Policy on Assessment, Recording and Reporting

Assessment is a vital part of the learning process. Only by making accurate and regular assessments of a child's progress can teachers provide children with challenging and stimulating learning experiences. Assessment is also used to inform planning and helps to ensure that there is progression and reinforcement in the work provided.

From the time a child starts at Saint Peter's his/her ability/progress is closely monitored by the teacher/nursery nurse, as part of their everyday teaching. This assessment is;

formative allowing us to form an ongoing general impression of the child's level of ability,

diagnostic allowing us to identify strengths and weaknesses and plan appropriate work

and

summative providing an objective impression of a child's achievement at a point in time.

Each child has a profile for Mathematics, English and Science which the teacher uses to record attainment and, where appropriate, to keep samples of work to substantiate their observations. This type of assessment is both formative and diagnostic.

Children are also involved in the following summative tests.

Year 1 The Salford Sentence Reading Test (from Summer 1997).

Year 2 SAT's in English and Maths.

Year 3 End of Year tests in Maths, English and Verbal Reasoning.

The Salford Sentence Reading Test.

Year 4 End of Year tests in Maths, English and Verbal Reasoning.

The Salford Sentence Reading Test.

Year 5 End of Year tests in Maths, English and Verbal Reasoning.

The Salford Sentence Reading Test.

Year 6 SAT's in English, Maths and Science.

It is our policy that parents/guardians should have access to the results of these tests. As well as complying with the national regulations in respect of the SAT's, therefore, we also give parents/guardians the results of the tests which pupils take in Years 3, 4, and 5. As well as being given their own child's score/reading age, they are also told the average score for their child's year group. This allows parents/guardians to establish how their child has performed in relation to pupils of a similar age.

Assessment results are also used to measure the school's effectiveness and identify strengths and weaknesses within the curriculum provision.

As well as being made available to staff this information is also presented to the governing body, a process which helps the governors to monitor standards of achievement in the school.