School Priorities

School Priorities 2016-2017 Evaluation Description/activity/priority 1 To further develop writing throughout school but particularly boys in KS1including presentation.

2 To develop phonic skills to improve spelling – transition from phonics to creative writing

Progress Writing has improved throughout the school but the results are co-hort specific. The boy friendly topics used in all classes have certainly inspired the boys to write and there is an enthusiasm for writing from most of the children. Children are engaged and motivated by the topics covered in class.

Termly moderation has taken place within the CHIP cluster group and this year Y2 writing was moderated and was found to be accurate in all cases. Assessment of writing is good throughout the school.

The results at the end of key stage 1 show that there has been an improvement in the boys achievement and it is anticipated that this co-hort will all, except one, achieve at least the expected standard in writing.

At the end of key stage 2 the teacher assessment demonstrated that 71% of the children achieved at least the expected standard.

The teaching of phonics has continued to be of a high standard and it has been monitored by the English subject leader to ensure consistency throughout the groups. Again, spelling results fluctuate from cohort to co-hort. However, more emphasis has been put on spelling within the classroom with teachers targeting common errors. There has been a general improvement and children have made good progress.

The analysis of the year six key stage 2 results demonstrated that spelling was a strong element in the test.

3. Science Quality Mark

4. To continue to develop and review the assessment system within school to include all subjects.

Miss Barlow was new to the role of Science subject leader at the beginning of the academic year. One of her first tasks was to enroll for the Science Quality Mark. Following an audit of Science it was agreed by the staff that we would aim to achieve the silver award. Miss Barlow identified science principles for each class to adopt and identified science ambassadors in school. The school has worked with other schools to develop skills and experiences for the children aimed at widening their knowledge and interest in science.

Miss Barlow produced a detailed action plan and implemented a number of strategies to raise awareness of science including setting homework for the whole family. There have been competitions and other extracurricular activities to promote science, for example gardening club; eco club to save and re-cycle energy; arranged for a mad scientist after school club.

New planning and assessment procedures have been developed and Miss Barlow has monitored the teaching of science throughout the school.

Standards in science are good.

The school achieved the silver science quality award early in September and Miss Barlow will be attending the awards ceremony in Manchester in November. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Barlow for her great achievement and hard work.

Mrs. Marston and Miss Stanton have taken over the responsibility for assessment across the school. They are both monitoring the progress and sharing information with all staff. Other subjects are visited twice a year rather than every term. Pupil progress meetings have continued on a half termly basis. Including the other subjects in our assessment arrangements has allowed us to have a fuller picture of all the children’s achievements. Good practice in different subject areas is shared and implemented in other areas if appropriate.

As a school we have been involved with the moderation of not just the core subjects but also the foundation subjects. Our continual teacher assessment in all subjects ensures we are covering the whole of the curriculum in a broad and balanced way. We are also able to identify subject specific strengths and celebrate these achievements alongside the core subjects.

As the curriculum is further embedded and the assessment process continues to evolve we will continue to focus on our assessment to ensure it is rigorous and accurate.