Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess pupils on a regular basis.
We have developed a set of KPIs in reading, writing and maths that children are expected to meet by the end of their age related school year. Attainment assessments are made by teachers using their professional judgement but these must stand up to rigorous scrutiny by leaders and moderation with colleagues within and across schools. All REAch2 schools will be expected to participate in cross school moderation, with regions and clusters, to quality assure their judgements on attainment.
In our planning, we have taken into consideration the effect of COVID-19 on the 2019-2020 education of our children and the fact that there is no up-to-date assessment data for teachers to use to inform their teaching for September 2020. The 2020-21 assessment programme allows for additional baselining entry information through the use of standardised PiRA & PUMA tests.
In addition to regular Teacher Assessments, children complete a number of statutory assessments, as below:
Phonics Screening Check
The purpose of the phonics screening check will be to confrm that all children have learned phonic decoding to an age-appropriate standard. Children who have not reached this level should receive extra support from their school to ensure they can improve their decoding skills, and will then have the opportunity to retake the phonics screening check.
Year 2 SATs
Children are tested in maths and English (reading and spelling, punctuation and grammar) at the end of their infant Key Stage 1 education. Teachers generally try to keep the testing procedure informal – the papers are not strictly timed, and are usually taken in a normal classroom situation to keep the pressure off children.
Year 4 Times Tables
At Phoenix St. Peter Academy, children in Year 4 are tested on their ability to recall their times tables accurately and at speed. These assessments are completed on school computers and children are given time to learn and practise times tables in school.
Year 6 SATs
Children near the end of their primary education in Year 6 undertake their Standard Assessment Tests (SATs). These tests are standardised across the country to give secondary schools a standard assessment of children’s skills and knowledge against the primary curriculum.
All KS2 children are made aware of the expectations of SATs in Y6 and we do our best to expose children to SATs style questioning without testing them for the sake of giving a test. Alongside the grade awarded for children’s marks in the SATs papers, teachers are also asked to submit Teacher Assessment grades to support the best judgement of children’s abilities.