CURRICULUM, ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS: A SUMMARY OF THE CHANGES FROM SEPTEMBER 2015 Th National Contxt: As of Sptmbr 2014, a rvisd National Curriculum for England and Wals cam into bing. Th schools of th Thr Rivrs Larning Trust hav workd closly togthr to plan, writ and dlivr a nw curriculum for our studnts. In 2014/15, th nw curriculum was implmntd with Yars 5 and 7, in 2015/16 th nw curriculum is bing implmntd with Yars 6 and 8 and from 2016/17 th nw curriculum will b implmntd in Yar 9. From Sptmbr 2014, th us of National Curriculum lvls was also withdrawn and schools wr givn th autonomy and rsponsibility to dvlop and dvis an assssmnt and rporting systm which bst mt th nds of thir own cohort of studnts. Lik many schools nationally, w continud to rport using National Curriculum lvls in 2014/15 whil dvloping and trialling our own intrnal systm during this tim. This procss is now complt. Consquntly from Sptmbr 2015, w ar using a bspok assssmnt and rporting systm in Yars 5 to 9 across all schools of th Larning Trust, including Dr Thomlinson s Middl School, Rothbury. In addition to this, w hav liaisd closly with all fdr first schools, such that th systms that ar bing implmntd in Ky Stag 1 and Yars 3 & 4 fd logically in. Thr ar a numbr of points which ar important to ritrat with rgard to ths changs: Th curriculum changs ar national changs which ar bing implmntd by all schools accordingly; Th contnt of th nw National Curriculum is considrabl mor challnging.g. with lmnts of contnt that had prviously bn dlivrd in Yar 7 bing movd into th Yar 6 curriculum; this has bn th cas throughout th curriculum; Elmnts of th Maths and English curriculums hav bcom considrably mor prscriptiv, with clar dirctivs bing givn on calculation mthodologis and grammar dlivry, for xampl; Th curriculum guidanc for th foundation subjcts has bcom broadr and lss spcific, with mor flxibility for individual intrprtation; Th rporting of a child s progrss using National Curriculum lvls has bn rmovd compltly, with schools bing rquird to dvlop thir own systms. Whilst ths changs hav bn univrsal and considrabl, thy hav also givn schools th opportunity to compltly rviw curriculum, assssmnt and rporting arrangmnts and to dvlop bspok systms which ar absolutly tailord to th nds of th cohort of individual schools. As such, this opportunity has allowd for considrabl innovation and crativity in dsigning a curriculum that w bliv is right for our studnts. Considrabl rsarch has gon into th dsign of th nw curriculum. W hav drawn on xprt ducational advic and practic to nsur that th curriculum w hav dvlopd has th bradth and dpth rquird to nabl studnts to mak th bst progrss that thy can, whilst bing fully ngagd with th larning opportunitis providd.
