Formative Assessment

The most effective form of assessment is that which is done on a daily basis through feedback and marking.

As a school, we believe in THINKING. Therefore, we do not do something because, ‘that’s what we’ve always done’ or because, ‘that’s what everyone else is doing’. We do it because we believe there is a better way; a more effective way; that utilises our time and energy to make a greater impact on the lives of our children.

Feedback is no different. We should always start by asking ourselves, ‘why are we giving this feedback?’ There are two main reasons:

• To motivate the child
• To create an opportunity to move learning on by:
  • Addressing a misunderstanding
  • Reinforcing a skill or key piece of information
  • Extending a child’s understanding r ability to do something

The purpose of feedback

Feedback should be timely and respond to the needs of the individual student so that they can actively engage with the feedback;

● A dialogue, both verbal and written, should be created between teacher and child. When feedback is shared with pupils, it is essential to allow time for children to read the comments and engage with the feedback;

 ● Where appropriate, pupils should be encouraged to assess their own work against the learning objectives and success criteria;

 ● Peer and self-feedback is a valuable tool for learning that should occur regularly, but it needs to be well structured by the teacher.

● Feedback should empower children to take responsibility for improving their own work; it should not take away from this responsibility by adults doing the hard thinking work for the pupil.

At Twydall Primary School, we believe that feedback is most effective when it is immediate and addresses misconceptions during the lesson. In addition to immediate feedback, staff may also use summary feedback (at the end of a lesson / task) and review feedback (away from the lesson) if this is more appropriate for improving pupils’ learning.

Summative Assessment

In addition to formative assessment children are formally assessed against the National Curriculum on a termly basis.  Their attainment is assessed against age-related expectations for their year group and is done through in school tests and Teacher Assessment.  This data is recorded on the school’s data system Sonar.  Following these assessments teachers meet with SLT to look at the attainment and progress of each pupil and plan and implement interventions and support to ensure that they are making at least expected progress.

Statutory Testing

All schools are required by the DFE to carry out the following statutory tests:

Reception – baseline

Year 1 – phonics screener

Year 2 – Key Stage 1 SATs

Year 4 – Multiplication Check

Year 6 – Key Stage 2 SATs

At Twydall we aim to ensure that the children are fully prepared for these tests and that consideration is given to their emotional well-being.