Assessment

We believe that assessment is at the heart of children’s learning and our teaching. This helps us build up a picture of a child's progress and achievement and also to help us and the children identify their next steps in learning.

Our principles for assessment:

• learning is the main activity, we believe that assessment supports future learning
• assessment will take a range of forms including self and peer assessment as well as assessment by staff
• learners need to be actively involved in the assessment of their work
• learners should be confident at self and peer assessment, being able to identify what they have done well and what they need to do next to improve
• learners must be clear about their learning, what success in their learning will look like and what is expected of them
• teachers professional judgement, based on their complete knowledge of the children, will be an important part of assessment
• “how often” as well as “how well” based on breadth, challenge and application will be fundamental to assessment
• progression in learning requires moderation through dialogue with teachers and other professionals to develop a shared understanding of standards
• high quality feedback has been proven to be the most influential factor in taking children’s learning forward, therefore, it is essential for learners to have time to reflect on their learning and know what to do to improve
• feedback will inspire greater effort and a belief that, through hard work and practice, more can be achieved
• assessment draws on a range of evidence that will provide a complete picture of a child’s achievement but will also be manageable and proportionate
• our assessment system will provide information to parents about how their child is performing and what their child’s next steps in learning are
• our assessment system also includes summative assessments where we assign a mark to children’s’ learning at a particular point in time for example, reading ages or end of year assessments

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