Reading

In FS and Year 1, Reading fluency is assessed using half termly Little Wandle assessments. Small group Guided Reading sessions also assess fluency alongside understanding of what has been read.

From Year 2 onwards, those children who are ready, take part in whole class Guided Reading sessions where comprehension skills are taught and assessed.

PIRA tests are taken twice a year to give standardised comprehension scores and inform teachers of weaknesses in comprehension skills.

Year 2 and Year 6 complete National SATs in Reading   at the end of the year.

Phonics

Ongoing assessment is a vital part of teaching phonics and we recognise that some children need more time learning sounds. As such, we note children who may not be picking up letter/sound correspondences as quickly as others and provide short daily catch up sessions. More formal assessments are half termly and provide teachers with information about which children need catch up support. These are short burst sessions tailored to individual gaps and to blending practice.

At the end of Year 1, children will be assessed using the national phonic screening test and any children not passing this, will be given additional support in Year 2 and then reassessed.

Little Wandle Rapid Catch up programme is used in Years 2 - 6 for small groups of children who are not reading fluently and need to revisit some phoneme/grapheme correspondences. This programme uses regular assessments to check progress and identify gaps. 

Writing

As part of Talk For writing, all writing in the innovation week is assessed by teachers and children using a toolkit. A piece of writing is carried out unaided at the end of each unit, in the invention week and assessed. At other times, and in other curriculum areas, genres will be revisited and used for assessments.

Where appropriate, teachers may assess previous understanding at the beginning of a unit by asking children to do a "Cold Write", this informs planning of future teaching in that genre.

Teacher assessment is used to assess writing in Years 2 and 6, where assessments have to be submitted nationally. These judgements may be moderated by an external moderator.

Writing is moderated by staff in school at staff meetings and at events organised by our Trust.