Assessment

Assessment is an essential part of the learning and teaching process. It helps teachers to ensure they are providing exactly the right curriculum, at the right level, for each individual child, and helps identify misconceptions which can be dealt with. Assessment is also used to inform teachers' future planning to check curriculum coverage and challenge. We believe in assessment for learning and constantly encourage children to reflect on their own work.

Formal assessments are a very small part of the vast number of assessments that teachers carry out - many occur minute-by-minute in the classroom through responding to children's work, questioning techniques and so on. However, we do use more formal assessments from time to time.

During the Foundation Key Stage, children take part in continuous assessment which is used to develop the "Foundation Stage Profile". The results of these assessments are discussed with parents at parents' evenings, and reported on in writing at the end of the Reception year.

In the second half of Year 2, when they are coming to the end of Key Stage 1, children take the Key Stage 1 National Assessments (sometimes known as SATS). As with other assessments in school, children often do not realise that the SATS have taken place because we take care to present them in a stress-free, relaxed way so that the children can do their very best. Again, results are shared in detail with parents.

In Key Stage 2, assessments are used to support the teaching and learning process throughout, and more formal tests (known as "Optional SATS") are taken at the end of Years 3, 4 and 5.