Last year the Department for Education made the decision to end National Curriculum levels. In their place, schools are obliged to ‘develop, implement and embed a robust framework for assessment’. The guidance recommends that pupil progress and achievement should be communicated in terms of descriptive profiles, rather than numerical summaries.
As a result, Highgate Primary School has worked in partnership with a company called Target Tracker to develop a system that looks at expectations for children at the end of each academic year for speaking and listening, reading, writing and maths.
The expectations for children are clearly set out and form the basis for teachers’ lesson plans. Throughout the course of the year, teachers assess children’s understanding of these objectives, and so build up a profile of each child’s attainment.
Teachers report to parents on children’s attainment against the relevant year group objectives, using the following system:
Beginning (B)
This is awarded where a child needs significant support in order to access the curriculum. Children working at this level may work to a set of objectives from a previous year group that are more appropriate to the child’s current learning needs.
Beginning Plus (B+)
This is awarded where a child still needs a lot of support in order to access the curriculum, but with support is able to achieve the objective within the lesson.
Within (W)
This is awarded when a child has achieved the objective, with minimal support, within the lesson, but their understanding may not yet be secure.
Within Plus (W+)
This is awarded when a child has achieved a good understanding of the objective within the lesson and will be able to build on this understanding in the future.
Secure (S)
This is awarded where a child has developed a very secure understanding of the objective within the lesson and is starting to be able to apply what they have learnt in new situations and in other curriculum areas.
Secure Plus (S+)
This is awarded where a child has mastered the objective to a very high level and can explain their thinking with clarity. Children who have achieved this level of mastery will routinely apply their understanding in new situations and other curriculum areas.
This system of assessment is entirely new and will require a period of time to embed. However the school is confident that this is a positive move and one that will help parents and teachers to understand each child’s relative strengths and areas for development.
Please see the links below for the objectives for English and Maths for each individual year group.
Year 1 Objectives for English and Maths
Year 2 Objectives for English and Maths
Year 3 Objectives for English and Maths
Year 4 Objectives for English and Maths
