Meadlands Assessment
The aim of the National Curriculum is for pupils to become deeply secure in the learning objectives of their year group as opposed to racing through sets of grades and levels. At Meadlands, we have embedded this practice with a rigorous and robust assessment procedure.
Senior Leaders work closely with Class Teachers to review the progress and attainment of all our pupils. We have high expectations of our children and set ambitious end of year targets. Throughout the year we work hard to identify those who are not progressing as expected or, indeed, who may need further challenge, from which we set highly personalised education plans to keep them on track.
Some of our pupils who have additional needs may be working with different milestones to their peer group. These children are often supported by a Learning Support Assistant and guided by our SENDCo. For our higher achieving children, the objective is that they will work with deeper understanding of the targets for their chronological year group. Only very occasionally will a more-able child be set work outside of their class curriculum. This is at the headteacher's discretion.
We keep parents informed of their child’s progress and attainment during the year through many different activities:
Curriculum Nights: A night for parents to develop their understanding of a particular subject, how it is taught at Meadlands, how children's knowledge and skills progress, and age-related expectations.
Curriculum Handbook: Written by teachers detailing topics, events and key targets in reading, writing and maths for the year ahead.
Book Looks: Parents are invited into school for a half-termly presentation by their child's teacher to support parents in developing their own understanding of year group expectations, a recap, and highlights of the last half-term, and key learning happening that half-term There is also the chance to review the progress and learning of your child.
Class Teacher Meetings: Please feel free to make an appointment with your child’s teacher at any point throughout the year if you would like to discuss their progress. We are happy to meet early morning or after school hours for working parents.
Parent / Teacher Consultation Meetings: These take place before the October and February half term. During these meetings we present parents with a brief written report on the progress and attainment your child has made since the start of the academic year, their end of year target and ways you can support your child to achieve this. We also take this opportunity to discuss your child’s talents, interests and social and emotional wellbeing whilst at school.
Meeting with SENDCo, Miss Tadman: Children on the SENDCo register have a longer appointment with the class teacher at the biannual consultation meetings.
LAC or PLAC, Meeting with Headteacher, Mrs Taunton-Johnson: Children who are looked after or post looked after (adopted or special guardianship) are invited to have an additional meeting with the Headteacher, a chance to review and discuss their children's progress.
Additional contact with your child's Class Teacher: If at any point we identify that your child is not progressing as well as their peers, we may want to offer extra support be that through a booster club or afternoon intervention lessons. If your child is invited to a before-school booster the class teacher will inform you via letter.
End of Year Report: A detailed end-of-year report is sent home in July.
Language of Assessment.
We understand that education jargon can sometimes be confusing, when discussing assessment with parents we will use the following terminology:
Progress - is measured from the start to the end of the academic year and from the end of a Key Stage (Key Stage 1, end of year 2) to the end of the next Key Stage (Key Stage 2, end of year 6).
Good progress is defined as children who have met their personalised target.
Attainment – which refers to their current level
The Levels:
Emerging age-related expectations - the child is working below their year group.
Expected age-related expectations - the child is working within their year group.
Exceeding age-related expectations - the child is deepening their knowledge and skill of year group expectation to a much greater depth.
National Standardised Tests
We publish results of outcomes for specific year groups where either the children complete national tests or where teacher assessment must be made public. Results are shared with parents and published on our school website and newsletter, please refer to our results section for the most up-to-date outcomes:
https://www.meadlands.richmond.sch.uk/results/
Reception – The class teacher collects a portfolio of work for the child over a wide range of curriculum areas throughout the year. Once completed in the summer term the teacher then makes a judgement as to whether the child has achieved a ‘Good Level of Development’ (GLD).
Year 1 – The children complete a national phonics test in the summer term.
Year 2 – The children complete national tests (SATs) in reading, writing and mathematics in the summer term.
Year 4 - National multiplication check (at present the results of these tests are not published).
Year 6 – The children complete national tests (SATs) in reading, writing, grammar, punctuation and spelling and mathematics in the summer term.
For further information on curriculum coverage and the outcomes your child is expected to achieve by the end of each year group, please refer to the links below: