Primary Assessment Update EYFS Baseline, ASP, the IDSR and KS2 SA

Our education consultant Gareth Webb has picked the bones out of the recent DFE release about the forthcoming Reception Baseline, the latest information relating to ASP, the IDSR and key actions for this year’s KS2 SATs.

EYFS Baseline

Last week, the DFE released further guidance for the EYFS baseline…so here is a quick summary of the 4 documents. 

Each child.  The assessment can be paused and restarted with each pupil as appropriate.   The assessments will require a mix of concrete and abstract thinking and consist of:

  • Literacy, Communication and Language:

  • Early vocab
  • Phonological awareness
  • Early reading
  • Early comprehension

 

  • Maths:

  • Early Number
  • Early Calculation (addition/subtraction)
  • Mathematical Language
  • Early understanding of shape

 

How?

The assessment will be administered by reception teacher/TA, or suitably qualified practitioner (EYFS Lead or SENCO etc.)  It will include practical tasks using physical resources and pupils’ responses will be logged online as the pupil engages in the task – this will be a simple Yes/No decision made by the practitioner on a laptop/tablet etc.

There is a total of 45 marks available. The number of marks presented to the pupil will vary from pupil to pupil depending on their previous responses, preventing pupils from being presented with too many activities in which they are unlikely to be unsuccessful.  Each pupil will be presented with activities worth at least 26 marks. Children’s responses to the activities will be a mix of oral, pointing and ordering/moving objects.

When?

The assessment must be completed within the first 6 weeks of the pupil starting reception (the academic year in which they turn 5). If they start school at a different point in the year and have not been previously assessed at a different setting, the assessment must be administered then.

You may wish to be involved in the voluntary trial in September 2019 – you will receive an email from NFER with sign-up information in March.  The deadline for this is 5th April. 

The first official baseline assessment will be September 2020. 

 

Why? 

The purpose of the assessment is to provide a consistent on-entry assessment of pupil attainment.  This will be used to measure the cohort’s progress by the end of KS2.  This will give schools credit for the progress pupils make over KS1 as well as KS2.

Schools will not receive the score for each child – this will be held on the National Pupil Database and the data will only be used at the end of Year 6 to form the school-level progress measure.  Schools will receive a series of short statements about how pupils performed to help inform teaching in the first term.

 

Key Stage 2 Pupil Registration

The registration page is now open on NCA Tools for KS2 pupils.  The deadline for this is 15th March.

 

ASP and IDSR

You should by now, be able to download the latest versions of the ASP and IDSR which include amended data for KS2, EYFS headline data, absence and exclusions data.  Please be aware that the absence data is for the Autumn and Spring terms only of last year.  This has the potential to show your persistent absence higher than your internal end-of-year data.  This should be updated eventually with full-year data.

Logging into the KS2 pages of the ASP site, will also allow you to see like-for-like attainment and progress data for disadvantaged pupils, rather than comparing disadvantaged with non-disadvantaged:

 Key Dates 

  • 15th March
    KS2:   Deadline for registering pupils on NCA tools 
  • 25th March
    KS1:   Test Materials being delivered to schools.  Ensure you read storage guidance  
  • 8th April
    KS2:   Early opening and compensatory mark application outcomes available on NCA tools  
  • 29th April
    KS2:   Deadline to submit applications for additional time
    KS2:   Delivery of KS2 test materials and stationery items this week.