The Local Authority Developmental Age Band Assessment Moderation Meetings Autumn 2016

Dear Colleagues

The Local Authority Developmental Age Band Assessment Moderation Meetings – Autumn 2016

To ensure the accuracy and reliability of assessments made using EYFS age bands there is an expectation that practitioners from settings/schools or childminders submitting data to the Local Authority will attend developmental age band moderation meetings, termly. These meetings are also open to other settings making assessments using the developmental age bands.

Moderation is a supportive discussion between practitioners from different settings about the children they are positioning in the developmental age bands. The discussion helps to clarify where children’s observed behaviours are used to make ‘best fit’ decisions in relation to the developmental matters age bands.

Practitioners should bring any relevant documentation (e.g. EYFS Development Matters/Early Years Outcomes) to the meeting, along with any information that will support their knowledge of the children being discussed (e.g. annotated photographs, observations, Tapestry etc. and any other assessment information).

Please refer to the guidance information at the bottom of this letter about making judgements against the EYFS Development Matters age bands.

The following table shows the date, times and venues of the meetings. Places are limited; childminders, setting and schools are welcome to apply for one place at any of the meetings. We limit places to allow as many different ‘settings’ to be accommodated. Please contact your locality Early Years Consultant for further information and to book a place ASAP.

West Locality - Kay Summers [email protected]

North Locality - Liz Somerville [email protected]

Central/South East Localities - Claire Johnson [email protected]

Kind regards,

Northumberland Early Years Consultants

Age Band Moderation Meetings - Autumn 2016 South East Date Time Venue Wednesday 16th November 1.30pm - 3.00pm Blyth West Children’s Centre

Wednesday 16th November 4.00pm – 5.30pm Blyth West Children’s Centre Wednesday 16th November 6.30pm – 8.00pm Blyth West Children’s Centre

Central Date Time Venue Thursday 17th November 1.30pm - 3.00pm Ashington Children’s Centre

Thursday 17th November 4.00pm – 5.30pm Ashington Children’s Centre Thursday 17th November 6.30pm – 8.00pm Ashington Children’s Centre

West Date Time Venue Wednesday 16th November 4.00pm – 5.30pm Prudhoe Children’s Centre Wednesday 16th November 6.30pm – 8.00pm Prudhoe Children’s Centre

Thursday 17th November 1.30pm - 3.00pm Hexham East Children’s Centre Thursday 17th November 4.00pm – 5.30pm Hexham East Children’s Centre

North Date Time Venue Wednesday 23rd November 4.00pm - 5.30pm Alnwick Children’s Centre Wednesday 23rd November 6.30pm - 8.00pm Alnwick Children’s Centre Wednesday 30th November 1.30pm - 3.00pm Berwick Children’s Centre Wednesday 30th November 4.00pm - 5.30pm Berwick Children’s Centre

The purpose of assessment

The EYFS requires practitioners to track children’s progress towards the ELGs. In order to do this we need to make on-going (formative) assessments which at key points in time we then use to help us make a judgement (summative assessment) about a child’s stage of development. To know whether or not a child is on track to achieve the ELGs at the end of reception, we make a judgement about whether their stage of development is typical for their age. Because the development bands described in the EYFS are broad in terms of months (and overlap), we use the refinements emerging, developing and secure to indicate a child’s level of mastery within each band. In addition to making judgements on a child’s level of attainment, we also need to monitor rates of progress in the different areas of learning and whether progress is appropriate. Progress is measured by comparing the difference between summative assessments made at key points.

The Local Authority has responsibility for monitoring the progress and attainment of children throughout the EYFS. It is for this reason that LA has started to collect data from all early years providers about children’s level of development when starting funded provision at age 2, 3 or 4 years. It is therefore imperative that judgements made between settings are accurate and consistent to ensure data is robust.

How do we make judgements?

When making summative assessment judgements, practitioners must draw on their knowledge of the child including information from other people e.g. parents and other professionals. Practitioners must then use both this knowledge of the unique child along with their understanding of child development to position the child within the age band which best describes them. The following prompts should be adopted to help you make accurate judgements.

Making a judgement about developmental age bands

● What is the age of the child in months and which developmental band would they be positioned in if their stage of development were typical (Typical development for children in the UK…not a typical child in your setting)? This will identify the band a child should be in for their age. ● Then ask the question…”Do I have any reason to believe that this child is not functioning in the appropriate age band as identified above”? This will identify the band a child is actually functioning in for their stage of development. If the child appears to be significantly above or below the band expected for their age, it would be helpful to discuss your judgement with another professional. It may also be helpful when assessing those children functioning significantly below to refer to additional documents which allow you to make assessments in smaller steps. For example, the speech and language referral guidelines.

Making a judgement about refinements

In Northumberland we use the refinements, emerging, developing and secure to indicate how well established the child’s attitudes, skills and knowledge (ASK) are within the age band identified. This allows practitioners to show smaller steps of progress than the bands alone allow.

● By describing a child as secure we mean attitudes, skills and knowledge which are embedded so that they are:- o Consistently demonstrated over time; o Displayed independently without the need for adult support or encouragement; o Transferrable so they can be applied to a range of unfamiliar situations. ● By describing a children as developing we mean attitudes, skills and knowledge which are:- o Demonstrated most of the time; o Displayed with occasional adult support and encouragement; o Transferable to a variety of familiar contexts; ● By describing a child as emerging we mean attitudes, skills and knowledge which are:- o Inconsistently demonstrated over time e.g. shows the skill one day but not the next; o Displayed mainly when adult support and encouragement is given; o Context specific (non-transferrable) i.e. skills shown in the context in which they’ve been learnt.

Moderating judgements

To ensure that assessments are accurate and consistent, practitioners need to engage in a process of moderation. This can take two forms:-

● In-house: Justifying and agreeing judgements with colleagues within your own settings. This can be done as part of on-going dialogue with other practitioners when making on-going formative assessments. In addition to this, more formalised moderation should be carried out to support summative assessment judgements. ● External: Justifying and agreeing summative assessments with practitioners from other settings by describing the evidence your judgements are based upon. This evidence can be presented through a range of information such as observations, practitioner knowledge and examples of children’s work.