BOWHOUSE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Assessment Is For Learning
Policy
DRAFTED Feb 2008
Reviewed Aug 2011
Next review Feb 2013
AIFL Policy
Principles
Assessment Is For Learning
Formative assessment is part of the Falkirk Council Learning to Achieve Strategy. It
is ongoing; gathering and interpreting evidence about learning in terms of where
pupils are in their learning, where they need to go next and how best they can get
there. The assessment is used to adapt the teaching work to meet the needs of the
pupils
An AIFL school is a place where everyone is learning. It is a place where assessment
is part of learning and teaching without dominating them.
In an AIFL school ; Staff are skilled in using assessment to support learning and in planning next
steps in consultation with pupils and their parents.
 Pupils and staff are fully involved in planning, reflecting and evaluating their
own learning and make changes as identified.
 There are sound procedures in place for assuring quality assessment
judgements and for using them as evidence to plan for improvement.
Aims
In Bowhouse PS we aim to raise attainment by: Planning learning and teaching activities and planning assessment appropriate
to the pupils needs.
 Using formative assessment, reflective self assessment and summative
assessment to help pupils achieve their learning goals and develop their
thinking skills.
 Sharing good practice adopted following the implementation of the Teacher
Learning Community.
 Work with parents and partner agencies to use formative assessment which
will impact positively on pupils attainment
3 Strands underpin our approach to assessment
Assessment For Learning-2.1, 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7
 Discuss what is to be learned
 Recognise when learning has taken place
 Provide useful and timely feedback to inform next steps in learning



Assessment As Learning-2.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
Gather information and interpret evidence to determine learning
Plan learning activities and methodology
Plan next steps in learning and the evidence to improve success


Assessment Of Learning 8.4
Share learning across the school to determine levels of attainment
Use plenary sessions to ensure the learning intention has been achieved for all
children and identify next steps.
In Bowhouse all teachers plan in our long, medium and short term plans the 4
following AIFL strategies and this is indicated on the weekly planning sheet.
Sharing Criteria Strategies
 The learning outcomes are shared with children at the start of each lesson and
for new concepts ( I CAN)
 Learning Logs -learning intentions are planned regularly and shared with
pupils in their learning log
 Two Stars and a Wish for writing criteria and other areas of the written
curriculum
 Traffic Lighting to develop self grouping- this could include coloured traffic
light trays for children to self assess


Green and yellow highlighters used across the school to show improvement and
meeting writing target .
coloured pencils to be used by children to indicate use of wow words etc this is in
line with Big Writing guidance
Quality of Feedback Strategies
 Avoiding giving marks – only write down what is required to improve
 Talk to pupils on how to improve rather than excessive written feedback
 Provide positive feedback on good work to ensure replication
 Quality Feedback to pupils which is constructive and supportive and is both
oral and written
Quality of Questions
 Effective Questioning- expecting all children to give an answer
 Wait Time
 Open questioning
 Think, pair and share which challenges thinking and encourages children to
pose questions
Self assessment /Peer assessment
 Thumbs up !
 Pupils swapping work
 Peer and self assessment-traffic lighting each others work according to targets
-learn to provide feedback to others eg writing
 Plenary sessions
 Structuring pupil` s debate
** refer to
Falkirk Council Staff Handbook AIFL -Formative assessment strategies
TLC Changing Classroom Practice- Dylan Williams
Evaluating
 Staff use the AFL learning walk when sharing practice.(TLC)
 Staff self assess annually and before final classroom observation (see Falkirk
council handbook section 7 taking a closer look appendix 2)
 Whole Staff Development -Through regular annual audit of the key questions
which underpin the quality indicators in HGIOS3 and Child at the Centre and across the 3 strands of AIFL, we will be able to evaluate the effectiveness
of our approaches to assessment
Year
HGIOS 3 Child at the Centre- QIS
09/10 Assessment As Learning
2.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 7.2
10/11 Assessment of Learning
1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 5.3, 7.2, 8.4,
11/12 Assessment For learning
2.1, 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 7.2
** JTEX--- Dim 1 - learning intentions
Dim 2 – outcomes and plan
Monitoring
It is recognised that monitoring is an essential part of ensuring quality and raising
attainment in Bowhouse PS. The impact of AIFL programme will be monitored
through classroom observation, evaluation of programmes of learning, sampling
pupils` work and analysing attainment data.
When observing to monitor the use of assessment the following may be used as
criteria for observation.

What Is the Learning Intention ( see P7 Falkirk Council doc. and Journey to
Excellence )
We will measure our performance against the level 3 and level 5 examples given in
JTE and How Good is Our School –see table above
Resources:Assessment Is For Learning Toolkit Early Years and Primary-Secondary
Falkirk Authority Assessment Staff Development Pack
Learning to Achieve Document
HGIOS Quality Indicators
Journey to Excellence
Appendix 1 Assessment for learning – Why, What and How?
What benefits will there be?
We expect to see a number of benefits to
pupils after working in these ways. It may
take a little time for us to notice some of
them but others will be seen quite quickly.
Some of the benefits we will be looking for
are:
 Increased pupil confidence.
 Greater motivation to work
 Even better results in class work .
 A quicker pace of learning
 Better understanding of work
covered.
 Improved contributions to group
work.
 Children having an understanding of
how they learn.
 Pupils feel included and actively
involved in tasks.
All of these add up to an even better quality
of education and a more enjoyable school
experience.
How will Parents be Involved?
You will be asked to talk to your child about
their work, their Learning Log and their
targets in their Personal Learning Plan. You
will also be encouraged to use the traffic light
self assessments with your child when he /she
is completing home work tasks.
Useful Contacts
If you would like more information you
can ring
Mrs Cassells
01324 508710
Assessment
Is for
Learning
What is Assessment?
What is the Assessment Is for
Learning Programme
There are two kinds of assessment – formative
and summativeIf we think about learning to drive, formative
assessment happens during every lesson. The
instructor says what manoeuvre is going to be
taught and explains how it is done. The learner
gives it a go and gets feedback about how it
went. Both the learner and the instructor have a
say in how things went and what can be done to
improve. Afterwards the learner can try again –

well as praise for their positive efforts.

The teacher waiting longer after asking
As a Falkirk Council school we are part of a
national strategy called Assessment is For
a question before taking an answer.

Learning or AIFL.
Pupils being given the opportunity to
prepare group responses.

Here in Bowhouse Primary School, we have
gradually introduced many of the formative
questions.

assessment approaches from this strategy
into our every day learning and teaching. As
Training the pupils to ask each other
Helping pupils to explain how they got
an answer.

Giving
oral
feedback
and
written
partners in your child `s learning, we feel it
comment instead of always giving a
is important to share some information
mark.
about these approaches with you.

Using a marking key that has been
agreed with the pupils.
and keep trying until it’s right.
Formative Assessment is about :

Helping pupils to assess their own work.
Summative assessment is the driving test – no
help or support just show what you know and

Pupils knowing what they are learning
about and what they need to know or
prove what you can do.
do to achieve success in the lesson.

Involving pupils in setting targets for
future learning- PLP and Learning
Logs.

Ensuring that pupils have ways of
letting
the
confident
teacher
they
feel
know
how
about
their
learning.

Involving pupils in assessing their
own and other `s work.

Ensuring pupils receive feedback from
teachers about how to improve as
What Strategies Are Used?
WALT and WILF- target setting
Traffic
lighting-
self
and
peer
assessment
Go for
Green/Mellow
Yellow
for
feedback
to pupils
Increased wait time- al children have
an answer.
Effective
questioning-use
open
questions and challenge thinking