Assessment lies at the heart of the process of promoting children’s learning. It provides a framework within which educational objectives may be set and children’s progress expressed and monitored. We firmly believe that this should be done in partnership with the children.

Assessment should be incorporated systematically into teaching strategies in order to diagnose any problems and chart progress. It helps our school to strengthen learning across the curriculum and helps our teachers enhance their skills and judgements. Our assessment procedures are free from bias, stereotyping and generalisation in respect of gender, class, race and disability.

At the end of Key Stage 2, that is in Year 6, children are legally obliged to be given Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), devised by external agencies, and taken throughout the whole country. It will be the intention of the school to keep parents of Year 6 children fully informed of arrangements for giving children SATs.

Key aims of Assessment

• To gather information about the performance of individual pupils, groups and cohorts or pupils so that it can be used to inform target setting at a range of levels.
• To ensure that assessment and recording is an integral part of the school’s performance management system.
• To guide future planning, teaching and curriculum development.
• To provide information to inform the school’s strategic planning.
• To track individual progress.
• To monitor progress and support learning.
• To recognise the achievements of pupils.
• To inform parents and the wider community of pupil achievement.
• To provide information to ensure continuity when the pupil changes school or year group.
• To comply with statutory requirements.