Assessment

Mayflower Community Academy Assessment for Learning

Principles

At Mayflower we believe that every child can achieve. Progress depends largely on how the learning is delivered, framed and presented to pupils. Measurement of a learners ability to achieve is made through, ongoing live formative observations and questioning against the National Curriculum. Mayflower uses School Pupil Tracker as a means to host data sets, and outcomes of assessments for each pupil. Generally, pupils are expected to make three tracking points of progress a year. This can be seen as, one tracking point per term, however, learning rarely progresses in a linear fashion so caution is taken when making mid year judgments. Judgments on progress are made using a plethora of sources, for example, learning journeys, pupil voice, pupil presentations and displays, video logs, pupil interviews, degrees of pupil absorption, formative and summative assessments. Summative assessments are deliberately used to identify complex learning needs as well as check prior judgements against nationally recognised expectations. Summative assessments are also used mid year as a tool to check to see if pupils have learnt what they have been taught. Educators use the outcomes of prior assessments and pre-task checks to support the design and re-shaping of planning and provision.

Educators (to include all staff who work with pupils/learners) play the part of facilitator, teacher, but also learner. They model by example and seek out progress and misconceptions. They create opportunities for pupils to succeed by planning progressive authentic and real experiences based on core constructs outlined in the National Curriculum. Educators at Mayflower believe that with high quality provision, supplemented with high quality questioning, learning can be shaped according to the differencing needs of pupils. Essentially judgments are made on four main driving questions:

1) Has the learner fully secured their understanding of the intended construct? Yes or No?
2) What are the learners strengths and how are they able to use these to affect others?
3) What are the learners main barriers to learning / misconceptions and where is there capacity within the Academy to address these?
4) Are the learners aware of these barriers? If so, do they personally have the correct scaffolding and resources to address these immediately?

Learning opportunities are designed to ensure that, learners are expected to;

1) be clear about and work towards demonstrating clear constructs
2) practice and persevere through a process of multiple drafting and editing
3) produce enough learning to be able to make visible progress in fewer areas but with more depth in understanding
4) be exposed to key constructs and become able to evidence what they are learning, how they are learning and how this learning relates or can be applied in/to the real world.

Educators use a variety of research informed strategies to probe, question and understand how much a pupil deeply understands, what mistakes have been made towards understanding and how these mistakes can be used to help re-shape and re-form a deeper understanding.

Educators use the outcomes from their probing assessments to identify key learners who are falling behind or not fully accessing the curriculum to an age related expectations. The expectation is that planning will be adjusted to enable the learners access to the key constructs in an appropriate manner. However, if pupils are deemed to need further specialist support i.e. for cognitive or physical impairment, specialist provision and assessment strategies will be deployed to enable deeper analysis of their cognitive or physical need.

All staff are dedicated to creating a sustainable empowering learning environment that will ‘systematically unblock every obstacle that stands in the way of individuals being able to realise their own aspiration’ (Milburn Report.) The SENDCo is deployed to ensure that, wherever possible, pupils are firstly included in mainstream lessons, and secondly, that they have bespoke personalised plans where necessary. Planning shows clear evidence of personalisation and key questions are detailed through differentiation (either through objective, tasks or support) as well as pupils requiring further attention through focused questioning, physical placement in class or resources needed for additional scaffolding.
Intervention is deliberate and systematic. The SENDCo is expected to ensure that effective support is given to ensure an increasingly individualised support programme is in place where necessary.

Mayflower Community Academy – Waves of Intervention

Context

• Mayflower Community Academy was opened in 2013. It had previously been Mayflower Community School created through the amalgamation of two local underperforming primary schools, which served two of the most deprived communities in Plymouth. Both communities/schools were either bottom or second to bottom of the local leagues tables during their final years of operation.
• In 2013 Headteacher, David Sammels was appointed and began the process of fully restructuring the Academy, ensuring that it worked within its financial envelope whist significantly enhancing the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Immediate steps were taken to redesign and restructure every element of the Academy, to match the bespoke needs of its community and build on the talents and interest of all stakeholders.
• The Academy’s provision was redesigned to allow for enhanced wrap around wider opportunities for teaching and learning. Staff were redeployed to best meet the high demand of pupil premium and disadvantaged starting points.
• Untapped potential in staff was realised and a model of dynamic distributed leadership introduced allowing for talent from both within the Academy as well as carefully selected outstanding practitioners to drive standards. In 2014, wave one of the academy restructure saw 70% new staff including a complete restructure of Governance. This change has seen an immediate and positive impact on standards.
• The two main significant groups are Pupil Premium/disadvantage (currently 63%) pupils and SEND (currently 37%). 2% of pupils have EAL.
• Pupils all have their own toolkits that are made up of key resources that enable them to self select and become independent learners. All Support staff also have toolkits and model this independent learning behavior.
• Key areas of continual development are: Oracy (pupils typically arrive at Mayflower significantly below national age related standards), Phonics, Reading for pleasure and understanding and developing the ability to multiple draft and edit in all areas of learning especially writing.

Strategy

Mayflower organises assessment into waves. These waves are progressive and are designed to enable both learners and educators access to the tools to gain better insights into the outcomes of Mayflower’s four main driving questions that inform assessment for learning. Educators focus on searching out and highlighting key misconceptions and progress within each session. These are:

High Quality Teaching at MCA provides the foundations for pupil progress and uses six interlinked systems that collectively promote constant opportunities for progress:

1. PEER PERMS (critique) to gain a better understanding of success as well as next steps
2. Positive Learning Behaviour to reach absorption
3. Functional Language and Oracy to confidently and clearly articulate emotions, ideas and opinions
4. Misconception Memo’s and Progress Pads to highlight progress and misconceptions within lessons
5. Multiple Drafts and Craftsmanship to develop resilience and beautiful work that is good enough to share
6. PERMS Project and applied learning to create authentic real life learning experiences that will never be forgotten.

Wave One Part 1: Arrival

Responsible Person: Phase Leader and Class Teacher: DHTeacher to monitor

For pupils who arrive at Mayflower mid way through an academic year or part through their school life, targeted assessments are both formatively and summatively taken to inform educators of how best to plan next steps in learning. These assessments also give a snap shot style look at where the learner is in relation to the rest of the class/year group as well as against national expectations.

See Tables A – C on entry assessment matrix for each area of learning and within each year group and summative assessment matrix.

Wave 1 Part 2: Embed in all practice (Daily)

Responsible Person: Subject, Phase Leader and Class Teacher: DHTeacher to monitor
High Quality First Teaching underpins progress. It begins with inclusion of all pupils in high-quality lessons through the delivery of key constructs framed in relevant and personalised contexts enabling all pupils access to a broad and balance curriculum and learning experiences.

Examples of Wave 1 AfL can be found in: learning walls / Misconception Memos / Progress Pads / BLOOMS questioning / Solo Taxonomy for Mastery / start and end formative pre learning tables / success criteria proforma / learning journeys / talk tins / coloured books / overlays / first and then prompts / visual timetables / scaffold tools e.g. letter & phonic frames / functional language / PERMS prompts)

See Staff Induction Handbook and Tables D and G Assessment Tracking Sheets.

Wave 1 Part 3: Short Term and Immediate Action (immediate intervention and reshaping of provision that takes place within a lesson)

Responsible Person: Subject, Phase Leader and Class Teacher: DHTeacher to monitor

Strategies for HQT are deployed around Mayflower’s Requirements for Effective Teaching (4C’s) and key misconceptions are evident in either an individual’s or groups of pupils understanding. Educators follow a Cause and Effect model when assessing effectiveness of Teaching, Learning and Assessment. Immediate intervention is deliberately and strategically put in place to delve deeper and address these misconceptions or need for re-application of the construct through another context.

Examples of Wave 1 AfL can be found in: learning walls / Misconception Memos / Progress Pads / BLOOMS questioning / Solo Taxonomy for Mastery / start and end formative pre learning tables / success criteria proforma / learning journeys / talk tins / coloured books / overlays / first and then prompts / scaffold tools e.g. letter & phonic frames / functional language / PERMS prompts)

See Staff Induction Handbook and Tables D and G Assessment Tracking Sheets.