Th Curriculum: Th nwly dvisd curriculum is now in plac and bing dlivrd to all of Yars 5, 6, 7 and 8, with Yar 9 following a nw curriculum at th High School as of Sptmbr 2016. Th nw curriculum has focussd on supporting th furthr dvlopmnt of: Litracy skills Numracy skills Social, moral, spiritual, motional and prsonal skills Cultural awarnss Indpndnt thinking Crativity An undrpinning principl of th nw curriculum has bn th rcognition that dpth of undrstanding is as crucial as bradth in supporting a child s larning. It is vital that th foundations ar thr in ordr for subsqunt larning to b mad sns of. A summary ovrviw of th contnt of th nw curriculum can b found on our wbsit. Th assssmnt framworks for ach subjct (dtailing th ky larning objctivs) will b availabl on th wbsit immdiatly aftr Octobr Half Trm. In dvising th nw curriculum for ach subjct, a complt st of curriculum objctivs, against which ach child s progrss will b assssd, hav bn dvisd. A common approach to this procss has bn usd across all subjcts, with ag xpctd (rfrrd to as larning thrsholds) objctivs bing writtn for diffrnt larning strands within ach subjct. Ths objctivs now form th basis of our intrnal assssmnt systm. In ach yar group studnts will follow th following curriculum: Yars 5 & 6 Curriculum Allocation Yars 7 & 8 Curriculum Allocation English 5 lssons / wk English 4 lssons / wk Maths 5 lssons / wk Maths 4 lssons / wk Scinc 3 lssons / wk Scinc 3 lssons / wk PE 2 lssons / wk PE 2 lssons / wk Gography 1 lsson / wk Gography 1 lsson / wk History 1 lsson / wk History 1 lsson / wk RE 1 lsson / wk RE 1 lsson / wk MFL Frnch 1 lsson / wk MFL Frnch and Spanish or Grman 2 lssons / wk * Art 1 lsson / wk Art 1 lsson / wk Music 1 lsson / wk Music 1 lsson / wk Computing 1 lsson / wk Computing 1 lsson / wk Tchnology (Food, Txtils and Rsistant Matrials) 1 lsson / wk * Tchnology (Food, Txtils and Rsistant Matrials) 2 lssons / wk **
Dp Larning Exprinc (PSHE and Citiznship strands) 2 lssons / wk Dp Larning Exprinc (PSHE and Citiznship strands) * Taught in carousl 2 lssons / wk *1 lsson of ach languag **Taught in carousl Assssmnt Framwork: Each subjct ara now has a prsonalisd assssmnt framwork, dtailing th ky larning objctivs for that subjct. A sampl xtract of th Gography assssmnt framwork is givn blow: L E A R N I N G T H R E S H O L D ASSESSMENT FOCUS (LEARNING STRAND) I can.. AF1: PLACES AF2: CONCEPTS, PATTERNS AF3: SKILLS AND ENQUIRY AND PROCESSES ADVANCED Us and produc maps in Explain complx concpts & Dvis and undrtak complx contxt to support undrstanding procsss and thir intractions, invstigation squncs. of plac. including variation in how ths Accuratly slct and us a Explain incrasingly complx procsss work. rang of complx gographical intractions that mak placs Analys and valuat skills and tchniqus and b uniqu, including analysis of gographical pattrns. abl to valuat thir chang ovr tim. ffctivnss. Dpth D E M HIGHER Produc dtaild maps at a rang of scals and for diffrnt purposs. Explain human and physical faturs of placs, making links and connctions and Dpth rcognising chang ovr tim. INTERMEDIATE Locat placs accuratly on a rang of maps at diffrnt scals. Dscrib and xplain human and physical faturs of placs and rcognis chang ovr tim. Dpth ELEMENTARY Nam and locat placs on simpl small and larg scal maps. Idntify and dscrib human and physical faturs of placs, rcognising diffrncs. Explain a rang of concpts & procsss, th intractions that xist btwn thm and how thy shap nvironmnts. Explain and analys a rang of gographical pattrns. Dscrib and xplain concpts & procsss and rcognis how thy shap diffrnt nvironmnts. Dscrib and xplain a rang of diffrnt gographical pattrns. Idntify and dscrib simpl concpts & procsss. Idntify and dscrib simpl gographical pattrns. Dvis and answr logical invstigation squncs to rsarch a topic or issu. Accuratly slct and us a wid rang of gographical skills and tchniqus to prsnt idas and commnt on thir ffctivnss. Ask, answr and dvis logical qustions to invstigat a topic / issu. Accuratly slct and us a rang of gographical skills (cartographic, graphical and ICT) to prsnt idas. Ask and answr qustions in a logical squnc. Us simpl gographical skills (cartographic and graph) to prsnt idas. AF4: VALUES AND ATTITUDES Explain complx & opposing viws and opinions and how ths influnc our world. Analys and valuat a rang of supporting and opposing argumnts. Explain a wid rang of viws and opinions on gographical issus and how ths may volv ovr tim. Analys and xplain supporting and opposing argumnts. Dscrib and xplain diffrnt viws and opinions on gographical issus. Dscrib and xplain argumnts for and against issus, including conflict. Idntify and dscrib simpl viws and opinions (including own) on gographical issus. Idntify and dscrib whthr opinions ar for or against an issu.
Dpth Each Curriculum Ara has thn organisd th dlivry of th ky larning objctivs through plannd units of work which allow studnts to dvlop a dpth of undrstanding in rlation to ths. Larning Thrshold: This rfrs to th ag xpctd larning objctivs for a child by th nd of that acadmic yar. E.g. typically w would xpct a child in Yar 8 to b working at th highr larning thrshold. Howvr, in som subjcts or in som strands of a subjct, it is possibl that a child might b working at th thrshold abov or blow this. Assssmnt Focus (Larning Strand): This rfrs to th diffrnt lmnts of larning that thrad through th ntir curriculum for that subjct. Th numbr of strands will vary for ach subjct, but will b btwn 3 and 8 strands of larning. In Gography, thr ar four larning strands: Placs, Concpts, pattrns & Procsss, Skills & Enquiry and Valus & Attituds Dpth of Larning: For any assssmnt focus (larning strand) within any givn larning thrshold, childrn will b dmonstrating diffrnt dpths of undrstanding. Th assssmnt framwork allows for this. As a child progrsss through th curriculum, thy will b assssd (in a rang of formats) as to th dpth of undrstanding that thy ar dmonstrating. Th varying dpths of undrstanding will b idntifid as follows: Dvloping: Expctd: Mastring: Th assssmnt framwork allows th diffrnt strngths and aras for dvlopmnt to b mor asily idntifid for ach child. Assssmnt Mthodology: Assssmnt of ach child s progrss against th curriculum objctivs st out in th assssmnt framwork will tak plac in a varity of ways, including: Baslin Assssmnt: Ths assssmnts will tak plac at diffrnt points.g. at th start of a yar or at th start of a topic. Ths assssmnts will support staff in bing abl to accuratly know what a child can currntly do, basd on prior larning, and whr th gaps might xist that nd to b furthr dvlopd. Tachr assssmnt: Through obsrvation of what a child can and can t do ach lsson, supportd by classwork, homwork and discussion. This allows for th tachr s ongoing profssional assssmnt of ach child s larning.
Focussd assssmnt tasks: Curriculum aras hav dvlopd a programm of short Focussd Assssmnt Tasks linkd dirctly to th assssmnt framwork (larning objctivs) for that curriculum ara. Ths assssmnts typically tak th form of short tasks that ar mbddd within th curriculum planning for ach subjct. Thy form part of th larning procss and in many cass will assss just on larning strand for that subjct.g. for KS3 gography thr will b 4 Focussd Assssmnt Tasks in ach of th 3 units of work which will focus on assssing on larning strand ach. Summativ Assssmnts: In most cass ths will tak th form of nd of topic / unit tsts which will dmonstrat what studnts hav larnt across a longr priod of tim. Ths tsts will also hlp to dvlop th skills of rvision and indpndnc rquird in prparation for xtrnal assssmnts at th nd of Ky Stag 2 and in Ky Stag 4. Studnts will b givn rgular fdback from any assssmnts compltd, as wll as on thir classwork and homwork. Rporting to Parnts / Carrs: As w hav don prviously, w will continu to formally rport to parnts / carrs thr tims ach yar. Ths rporting points will b in Novmbr, March and Jun; 2 wks aftr ach of th half trm braks. Aftr ach rport has bn issud, thr will th opportunity to attnd a parnt s vning to discuss th rport and any aspct of your child s progrss furthr. W hav dvlopd th rporting procss to allow you, as parnts / carrs, to hav a gratr undrstanding of th diffrnt lmnts of ach subjct that your child can do wll, or would bnfit from bing supportd to dvlop furthr. Each subjct will rport on ach larning strand by th nd of th yar, in lin with th curriculum plan for that subjct. For xampl, Scinc may rport on th Biology strand in Novmbr, but not hav compltd sufficint contnt or hav sufficint vidnc of a child s progrss to rport on th working scintifically, physics or chmistry strands until latr in th yar. Th rport is thrfor dsignd to giv a cumulativ pictur of a child s progrssion through th curriculum across th yar. Format of th rport: Th rport will provid a summary of th progrss bing mad in ach subjct in ach strand of larning at th rporting points idntifid abov. An xtract xampl for rading is givn blow: F o u n d a t i o n B r a k t h r o u E l m n t a r y I n t r m d i a H i g h r A d v a n c d Attitud to Larning Attitud to Homwor k In ordr for Jo to mak furthr progrss in ach subjct h nds to b abl to tak th nxt stps indicatd blow:
g h t Rading Knowldg and Contxt Intrprtation Analysis and Comparison 1 2 Undrstand som of th tchnical and othr trms ndd for discussing what is hard and rad such as mtaphor, simil, analogy, imagry, styl and ffct. Th xampl abov shows that, for this child, thy ar dmonstrating th xpctd dpth of undrstanding for th knowldg and contxt strand for rading at th brakthrough thrshold (th thrshold typical for a child in Yar 5). It also shows that th child is working at th dvloping lvl for th analysis and comparison strand for rading, but that (at th point of this rport bing issud) thr was not yt nough vidnc for th child to b assssd against th intrprtation strand. In subsqunt rports, th grid would b addd to, indicating furthr progrss bing mad in ach of ths strands. As from Sptmbr 2016, th clls in th foundation thrshold will b filld in to indicat th progrss information transfrrd from th First Schools using th nw framwork.
As larning is a cumulativ procss, w would fully xpct a rport to hav mor dvloping (rd) clls in th first rport of th yar. This dos not rprsnt a concrn, purly th fact that thr will hav bn lss opportunity to scurly dmonstrat th dpth of larning rquird to b dmd xpctd or mastring in that particular strand. Equally, thr will b a highr proportion of blank (whit) clls on th first rport of th yar, for contnt not yt covrd. W would typically xpct a child to b working at th xpctd dpth of larning within th larning thrshold indicatd for thir ag, by th nd of th acadmic yar that thy ar in. Variation will xist and nd of yar xpctations will b altrd on th basis of th progrss a child is making through th yar. For xampl, if a child has rachd th xpctd dpth of larning in all strands of a subjct by March, thy will b strtchd to achiv th mastring lvl by th nd of th yar or vn, if appropriat, to b moving on to lmnts of th nxt thrshold up. Attituds to Larning and Attituds to Homwork: Ths ar both important masurs of a child s approach to thir own larning. In th studnt plannrs and on th walls around school, w constantly rinforc th charactristics rquird to b a succssful larnr. Ths charactristics form th basis of our assssmnt of a child s attitud to larning and attitud to homwork, as st out in th tabl blow (and as mad xplicit in our bhaviour and homwork policis). This information will also b includd on th back of th rport for your rfrnc. Attitud to Larning and Homwork Attitud to Larning Succssful studnts: 1 2 3 4 Arriv at lssons on tim Com to lssons proprly quippd and prpard to larn Gt on with thir larning (and allow othrs to do th sam) Giv answrs and spak to othrs appropriatly Rspct othrs, thir work (including prsntation and quality) and thir quipmnt Listn to and follow instructions th first tim Excllnt Almost without xcption Good Minimum Expctation Most of th tim Improvmnt ndd Som of th tim Caus for concrn Inconsistntl y and / or infrquntly Attitud to Homwor k Rcord homwork in plannrs Ask for hlp / support ahad of dadlin (if ndd) Complt homwork on tim Almost without xcption Most of th tim Som of th tim Inconsistntl y and / or infrquntly
Complt homwork to th bst of thir ability Our xpctation is that all studnts ar typically dmonstrating an attitud to thir own larning and homwork which is at last good. Nxt Stps / Targt Commnts : Each subjct will also provid som focussd nxt stps which will giv som guidanc as to what nds to b don to mak furthr progrss in that subjct. Ths nxt stps will b takn from th assssmnt framwork for ach subjct and so will b th curriculum objctiv(s) that a studnt nds to focus on nxt in ordr to dvlop thir currnt dpth of undrstanding furthr; ths will b discussd with studnts in class and with yourslvs at parnts vnings to provid furthr xplanation and xmplification. Tutor Commnts: W wholhartdly bliv that a child s tim in school is about much mor than just thir acadmic progrss. Consquntly, in th final rport of ach yar, tutors will writ a rport outlining th participation and contribution that has bn mad by ach child throughout th yar. Attndanc: Th rport will also includ th cumulativ attndanc prcntag for your child at th tim th rport is publishd.
Prsonalisd Larning Profil : Th rport issud for ach child rprsnts thir own prsonal larning profil. Progrss towards ach curriculum objctiv will b trackd by taching staff as part of an ongoing procss throughout th school yar, as and whn that child has scurly dmonstratd th skills, aptitud and undrstanding rquird to b dmd dvloping, xpctd or mastring that particular curriculum objctiv. Th rport issud thrfor rprsnts th child s larning at that particular point in tim. Transfr to th nw Assssmnt and Rporting framwork: Comparison of Larning Thrsholds and historic National Curriculum Lvls: It is not possibl to mak dirct comparisons btwn th ag xpctd larning thrsholds and th historic National Curriculum lvls. As alrady rfrncd arlir in this documnt thr has bn much chang to th organisation of contnt in th nw National Curriculum documnt. For xampl, contnt which may prviously hav bn dmd 4b (typical lvl for a child at th nd of Y6) may now b taught within th brakthrough larning thrshold (nd of Yar 5 ag xpctation), whilst othr contnt dmd to b 4b may still b bing taught within th lmntary larning thrshold (nd of Yar 6 ag xpctation). To attmpt to mak any comparisons would thrfor b both inappropriat and unhlpful. Th first rport: Givn th point mad abov, w will not b pr populating ach studnt s Larning Profil rtrospctivly. This will man that in Yar 1 of th nw rporting systm bing usd, thr will not b a track rcord of larning for th prvious acadmic yar(s) using this systm. As w mov into Yar 2 of using this assssmnt systm and byond th rport will rtain th progrss mad by th nd of th prvious acadmic yar such that a comprhnsiv pictur of a child s progrss ovr tim can b sn. This will man that whn th first rport is issud in Novmbr, thr will b a considrabl numbr of clls on th rport which appar as whit. This will simply rprsnt ithr a) no assssmnt data in this format for th prvious yar(s); b) insufficint covrag of a particular larning strand has takn plac btwn Sptmbr and Novmbr as it falls latr on in th curriculum plan for that subjct and / or c) thr is insufficint vidnc at that point to b abl to say that a child has scurly dmonstratd a particular dpth of larning. Prior Larning and Progrss: All taching and larning support staff will b using progrss points rachd at th nd of th last acadmic yar to know what th strngths and aras for dvlopmnt for ach studnt ar. This information will b usd to nsur that as w mov to univrsal dlivry of th nw curriculum, strngths ar furthr built on and any gaps in knowldg and undrstanding ar filld. Transition to th High School: Th assssmnt and rporting modl outlind has bn dvlopd in conjunction with th high school. This is th systm that subjcts will b using to assss progrss in Yar 9, with th xcption of maths and scinc as studnts will b starting GCSE courss in ths subjcts in Yar 9. English is currntly consulting on whthr th GCSE cours will also start in Yar 9 as of Sptmbr 2016.