How do we assess?
We use formative and summative assessments at Whixall.

Formative assessment is the most frequent type of assessment used; teachers and teaching assistants use opportunities to understand what children know about a subject. Typical types of formative assessment used at our school include:

• Making use of rich questions and answers.                                                          
• Targeted questioning.
• Use of whiteboards (or similar strategies) to quickly gain a whole class picture of understanding.
• Verbal feedback.
• Self-assessment - Children marking their own work and highlighting areas which require further understanding or responding to success criteria and learning outcomes.
• Peer assessments.
• Discussions with children individually or as a group.
• Evidence in children’s books, and observations to assess the progress that children are making over time.

Summative assessment is less frequent - this is the use of tests or more formal assessments to find out what children have learnt. These formal summative tests occur termly and are recorded. We make use of age-related testing and standardised scores (PIRA, NFER and PIVATs) to identify individual and class gaps that feed directly into the next steps, individual targets and planning.  

The School Leadership Team will use the whole school outcomes to identify patterns or trends and review the data to inform whole school or phase areas for development. 

Teachers use a range of other assessments, both formative and summative to make a judgment about a child’s attainment at the end of a term. This information is then stored in our tracking software and used to monitor attainment and progress across the school.

Nationally Standardised Summative Assessment
Early Years 
A baseline assessment is made during the first term.

Year 1 Phonics Screening
This test is administered internally. These results are then reported to the local authority and to parents.

National Key Stage 1 Assessments
At the end of Year 2 children will be given teacher assessment standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science. 

The children also sit tests which consist of:

• English reading Paper 1 – combined reading prompt and answer booklet
• English reading Paper 2 – reading booklet and reading answer booklet
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1 - spelling
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2 - questions
• Mathematics Paper 1 – arithmetic
• Mathematics Paper 2 – reasoning

These are carried out in the classroom over the month of May and the children receive a standardised score where 100 is the expected attainment.

Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
This check is administered internally.
Multiplication Check 2023 - Information for Parents

National Key Stage 2 Assessments
At the end of Year 6, children will be given teacher assessment standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science.

The children also sit tests which consist of:

• English reading Paper 1 – reading booklet and associated answer booklet
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1 – short answer questions
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2 - spelling
• Mathematics Paper 1 – arithmetic
• Mathematics Paper 2 – reasoning
• Mathematics Paper 3 – reasoning

Please click here to view our DfE Performance Tables