Wave 2: MEDIUM TERM ACTION (6 – 12 weeks intervention)

Responsible Person: Phase Leader, HLTA and Class Teacher: DHTeacher to monitor

Where whole class Teaching, Learning and Assessment requires further personalisation to enable learners access to learning, small group intervention, designed to supplement lessons for pupils working just below age-related expectations is deployed. Support at Wave 2 involves additional time limited provision in the form of small group intervention, focused on agreed, fewer, specific and prioritised KPIs to accelerate progress and enable pupils to work at age related expectations. Key constructs and KPIs are identified and small step success criteria’s developed to ensure learners achieve agreed and time limited success. Extended provision, such as, through After School Tuition, review and repeat and reinforce key priority KPIs or Enhanced FLIP homework is in place. It is likely that a skilled member of the support staff team will be deployed to deliver this stage of enhanced intervention.

Examples of Wave 2 AfL can be found in: any of the wave 1 AfL methods. Start and End group and/or individual assessment sheets

See Staff Induction Handbook and Tables D and G Assessment Tracking Sheets.

Wave 3: Medium TERM ACTION (6 – 12 weeks intervention)

Responsible Person: Subject Leader, HLTA and Class Teacher: SENDCo & DHTeacher to monitor

Where whole class Teaching, Learning and Assessment requires further and deeper personalisation to enable learners access to learning, personalised tuition focusing on fewer KPIs through expert targeted intervention for pupils working well below age- related expectations. This involves focused teaching activities which tackle fundamental errors, misconceptions and gaps in knowledge or understanding that are preventing progress. This style of intervention requires teaching from the most expert and specialised educators. The principles for HQT remain but are magnified whilst working is smaller groups enabling higher occurrences of 1:1 conferencing and specialist materials/resources. Targeted intervention is in place and additional time is spent away from the main class working on personailised and prioritised KPIs, mostly using research informed resources such as, A.R.R.O.W. Interventions under Wave 3 could be identified as test cases using the DIY Evaluation Guide from the Education Endowment Foundation. (HLTA / Subject Leads and DHT to quality assure this process). It is most likely that a Specialist Teacher will be deployed to deliver this stage of enhanced intervention.

See Table H Start and End AfL tracking sheet and Tables D to G Group Assessment Tracking Sheets.

Wave 4: LONG TERM ACTION (Beyond one term)

Responsible Person: Subject Leader& SENDCo: DHTeacher to monitor

Where whole class Teaching, Learning and Assessment requires further and deeper personalisation to enable learners access to learning, personalized tuition focusing on fewer KPIs through expert targeted intervention for pupils working well below age- related expectations. This involves focused teaching activities, which tackle fundamental errors, misconceptions and gaps in knowledge or understanding that are preventing progress. This style of intervention requires teaching from the most expert and specialised educators. The principles for HQT remain but are magnified whilst working is smaller groups enabling higher occurrences of 1:1 conferencing and specialist materials/resources. Specialist Teaching is in place with a view to gain deeper assessment for correct placement and/or additional funding to enable access to either mainstream or appropriate other provision.

See Wave 2 Intervention formative and summative assessment monitoring tools and Table D to G Assessment Tracking Sheets.

SEND and Complex Learners:

Within all Waves of intervention, SEND and highly complex learners, such as those allocated to our Support Centre (for pupils who have complex communication difficulties), require educators to prioritise key constructs and KPIs based on their personalised National Curriculum needs, as well as behavior, cognitive and/or physical needs. The following assessment proformas can be used to record progress against key performance indicators.

See Tables D to G Assessment Tracking Sheets.

Tables for reference:

Table A) Pupils on entry – list of key assessments that take place for each subject.
Table B) Matrix of assessment across Academy
Table C) Matrix of Summative Assessment across Academy
Table D) Individual Pupil Personailsed Key Performance Indicator Tracking Sheet (SEND) – One Subject
Table E) Individual Pupil Personailsed Key Performance Indicator Tracking Sheet (SEND) – All Subjects
Table F) Mayflower Community Academy SEND KPI Summary Tracker
Table G) Group Personailsed Key Performance Indicator Tracking Sheet
Table H) Start and End KPI Cohort Assessment Sheet