Throughout the school year, all teaching and ELC staff track the progress of individual learners which is reported to parents and carers at key points:
Primary
- November interim reports shared at family contact meetings
- Pupil reports in March
- Family contact meetings in March
- Primary school attainment and targets reports shared in June
ELC
- Family contact meetings in November and March
- Child reports in May/June
Teaching and ELC staff meet with the Senior Leadership Team at these key points to discuss and track individual progress and attainment. Assessment information is shared and, on occasion, interventions may be planned for to ensure that learners are able to meet their targets or milestones. These interventions may be delivered by the class teachers, pupil support assistants, early years practitioners in ELC, pupil support teacher or senior leaders and may take place in class/ELC or in a suitable space within the school.
In order to gather information about pupil progress, pupils may be given some brief assessment activities either within the classroom/ELC or withdrawn to a suitable space within the school, in the same manner as targeted interventions.
In addition to this, children and young people in P1, P4 and P7 throughout Scotland complete online standardised assessments in literacy and numeracy (SNSA). The assessments help to identify children’s progress, providing diagnostic information to support teachers’ professional judgement. These may be completed in the classroom or in a small group out with the classroom.
Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA)
At St Dominic’s RC Primary School, we have a rigorous and shared understanding of all aspects of assessment. Our approach to assessment is at the heart of high quality teaching and learning and all teachers have ongoing opportunities for professional development, to ensure they are skilled and confident in assessing pupils’ learning.
Our assessment is inclusive of all abilities and is used diagnostically to contribute to the early and accurate identification of pupils’ needs, support and intervention. At different points within the school year P1, P4 and P7 pupils will undertake their National Assessments.
These National assessments are all online and all pupils are supported to complete them to the best of their ability. They are delivered as part of the ongoing learning and teaching and how they will form part of a range of approaches to assessment that class teachers undertake to award a level of achievement. (Early level for the majority of pupils in P1, First Level for the majority of pupils in P4, Second Level for the majority of pupils in P7).
An information page for families is available on the Scottish Government’s website https://standardisedassessment.gov.scot/parents-and-carers/ .
We ensure assessments are fair, reliable and valid through ongoing internal external moderation.
Families are very welcome to discuss their pupils learning and assessments. Formal Parent consultation meetings take place in the Autumn and Spring term. In addition to this, families can also arrange appointments to meet with the class teacher and or the Headteacher. At the end of each year, families receive detailed academic reports on their child’s progress, recognising achievements and identifying next steps in their learning.
Our use of assessment aims to inspire our pupils.