Following the introduction of the New National Curriculum in September 2014, the Government decided to remove National Curriculum levels in favour of schools being free to adopt their own assessment system designed to: ‘Give reliable information to parents about how their child, and their child’s school, is performing.’ Department for Education, April 2014
At St Nicholas, we have chosen a step system. Pupils work within bands related to the National Curriculum expectations for their age group. Therefore Year 1 work within band 1, Year 2 within band 2 and so on. Within each band there are six steps to show how securely a child is meeting the requirements of that programme of study. These are:
- b and b+ (beginning within the band)
- w and w+ (working within)
- s and s+ (secure)
Your child’s assessment will be called a step and will contain a number followed by a letter. The number relates to the year group, and the letter relates to how secure a child is within that year group’s programme of study. Therefore a child in Year 1 who is working securely within the Year 1 programme of study, would be assessed as 1s (1 secure).
Pupils working significantly above the expectation for their year group can be assessed in the next year group#s band. If a child is not yet able to work within the band for their year group, they will continue to be assessed in a lower band.
We are confident that this system will be far easier for parents to understand as you will now be more aware of where your child’s achievement is in terms of national expectations.
In spite of these changes, our priority remains the same – and that is to ensure we provide the best educational experience for every child.
We will continue to demonstrate this by:
- Sharing with you how well your child has learned
- Sharing the progress your child is making year-on-year
- Explaining whether your child is on track to meet age related targets
- Explaining how tailored support programmes are being used to provide any additional support required
Please refer to relevant guidance below: