Curriculum & Assessment

Curriculum & Assessment Forest View Junior An Information Guide for Parents

Our Curriculum • promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of our pupils and prepares our pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life • comprises all learning and other experiences for our pupils • The National Curriculum forms one part of our school curriculum • As a Community School we make provision for collective worship and teach religious education to pupils at all key stages and sex and relationship education in KS2 • We follow the statutory National Curriculum which sets out programmes of study for subject areas that should be taught to all pupils • We make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice • We include other subjects or topics in planning and designing our own programme of education

The National Curriculum A revised National Curriculum was introduced in September 2014 • Schools are free to choose how they organise their school day, as long as the content of the National Curriculum programmes of study is taught to all pupils. • By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programmes of study. • The new National Curriculum identifies what to teach but not how to teach.

The new curriculum has been divided into termly topics for each year group at Forest View. • There are no specific times or duration during each phase that topics have to be taught. This is left to the discretion of individual schools and teachers as it is dependent on how quickly children grasp the specific concepts being taught. • There have been changes to the content of the National Curriculum.

Facts about the new National Curriculum • “Literacy” title has been replaced by ‘English’. • ‘ICT’ title is replaced by ‘Computing’ • No PSHE or RE is contained within the Curriculum 2014 (but is still to be taught). • An Act of Collective Worship is expected in all schools. The ‘new’ curriculum is more challenging and has an increased focus on developing children’s subject knowledge and skills.

English • The English programmes of study will encourage higher standards to be taught. • Pupils will be expected to develop a stronger command of the written and spoken word. • Through the teaching of phonics pupils will be helped to read fluently.

Spoken English (was called Speaking & Listening) • Is not age-differentiated. The programme of study covers the whole of the primary age range. • Drama (has been reinstated) - pupils are required to gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. • Children are to be taught debating and presenting skills. Handwriting (not currently assessed under the national curriculum). However… • it is expected to be fluent, legible and speedy. • Pupils need to know when to use capital letters, ascenders, descenders and when to join or not.

Reading Reading will be more heavily reliant on “word” level using: • phonetic knowledge, • learning contractions (I’ m, we’ll) • building on spelling patterns • by KS2 it’s all about applying this knowledge Comprehension KS1 • understanding of different types of texts (poetry/fiction non-fiction) • Reciting / discussion / taking turns within guided reading sessions • Developing a wider range-quality text /vocab Lower KS2 • emphasis on developing performance-understanding of intonation, tone volume, action • Inference / retrieving / presenting Upper KS2 • making recommendations and predictions / reciting by heart (poetry) / summarising use of language • Challenging and justifying views

Writing With a stronger emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar, punctuation and spelling • There are more objectives covering the various stages in the writing process • Emphasis on planning / drafting / evaluating and revising texts • Composition-checking writing makes sense / re-reading work / reading it aloud / editing and evaluating work • Stamina for writing by year - longer passages, detailed punctuation • Using the correct grammar • Joining clauses punctuating sentences (. C ! ?-now in year 1) • Knowing capitals for pronoun “I”

Maths • In Maths there will be a greater emphasis on arithmetic, and the promotion of efficient written methods of long multiplication and division. • There will also be a more demanding content in fractions, decimals and percentages. Sample questions from the Y6 SATS test

Five-year-olds will be expected to learn to count up to 100 (compared to 20 under the current curriculum) and learn number bonds to 20 (currently up to 10) • Simple fractions (1/4 and 1/2) will be taught from KS1, and by the end of primary school, children should be able to convert decimal fractions to simple fractions (e.g. 0.375 = 3/8) • By the age of nine, children will be expected to know times tables up to 12x12 (currently 10x10 by the end of primary school) • Calculators not to be introduced until near the end of KS2, to encourage mental arithmetic

Science • In science there is a stronger focus on the importance of scientific knowledge and language and a greater emphasis on the core scientific concepts underpinning pupils’ understanding. • For the first time primary aged children will learn about evolution. • Non-core subjects like caring for animals will be replaced by topics like the human circulatory system

Each year group has specific topics to be taught and we have adapted our schemes of work.

Computing • The new computing curriculum has a much greater emphasis on computational thinking and practical programming skills. • From the age of five, children will learn to write and test simple programs and to organise, store and retrieve data. From age seven, children will be taught to understand computer networks, including the internet. Internet safety – will be taught in primary schools.

In core and foundation subjects there is a greater amount of time and flexibility for schools and teachers to design their curriculum and lessons by focusing only on the essential knowledge to be taught in each subject.

History & Geography • There is a greater emphasis on teaching historical & geographical facts and knowledge • History is to be taught chronologically (as far as is possible) from the beginning of Key Stage 1

Design Technology • Greater importance under the new curriculum, setting children on the path to becoming the designers and engineers of the future. • More sophisticated use of design equipment such as electronics and robotics. • In KS2, children will learn about how key events and individuals in design and technology have shaped the world. • An emphasis on food technology and healthy eating

Languages • The study of languages is now compulsory in Key Stage 2. At Forest View we study French as our chosen modern foreign language • Children will be expected to master basic grammar and accurate pronunciation and to converse, present, read and write in the language

What has been happening at our school? • All staff have been working on considering how we can incorporate the changes to the curriculum without losing what we know already works for our children. • Staff have attended national and local training so that we all had a clear understanding of the requirements for September 2015 and 2016. • We have used INSET training days and staff meetings to look at our existing Schemes of Work and have adapted these to include the new requirements so that we fulfil our statutory obligations. • Forest View have reviewed different assessment systems linked to the National Curriculum and have decided to use the Climbing Frames system by Sue Hackman

Find more information… Class Pages on our website www.forestview.notts.sch.uk Assessing Without Levels Guidance

Assessment

How do we assess children’s learning now? The tracking of every child’s progress is ongoing in lessons and through teacher assessments and testing. Teachers carry out formative assessment and also summative assessment (e.g. such as SATs tests) For the most part this will not change as we need to assess what our children understand in order to plan our lessons.

What were the changes in September 2015? As a result of the phased introduction of the new National Curriculum in 2014, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is changing the tests so that they assess the new curriculum. Pupils will take the new tests for the first time in May 2016.

National Curriculum Levels e.g Level 2, Level 4b etc. will cease to exist. There has been no nationally agreed new system. Therefore, at this point in time, schools will be able to choose their own arrangements, although they will still have to track attainment and progress and report it to parents. No more levels The new National Curriculum does not have levels of attainment, but instead has ‘expectations’ children are required to meet at each banding. Attainment will be reported as being below, at, or above Age Related Expectations (ARE).

Level Descriptors “As part of our reforms, we have not replicated a system of national curriculum levels in the new programmes of study. Levels were intended to provide a universal framework to ensure that schools were measuring attainment and progress consistently.But, over time, it became clear that the level descriptors, which were not closely related to curriculum content, were ambiguous and open to different interpretations.” Performance descriptors for use in key stage 1 and 2 statutory teacher assessment for 2015 / 2016 October 2014 The DfE sets the standards … teachers decide how to do their own assessment.

NATIONAL STATUTORY TESTING “There will continue to be statutory national tests (with results as a scaled score) and teacher assessments (using new performance descriptors) at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in key subjects. “ Performance descriptors for use in key stage 1 and 2 statutory teacher assessment for 2015 / 2016 October 2014 KEY STAGE 1 TESTS The new tests consist of: English reading Paper 1: combined reading prompt and answer booklet English reading Paper 2: reading booklet and reading answer booklet English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1: spelling English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2: questions mathematics Paper 1: arithmetic mathematics Paper 2: reasoning There is no longer a test for English writing. This will be done through teacher assessment.

KEY STAGE 2 TESTS May 2016 The tests must be taken on the scheduled day.

Scaled Scores 100 Schools are changing the way the tests are reported. From 2016, we will use scaled scores to report national curriculum test outcomes. Headteachers won’t need to change the way their school prepares for, or administers, the tests because of the introduction of scaled scores. Within key stages, schools and teachers will have the freedom to assess what pupils understand and can do in a way that best suits the needs of their school.

Scaled scores will help test results to be reported consistently from one year to the next. Scaled scores maintain their meaning over time so that two pupils achieving the same scaled score on two different tests will have demonstrated the same attainment. For example, on the scale 100 will always represent the ‘national standard’. However, due to the small differences in difficulty between tests, the ‘raw score’ (ie the total number of correct responses) that equates to 100 might be different (though similar) each year. The scale will have a lower end point below 100 and an upper end point above 100. Once the national standard is set a statistical technique called ‘scaling’ will be used to transform the raw score into a scaled score. These will be published after the first tests have been administered. 100

A pupil’s scaled score will be based on their raw score. The raw score is the total number of marks a pupil receives in a test, based on the number of questions they answered correctly. The pupil’s raw score will be translated into a scaled score using a conversion table. A pupil who achieves the national standard will have demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the areas assessed by the tests. This will mean that they are well placed to succeed in the next phase of their education. The old national curriculum levels are not relevant to the new national curriculum. Levels and scaled scores will not be comparable.

Key stage 1 tests For 2016 KS1 tests, conversion tables will be published on GOV.UK by the end of May 2016. Teachers will use these to calculate the scaled score for Year 2 pupils. • Key stage 2 tests • Each pupil registered for the tests will receive: • a raw score (number of raw marks awarded) • a scaled score • confirmation of whether or not they attained the national standard There will be no level 6 tests for pupils who can demonstrate high attainment. There won’t be separate tests for the most able pupils from 2016. Instead a test is being developed so that there is scope for higher attaining pupils to show their strengths. (Mastery Level)

How will the changes affect our school? • We will still carry out summative assessments regularly using Climbing Frames • These assessments help us to track attainment and progress based on age related expectations • Teachers share information about children’s assessments when they move classes • We will identify groups of children and individual children, who may need further support or challenge • We will continue to report to parents (and governors)

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KEY POINTS The ‘new’ curriculum is more challenging and has an increased focus on developing children’s subject knowledge and skills. The new National Curriculum does not have levels of attainment, but instead has ‘expectations’ children are required to meet at each banding (AGE RELATED EXPECTATIONS) No levels Scaled Scores The curriculum is more knowledge based; meaning its focus is on knowing facts - we will STILL be developing skills and understanding.

And Finally …. This is a time of change for children, teachers and parents. It is not the first time (nor likely to be the last) that the curriculum has been changed. We will keep you updated so that you have a clearer picture of what, when and how your child will learn. As with all changes there are positive and less positive things about it. We will focus on ensuring that we incorporate the changes in such a way that our children will continue to thrive and progress not only academically but spiritually, morally and socially too. Our children remain at the heart of all we do as we take on the challenge of change.

Curriculum & Assessment