Assessment

In the first instance, teachers and teaching assistants assess pupils’ understanding as they work. Ongoing assessment, on a lesson by lesson basis, is important for us to ascertain who may need more help or who has clearly met objectives. Responsive intervention takes place during afternoon sessions or the following morning (teachers and teaching assistants work with pupils individually and in small groups).

Formative assessment
Ongoing (formative) assessments take place during every lesson at Halsnead. Teachers use the information gathered to determine which children have met the lesson objective and use this to help plan lessons, target interventions and assist learning for any children who have not met the objective. 

Summative assessment
Summative assessments take place termly. These are tests and other assessments designed to give pupils an opportunity to show what they have learned, retained and what concepts and skills they can apply in unfamiliar problem-solving contexts. This information is used by teachers and leaders to prioritise learning steps for the next term. 

Parents
Parents receive written reports at the end of the school year. There are two formal opportunities for parents to come into school to talk to class teachers about progress and attainment (October, March) but staff will discuss attainment and progress at any time during the school year at parent request.