We aspire to:

• Help our pupils develop into happy, confident, caring, resilient young individuals.
• Provide high quality teaching and learning which will enable pupils to enjoy their studies and become independent and confident learners able to fulfil their academic potential.
• Provide personal guidance and support to help our pupils enjoy school, negotiate risk and make good choices.
• Help our students develop the skills, qualities and goals that will enable them to pursue their ambitions at university and find employment in the rapidly changing world of work.

Guidance on Assessment at FIC

• Since the removal of National Curriculum levels in 2014, schools have been free to develop their own approaches to assessment.
• For examined subjects, we use the GCSE 9-1 grading system for all year groups (year 6 through to year 11).
• For non-examined subjects, we track a record of substantive and disciplinary knowledge achieved.
• This allows us to track progress throughout KS3 and GCSE.

Principles of Assessment

1. For students, the purpose of assessment is to empower them to become better learners by understanding their own attainment and how to progress and achieve beyond it.
2. For teachers, assessment should develop an understanding of the individual needs of students so that target setting is meaningful and informs planning, teaching and learning for progress.
3. For parents, assessment information will both inform them of their child’s attainment and allow them to understand how their child may maximise achievement.

Assessment should:

1. Recognise and celebrate individual successes to encourage and motivate all students.
2. Be based on specific learning outcomes/objectives and these should be clearly identified by the teacher and understood by the students.
3. Allow students to understand how summative assessment is arrived at by the teacher and so encourage them to become reflective learners who take more responsibility for their own learning.
4. Help shape targets and the next steps for improvement.
5. Allow teachers to plan for teaching and learning that meets the individual needs of all the students in the classroom.
6. Underpin teaching and learning in order to ensure progress for every child.
7. Be accessible for parents. Reports reflect the fact that many parents do not have a full understanding of the English grading system. Therefore, provide information in a suitable format that enables them to take an informed part in their child’s education.

Reporting to students and parents

We will use meaningful ways of measuring all aspects of progress, including communication, social skills, physical development, resilience and independence. We will have the same high expectations of all pupils. However, this should account for the amount of effort the pupil puts in as well as the outcomes achieved. Effort grades are therefore an important aspect to the reporting process alongside tutorials, current attainment and target attainment. In addition, a summary of the terms attendance and behaviour records will be shared.

• Tutorial summaries will be shared with parents each half term. This could include tutorials from either all or some of the following: subject teachers, pastoral staff, personal tutor. The tutorials aim to summarise discussions with the students regarding their current attainment and life experience at FIC. In addition, the tutorial record will highlight areas for improvement alongside suitable support and guidance offered.

• Data reports will be shared with parents on a termly basis and will include current and target grades. Current grades allow us all to track progress over time. We do not expect a linear progression as this is not how students learn. However, we expect that over a key stage a student should aim to achieve on average, 3 levels of progression.

• Interventions will be put in place for students who are identified as underachieving. This will be shared through academic, pastoral, and personal tutorials and parents will be notified and involved in the intervention process.

The role of teachers

• Adopt a range of methods to ensure that they can assess the progress of all students accurately.
• Encourage students to actively engage in assessment for learning.
• Ensure that assessment builds students’ motivation, confidence, and self-esteem.
• Ensure that lessons begin with clear expectations and students are aware of how progress will be measured.
• Ensure that all students know and understand the learning objectives of the lesson.
• Identify through assessment and intervene as necessary with those students at risk of underachievement.
• Ensure that the results of assessment are used to inform planning for differentiation and challenge in lessons.
• Ensure that opportunities to use assessment to promote the development of literacy skills in students are embraced.
• Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning through self/peer assessment, setting appropriate targets (with guidance) and asking for help and advice when necessary.
• Adopt creative approaches to assessment for learning in order to maximise student engagement in the assessment process.
• Share concerns or praise arising from assessment information through subject tutorials, tutor tutorials and house parent tutorials and the SLT as appropriate.
• Ensure that every half term includes an assessment opportunity to be self-evaluated by students and subsequent action plans are put in place to improve their learning. Through subject specific tutorials and verbal discussions between the teacher and individual student.
• Ensure that all students have an opportunity to discuss their current attainment with teachers and tutors so that individual guidance can be offered to improve their learning.

The role of the tutor

Tutors are expected to engage in appropriate conversations with students and teachers following assessment information available from the reports. They have a responsibility to help students and parents embrace the principles of assessment as outlined in this policy.

Each student will have tutorials with both academic and pastoral/personal tutors on a termly basis, plus additional if required.

The role of students

1. Participate actively in assessment opportunities in lessons.
2. Take responsibility for understanding and acting on oral feedback given by their teachers or peers.
3. Keep up to date records of assessments so that they can refer to their target grades regularly.
4. Evaluate their own assessments, decide (with guidance) and act upon an individual action plan.
5. Discuss their current attainment and action plans with their Form Tutor and subject teacher.
6. Support other students constructively when asked to be involved in peer assessment.

The role of parents

1. Discuss with their child the assessment report sent to them each term which includes a summary of current and target grades for each examined subject.
2. Discuss with their child the tutorial report sent to them at half-terms, which contains a summary of the support and guidance their child is given by their academic, pastoral, and personal tutors.
3. Liaise with the school about any concerns regarding their child’s progress as identified through assessment.