Our Approach to Assessment

At St. Mary’s, assessment is central to our mission of supporting every child to flourish—academically, emotionally and spiritually. Guided by our Christian ethos and informed by best practice from the DfE and Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), our assessments are designed to:

• Inform high-quality teaching
• Track progress and identify gaps
• Celebrate achievement
• Ensure all children reach their God-given potential

We believe that assessment should be purposeful and proportionate, helping teachers know where pupils are, what they need next, and how best to support them.

📄 View Our Assessment Policy
 

Types of Assessment Used

🔹 Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning)

Used daily within lessons to adapt teaching and support learning in real-time. This includes:

• Skilled questioning and retrieval practice
• Live marking and verbal feedback
• Pupil conferencing and review tasks

🔹 Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning)

These take place at regular points to evaluate children’s progress against age-related expectations.

NFER Standardised Assessments:

• Years 2: Reading, Maths and Spelling – assessed termly (Autumn, Spring) with optional KS1 SATs in the Summer Term.
• Years 3-5: Reading, Maths, Grammar & Punctuation, and Spelling – assessed termly (Autumn, Spring, Summer)
• Year 1: Reading, Spelling and Maths – assessed in Spring and Summer
• These assessments help track attainment and inform future planning

Statutory Assessments:

• Phonics Screening Check – completed in Year 1, and Year 2 for those who did not pass in Year 1
• Multiplication Tables Check – completed in Year 4
• End of Key Stage 2 SATs – taken in Year 6 in Reading, Maths, and Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling

  Throughout Year 6, pupils engage with past SATs papers to build familiarity and confidence in preparation for these statutory assessments in the Summer Term.

   

Reading Assessment

Reading is rigorously monitored throughout school:

• In KS1, children are tracked using running records, phonics assessments, and book band progression
• In KS2, reading is assessed through guided and whole-class reading sessions, including comprehension tasks using VIPERS and termly standardised tests
• Assessment focuses on both fluency and understanding, and is supported by our reading schemes (Rocket Phonics and Reading Planet)

Phonics Assessment

Phonics is assessed every half term in EYFS, Key Stage 1, and for any pupils in Key Stage 2 still accessing the phonics programme.

These assessments track:

• Blending and segmenting skills
• Recognition of grapheme–phoneme correspondences
• Progress with common exception words

This supports children on their pathway to achieving success in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check.
 

Teacher Assessment and Pupil Progress

Teacher assessment is ongoing in every lesson and used alongside formal assessments. It includes:

• Marking and feedback
• Observation and oral responses
• Mini whiteboard work, quick quizzes, and end-of-lesson reflections

This informs:

• Pupil progress meetings
• Intervention planning
• Parent consultations and reports

Foundation Subjects Assessment

In foundation subjects (e.g., History, Geography, Science), pupils are assessed at the end of each unit based on:

• Key vocabulary retention
• Synoptic Task and MQAs (History and Geography)
• Subject-specific skills
• Quality of written outcomes
• Verbal contributions and recall

Subject leaders monitor coverage and progression, and children’s outcomes are tracked using our in-house systems.

Inclusion and SEND

Assessment for children with SEND is adapted and personalised to reflect their learning goals. We use:

• Teacher judgement and observation
• Personalised targets or learning plans
• Frameworks such was Pre Key Stage Framework with standards. 

This ensures small-step progress is recognised and celebrated.

How We Share Assessment with Parents

• Parents receive termly updates during progress meetings
• End-of-year reports summarise attainment and progress in all subjects
• Teachers are always happy to discuss your child’s progress or how to support learning at home