Principles of assessment and feedback

Any assessment or feedback will aim to meet the following principles:

• Purposeful- to move learning forwards or to inform
• Well communicated
• Timely
• Authentic

Assessment approaches

At Ledbury Primary School we see assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning, and it is inextricably linked to our curriculum.

We use 3 broad overarching forms of assessment: day-to-day in-school formative assessment, in-school summative assessment and nationally standardised summative assessment.

In-school formative assessment

Effective in-school formative assessment enables:

• Teachers to identify how pupils are performing on a continuing basis and to use this information to provide appropriate support or extension, evaluate teaching and plan future lessons
• Pupils to measure their knowledge and understanding against learning objectives, and identify areas in which they need to improve
• Parents to gain a broad picture of where their child’s strengths and weaknesses lie, and what they need to do to improve

We will:

• Use class feedback books / planners to record ongoing, daily assessment
• Focus on gaps in learning and common misconceptions to shape the next sequence of learning
• Use examples of work as models for pupils
• On occasions, give opportunities to respond to feedback (eg by editing writing)

In-school summative assessment

Effective in-school summative assessment enables:

• School leaders to monitor the performance of pupil cohorts, identify where interventions may be required, and work with teachers to ensure pupils are supported to achieve sufficient progress and attainment
• Teachers to evaluate learning at the end of a unit or period and the impact of their own teaching
• Pupils to understand how well they have learned and understood a topic or course of work taught over a period of time. It should be used to provide feedback on how they can improve
• Parents to stay informed about the achievement, progress and wider outcomes of their child across a period

We will:

• Use observations on Tapestry to build a picture of an individual child’s development
• Use end of topic assessments (eg White Rose for maths) to monitor progress, identify interventions and make adjustments to the teaching sequence
• Use summative assessments to review ILP targets
• Use assessments that are comparative (judged against a previous performance), norm-referenced (judged against peers) and criterion-referenced (judged against a national set of standards)
• Regularly review the assessments used to ensure they meet our principles
• Share assessment results with all stakeholders

Nationally standardised summative assessment

Nationally standardised summative assessment enables:

• School leaders to monitor the performance of pupil cohorts, identify where interventions may be required, and work with teachers to ensure pupils are supported to achieve sufficient progress and attainment
• Teachers to understand national expectations and assess their own performance in the broader national context
• Pupils and parents to understand how pupils are performing in comparison to pupils nationally

Nationally standardised summative assessments include:

• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) profile at the end of reception
• Phonics screening check in year 1
• Times table check in year 4
• National Curriculum tests and teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 (year 2) and Key Stage 2 (year 6)

Feedback approaches

At Ledbury Primary School we see feedback as an integral part of teaching and learning, with the focus being on ‘feed forwards’ to improve learning.

After consulting the workload review and the EEF written marking review, we have considered ways to make this as effective as possible and as a result take a ‘no written feedback’ approach.

Effective feedback at LPS:

• Is built into the teaching sequence
• May be recorded on whole class feedback sheets
• May be given to a whole class, group or individual
• Can provide opportunities for response from the child/ren, where appropriate
• Sometimes will not be explicit but may change the next steps in learning
• Will encourage a growth mindset approach
• Will be specific, accurate and clear