Buckinghamshire County Council Education Department

“Inspired to Learn, Motivated to Achieve”

Sheldon Road, Ickford, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP18 9HY Telephone:  01844 339261 Facsimile:  01844 339261 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ickford.bucks.sch.uk

John Ronane MA, MBA, NPQH, FCollT

Tuesday December 15th

Dear Parents,

Re: New assessment procedures in Primary Schools and reports to parents

The majority of you should be aware that this year we changed the way of reporting children’s progress to parents because of the Department for Education’s decision to stop using numerical levels to measure attainment. The termly progress reports that you received last year used the criteria; Emerging, Developing, Secure and Exceeding to describe the current standing of each child.

Now that we have completely stopped using the old levels, I am in a position to inform you of a small change to the terminology we shall use from now on and how the system works. The criteria called Exceeding will now be called Mastery but the description for this judgement will remain the same and can be seen below.

Emerging The child is currently below the expected level of attainment and may be making slow progress. They have developed some understanding of key concepts but these may be isolated examples. They may have a different need that impacts on their progress and may be receiving additional support within the classroom. Some children may receive support from external sources and have an Educational Support Plan.

Developing The child is below the expected level of attainment but making progress and working towards the level for his or her age group. They have developed some understanding of key concepts and have some confidence when working independently. They may receive some support within the classroom beyond the normal differentiation of the class teacher.

Secure The child has reached the expected standard for their age group and is continuing to make good progress. They have developed a deep understanding of key concepts and they can work independently within the curriculum area. They are able to make connections between different subject areas and draw on their knowledge and understanding without prompts. Mastery The child works consistently above the expected standard for their age and makes rapid progress when challenged. They have a deep knowledge of curriculum material and are self-motivated learners able to work independently.

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception) None of the above relates to you if you have a child in Reception, it is only relative to children following the National Curriculum. Children in Reception have only 3 descriptors on their reports and these are related to the Early Learning Goals and stages of development for children before they begin the National Curriculum in Year 1. In addition to this report, at the end of the academic year, you will receive an assessment booklet summarising your child’s progress and attainment in the Foundation Stage.

What happens next?

You will receive a brief report on your children’s progress during the first week of the new term after the teachers have moderated any assessments and children’s work from this term. You may find that a child who was previously Secure or Exceeding (Mastery) is now graded as Developing or Emerging and this is because the judgements are made according to the curriculum and expectations for the year group that the child has entered and a child is not expected to be Secure in the year group objectives at this point in the year. The expectation is that each child should be Secure by the end of the summer term having progressed from Emerging or Developing at the beginning of the academic year.

As I explained in my letter last March, describing attainment using the four descriptors I have outlined, we expect to be able to make judgements on the children using a broader set of criteria and taking into account a wider range of factors that impact on progress. The new National Curriculum has less content enabling children to study topics in more depth and to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of them so we hope to make the most of this to enrich the curriculum for them.

I hope that this information will make reports from the school accessible and easy to understand. We will continue to give termly updates on progress and to give out a full, annual report just after Easter that will contain targets to be focused on during the summer term.

The children in Year 2 and Year 6 will take the new Standard Attainment Tests (SATS) in May of this year but, as before, these should not be the cause of anxiety or stress. We will provide anymore necessary information nearer to the time of the tests.

Please keep this letter as a point of reference when you receive your children’s reports. From now on, the end of term progress reports that you receive will use the new descriptors replacing Exceeding with Mastery.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mr Ronane