St. Finian's Catholic Primary School
Assessment for Learning Policy
Definition
“Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by
learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need
to go and how best to get there”.
Assessment Reform Group, 2002
At St. Finian's we believe that it is our duty to provide learners with information about the progress
they are making (assessment) and guide their subsequent efforts (learning). Some of this information
will be given as verbal feedback during lessons and some may take place as written comments within
marking and feedback, highlighting the next steps in their learning.
Assessment should be a continuous process in the classroom. When used effectively, assessment for
learning increases learner’s motivation, self-esteem, independence, initiative, confidence, engagement
in the assessment and learning process, thus improving attainment and achievement. By ensuring that
children receive feedback, be it verbal or through quality marking, and adjustments to planning are
made by teachers following formative assessment, each child in the school will be given the
opportunity to reach their full potential.
At St. Finian's Catholic Primary School assessment for learning will take place by using the following
key strategies:
Our Growth Mindset Learning Ethos
At St. Finian's we are committed to developing in all pupils a 'growth mindset' to enable them to be
successful learners. We do this by using the Guy Claxton model of 'Building Learning Power'. In Key
Stage One children are introduced to 'learning puppets'. Each puppet focuses on a 'learning skills'
which will assist them in becoming successful learners.
The 'learning puppets' and their 'learning skills' are :
1. Christopher the Caterpillar – Concentrate (Resilience)
2. Dominic Duck – Don’t Give Up (Resilience)
3. Tabitha and Theodore Tortoises – Be Co-operative (Reciprocity)
4. Christian Camel - Be Curious (Resourcefulness)
5. Hugh Hedgehog - Have a Go (Resilience)
6 Isaac Spider - Use Your Imagination (Resourcefulness)
7. Ivan Insect - Keep Improving (Reflectiveness)
8. Edward Elephant – Enjoy Learning (Reflectiveness)
In Reception Class and Year 1 these characters are developed over a period of time and the puppets
are used as prompts to begin to develop the 'language of learning' in the very early years of school
and make children aware of the 'learning skills ' they are employing during their learning.
By Year 2 learners are encouraged to think about the learning skills they are using during tasks concentrating, 'don't give up', co-operating, 'being curious', 'having a go', 'using your imagination',
'keep on improving' and 'enjoying learning'. The emphasis is on the 'language of learning' which
facilitates the transition into Key Stage 2, where the main focus is on the learning skills and learning
muscles that pupils need to develop in order to 'build their learning power'.
The four learning skills - resilience, reciprocity, reflectiveness and resourcefulness are broken
down further into specific 'learning muscles'. These 'learning skills' and 'learning muscles' are
constantly being referred to and pupils are asked to reflect on the 'learning muscles' they have used
in specific tasks to help them succeed or improve. These 'learning skills' and 'learning muscles' are
outlined below:
Resilience
Resourcefulness
Absorption
Being able to lose yourself in learning
Managing Distractions
Creating your own best conditions for learning
Perseverance
Keep going in the face of difficulties
Noticing
Perceiving subtle nuances, patterns, details and experiences
Questioning
Asking questions of yourself and others
Making Links
Seeing connections
Imagining
Using your imagination and intuition
Capitalising
Making connections with a full range of resources from the wider
world
Reasoning
Using logical and rational skills to work things out methodically
Reflectiveness
Reciprocity
Emotional Aspects of Learning
The cognitive aspects of learning
The strategic aspects of learning
The social aspects of learning
Planning
Thinking about the action you are going to take, the time and
resources you will need.
Interdependence
Knowing when it is appropriate to learn on your own or with others,
and being able to stand your ground in a debate.
Revising
Being flexible and changing your plans in the light of different
circumstances
Collaboration
Knowing how to manage yourself in the give and take of group
ventures, respecting and recognising other view points.
Sieving
Look at what is being learned- pulling out the essential features,
carrying them forward to aid further learning.
Empathy and Listening
Listening to the point of view of others and being able to put
yourself in their shoes.
Meta-Learning
Knowing yourself as a learner, how you learn best; how to talk about
the learning process.
Imitation
Constructively learning from others whom you observe.
Each class has their own 'Building Learning Power' board, sharing the 'learning skills' and 'learning
muscles' that are currently being explored. These boards act as prompts to remind children to be
reflective in their learning, thinking about what they have learnt and how they have learnt this. They
also remind children of the skills that they need to continue to develop in order to improve their
learning.
Making Learning Explicit
Teachers will ensure that learners are made fully aware of the 'learning intention' of each lesson so
that children are able to articulate what they have learnt and the relevance of this. Teachers do this
by displaying or discussing learning intentions, learning questions or learning objectives during a
lesson. As well, teachers share or co-construct 'success criteria' with learners to ensure that
children have a thorough understanding of how to achieve and progress within the lesson. Within
lessons the sharing of the learning intention and success criteria can take a variety of forms but
ultimately it shares with learners what they are learning and how they can achieve this.
Using effective questioning techniques
Teachers will encourage effective learning and questioning skills by;
• Providing a high proportion of open questions
• Providing time for pupils to think about and discuss their responses to questions
• Providing supplementary questions to extend understanding
• Provide questions that encourage learners to reflect on their own thinking
• Providing opportunities for pupils to generate questions
Using marking and feedback strategies
Feedback is classed as any information that is provided to the performer of any action regarding
that performance. For feedback to be effective it must be applicable to the learning, directly relate
to the task set and the learner's next steps.
To feedback effectively teachers will:
• Give feedback regularly
• Confirm when children are on the right track as well as giving suggestions for improvement and
'next steps' (which are the pupils’ targets that they are working on next)
• Ensure that feedback is given in a timely manner, when it is still relevant and allow learners
sufficient time to respond to feedback
At St. Finian's teachers use a range of feedback strategies to enable learners to take the next steps
in their learning, these include the following improvement prompts:
- Reminder - giving the pupil a reminder of a strategy or concept eg. remember what happens to the
digits when you divide by 10.
- Question - asking the pupil a question to further their understanding of a concept
- Directive - reminding the pupil of resources available to them to help them in their learning eg. look
at the 'time connectives card' on your table add some of these to your writing to ensure you have
used a variety of connectives.
- An unfinished sentence - Eg. When we divide by 10 all the digits move ...
- Show an example - teachers provide the pupil with an example and ask them to use this to correct
their mistakes
Self Assessment
Self assessment is an integral part of the ‘Assessment for Learning’ process. Our ‘growth mindset’
ethos and strong learning culture ensures that learners understand their role in the learning journey
and teachers are constantly giving pupils the opportunity to reflect on their own learning. Pupils are
asked to self-assess (reflect, examine, analyse, critique) their learning in a variety of different
ways, including
-using traffic lights - pupils denote a green, amber or red traffic light to assess their learning during
a lesson. These traffic lights reflect the understanding or confidence of a pupil within a lesson and
allow pupils with an opportunity to demonstrate how they feel about their learning.
Green - I understand/ are confident
Amber - I am beginning to understand but still need more time/ help
Red - I do not understand/feel confident about my learning/understanding during this lesson.
- self-assessment checklist - children complete a checklist or answer questions about their
understanding throughout a lesson/unit. Pupils are often given the opportunities to reflect on pieces
of work they have completed and think about the features they feel meet the success criteria and
areas that they would improve next time
- sentence stems - children may be asked to complete a sentence stem, analysing the skills they have
acquired in lessons eg. In this lesson I have learnt; or Now that I know how to ... I can ... .
Peer Assessment
Peer assessment allows pupils an opportunity to share their learning with their peers; in doing this
pupils can clarify their own ideas and understanding of both the learning intention and the success
criteria while assessing another pupil’s work. Peer assessment can be used in a number of different
ways, including- two stars and a wish - the 'pupil assessor' identifies two areas of successful learning based on the
learning intention and success criteria and writes an advisory 'wish' which outlines something that
could be done next time to make the learning more successful. Pupils write these two stars and a wish
on a post-it note or slip of paper and it is placed in the child's book.
- assessment checklist - pupils are given a 'checklist' of concepts or features to focus their
thoughts during the 'peer assessment' process. The teacher devises this checklist based on the
success criteria of the lesson/ unit.
Learning or Talk Partners
‘Pupil talk is central to active learning. Establishing talk partners is often the first step teachers
take in experimenting with formative assessment, as it is relatively straightforward to embark on and
the impact can be seen immediately.’ (Shirley Clarke 2008)
At St. Finian’s our talk partners have been named ‘learning partners’ to reiterate that this ‘talk’ that
occurs is related to learning and helps pupils to progress in their learning. The aim of ‘learning
partners’ is to allow pupils the opportunity to constantly discuss and explain their thoughts, opinions,
ideas and learning with one another. The use of ‘learning partners’ occurs at various times in lessons
and teachers use a variety of strategies to group children into ‘learning partner’ pairs.
Next Steps or Target Setting
At St. Finian's we believe that 'next steps’ or 'targets’ need to be relevant to learning taking place
at that moment in time and should be a 'dual decision', between the learner and the teacher.
Therefore, at St. Finian's teachers and learners set targets and next steps which are relevant to the
'here and now', the learning that is occurring directly at that moment. Teachers facilitate this
process by making learning explicit, sharing success criteria, continually discussing the 'language of
learning', giving thorough and quality feedback and allowing pupils the time to respond to this.
Learners are given opportunities throughout units of work to discuss what they know and what their
next steps will be. Learners throughout the school are constantly being encouraged to reflect on
what they have learnt and what they need to do next, this provides them with the knowledge to guide
and shape their own learning by setting their own next steps or targets.
‘Targets’ are written in pupils’ books as the next steps (annotated as NS) in their learning.These
next steps are constantly referred to during units of work and are revisited when they are relevant
in subsequent units. As well, pupils are made aware at the beginning of units of work of the ‘bigger
picture’ or unit outcome so that they understand where they are working to during the learning
journey. This too becomes a target that pupils are working towards during whole units of work.
Through our ‘growth mindset’ ethos and the learning skills that encapsulate this, pupils also have
‘learning targets’ which are related to them developing a toolbox of skills to further their role as a
learner. These targets can be found in various formats within the ‘Building Learning Power’ displays in
each class.
Working Walls
English and Maths Working Walls are being used across the school to support learning. Working walls
are used as a record of learning through a unit and are a constant reference point for teachers and
children. Pupils are encouraged to refer to working walls to remind and scaffold their learning and
prompt thinking about future learning.
Working walls need to be:
- relevant to current learning
- used as a resource to further learning
- interactive, involving pupils
- used to aid pupils' independent learning
Photographs of working walls are placed in class year books or children’s books to refer back to
previous learning throughout the year.
Child-Centred Planning
Increasingly, children are being involved in the planning of topics through the children's choice
element of our curriculum. Collaboratively children decide on the topics they would be interested in
learning, together creating a plan of what they know and what they would like to find out. These
initial plans and ideas are then used by the teacher to guide the 'skills based topic' which reflects
the needs, abilities and interests of the pupils at St Finian's. Thus creating a curriculum that is
relevant, engaging and stimulating for our learners!
Teaching Marking Codes
The following marking codes are used in books when giving children feedback:TT – Teacher Talk
NS – Next Steps
P – Peer Assessment
TA - For work that has been supported by a TA – the teaching assistant should initial the piece of
work, making it explicit that this piece is not been completed independently and a brief reference
about how the work was supported eg. assistance to begin and then left to complete the task
independently.
Learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage
The Early Years Curriculum is centered around learning through play. Children's interests are at the
heart of all learning that occurs to ensure that it is relevant to these young learners. Teachers
further children's learning by facilitating the development of learning objectives through the pupil's
play. Each adult in the setting has a 'weekly objective led plan' which outlines what the children can
do now and what their next steps are. Adults use questioning appropriately to further develop pupils'
learning and thinking. Learning is constantly being developed and built upon, through teachers’ ongoing observation and evidence gathering, this information then forms the basis of future objectiveled planning. In the Early Years the learning intention and success criteria are not explicitly shared
as learning is more fluid and related to children's interests and understanding at that moment in
time. Adults remind children of what they were able to do previously and encourage them to set
themselves a more challenging goal/target next time. This occurs naturally through the interactions
practitioners have with learners and the skilled questioning and meaningful discussions that take
place.