Assessment

Year 1 to 6

At John Clifford we have worked closely with our colleagues from the Chilwell Family of Schools to develop an Assessment Framework that can be followed from the beginning of Year 1, when pupils first start working on the National Curriculum, to the end of Year 11 when pupils will have completed their GCSEs. National age related expectations for the end of Year 1 and 2 are available below along with a summary of the Assessment Framework.

A child who is judged to be working at national age related expectations is described as ‘securing’. A child will be making good progress if they continue at this level throughout their school career and we expect some children to start to achieve above national age related expectations and to continue at this level. A child who is judged to be working above national age related expectations will be described as ‘mastering’ with a few very exceptionally gifted and talented children described as ‘excelling’. Again a child will be making good progress if they continue at this level throughout their school career. A child who is judged to be working below national age related expectations will be described as ‘establishing’ if they are accessing the National Curriculum but are not quite achieving the required standard. If a child is only able to access the National Curriculum for their age with additional adult support they will be described as ‘developing’ and if they require a personalised curriculum to meet their developmental needs they will be described as ‘supporting’. Children who are ‘supporting’ may have special educational needs as may some children who are ‘establishing’. Again a child will be making good progress if they continue at this original level throughout their school career but we expect some children to start to achieve national age related expectations and to continue at this level. Children with special educational needs will have their progress and attainment discussed in greater detail at their termly reviews involving parents/carers, class teacher, special educational needs co-ordinator and other professionals working with them.

Assessment judgements for all year groups in the Early Years foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 are regularly moderated within school and with staff from other local primary schools to ensure their accuracy.

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Details about the Year 1 phonics screening check can be found on our phonics curriculum page.

Year 2 KS1 SATs

Compulsory SAT tests are carried out every year in school with children in Year 2 and Year 6. In addition to this children in Year 1 take a phonics reading test in June. This test is a series of words, proper and nonsense words which children are asked to read using their phonic knowledge. If a child in Year 1 does not get the required number of words right to pass the test they are able to resit it in Year 2.

Year 2 KS1 Assessment

Key Stage 1 SATs are used to test children’s knowledge and understanding of English and Mathematics in Key Stage 1. They provide a snapshot of children’s attainment and help Year 2 teachers arrive at a secure judgement for their final ‘teacher assessment’ at the end of Key Stage 1. Key Stage 1 SATs take place in May at John Clifford School.

Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check

In June 2020, the new Year 4 multiplication tables check will become statutory. Your child will need to take a short online test to make sure their times tables knowledge is at the expected level.

What is the Year 4 multiplication tables check?

The multiplication tables check is an online test for pupils in Year 4. Pupils are asked to answer 25 questions on times tables from two to 12. They are given six seconds per question, with three seconds rest between each question, so the test should last less than five minutes.

Questions about the six, seven, eight, nine, and 12 times tables are likely to come up most often, as these are the hardest for most children to learn. It’s a good idea to focus on these tricky times tables with your child.

First and foremost, the check is about finding out which children are struggling with their times tables so that they can get extra support. It is not a judgement on what your child can do, but a way for the school to know how their teaching is going and to adjust their focus if needed.

When is the check going to happen?

Every school in England will be required to take part in the check in June 2020.

How can I help my child prepare?

The best way to keep the test stress-free is to work some times tables practice into your daily routine well in advance. With regular practice, your child will get used to tackling these kind of questions with confidence.

If your child is feeling nervous in the approach to the check, don’t panic. Our top five tips for helping your child learn their times tables will get them up to speed:

• Use the Times Table Rock Stars website to help your child become comfortable reading and answering questions on a screen. We have bought a school wide subscription to this website to support the children from EYFS to Year 6 develop their multiplication and division skills. This tool is particularly useful for Year 4 children who are preparing to take the check.
• Practise our JC times tables songs, the children should know most of them, the audio for these can be found here.
• Make it real, give times tables some context. If your child can’t see any point in learning their times tables, try showing them how this knowledge is useful in everyday life. Instead of just rote learning their times tables, try to create opportunities for your child to use multiplication in problem solving. For example, ask them to scale up a recipe or calculate whether they have enough money to buy more of their favourite things (such as sweets or football cards). This will help your child see the value of their learning.
• Play times table games with your children. Games and challenges are a great way to support learning, and a few minutes a day will make all the difference. Why not play snap with some times table flashcards, matching the number sentences to the answers as fast as you can? Or, you could surprise your child by asking times tables questions at random times during the day and seeing how quickly they can respond (this works particularly well as a competition between siblings or friends).

Oxford Owl, How to practise times tables

 

Year 6 KS 2 Assessment

In Year 6, before children leave us to move to Secondary school they undertake tests in Reading Comprehension, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation (SPAG) and Numeracy. These tests are set by the Department for Education and must be taken in a particular week in May. All maintained schools in the country take the same test on the same day. This year SAT week begins on Monday 11th May and the timetable of when each test happens is below.

Schools are required to administer the following tests: English Reading; English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (new from 2013); and Mathematics. There will be no Science Sampling in 2020.

The 2020 end of Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests will be held in the week beginning Monday 11th May 2020.

• Monday 11th: English grammar, punctuation and spelling papers 1 and 2.
• Tuesday 12th: English reading.
• Wednesday 13th: Mathematics papers 1 and 2.
• Thursday 14th: Mathematics paper 3.

The papers from the Year 6 tests are marked externally and results published by the Department for Education in early July. Parents and children will be made aware of these as soon as they are released to us.

How you can help?

• Try to talk to your child ahead of the test week and reassure them – re-iterating the message that they just need to try their best and not worry.
• Make sure that they have a reasonably early night during SAT week. They will feel under a degree of stress so try to be patient.
• Ensure that they have a healthy breakfast before coming to school. Once in school we provide milk, juice or fruit prior to the tests starting to those children who want it.
• Once home ask your child how the day went and what they think they did well.