About our school
Assessment and Moderation
As Waverley School provides for a wide range of pupils with varying needs and of different ages, abilities and learning styles, the curriculum, assessment process, and measures of progress used must reflect this diversity.
Assessment is used to enable a better understanding of pupils and therefore enables staff to focus on and monitor the teaching and learning more effectively.
Assessment is used to monitor and measure pupil progress, inform planning, and target setting.
Assessment Techniques
Assessment takes place in a variety of ways. It is not just based on formal testing, and observations and opinions are backed up by evidence and are used to inform planning and teaching. The following techniques are used:
- Observations
- Scrutiny of work
- Discussion with parents and other professionals (including our multi-disciplinary team)
- Pupils assessment of their own work
- Reports from other professionals
- Photographs and Video evidence stored on Evidence for learning
Due to the complexity of needs of our pupils, the National Curriculum levels previously used in mainstream settings and the current descriptors remain at too high a level for our pupils.
Assessment, pupils at Waverley are assessed via GAS – goal for attainment steps. These steps link directly to the pupil’s operation Gail which is set during the duration of their Education, Health, and Care plan outcomes (EHCP), Each goal is broken into five development steps. It is expected that pupils attain on average three steps for each goal each year.
Moderation
Pupil Progress is monitored and moderated throughout the year in the following ways:
- Moderation of EYFS stages in Autumn (by SLT and teacher colleagues) and in April/ May (with SLT)
- Progress against p-levels / EYFS levels– tracked on an ongoing basis by the deputy head responsible for assessment, and moderated externally with other special schools from Enfield.
Assessment and Moderation
Performance tables
Our curriculum steps have – I can statements which pupil achieve as they acquire skills to knowledge. This allows us to assess pupils’ progress and the effectiveness of our curriculum.
The engagement model
Pupils in KS1 and KS2 who are working at Waverley Learning steps 1 & 2. The pre-key stage standards are used for assessment at the end of KS1 & KS2.