Attainment On Entry

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

Was just wondering if anyone has found an easy way of assessing/recording/ the level of your new year R's when they arrive? I know the Big O are very interested in this and since Basline does not exist anymore, I thought I would ask what you are all up to?

 

Thanks XXX

Edited July 14, 2009 by Guest

[meles]

hello!

 

im very interested in this to as expecting ofsted next year. At the minute all we have are exercise books which we call assessment books and in these we get each child to:

write their name

write any numbers they know

we then ask them to order numbers 1-10 and note doen if they can do this,

we note down what colours they recgonise

and on a seperate sheet we note any sounds that the children recognise.

 

we get them to do this approx 3 times a year to see progression, but im not happy with it, so would also love to hearwhat others do.

[sienna]

I don't know much about it but we use 'Aspects'.

[kittycat1279]

We just use the EYFSP and mark where they are by half term - we figure that's near enough to entry without pouncing on them as soon as they walk in the door. Is there any need to do anything else?

[Guest]

We just use the EYFSP and mark where they are by half term - we figure that's near enough to entry without pouncing on them as soon as they walk in the door. Is there any need to do anything else?

 

 

We do the same! Lots and lots of observations to see what they can do in child initiated activities against EYFSP. Our LEA collect all our 'on entry' data in at the end of the first half term.

[Guest]

entry_booklet_2008.doc

 

our LEA ask for on entry data in that first half term date seems to change but i think it is 5/6 weeks in. There are some things we just sit with children like finding out if know any sounds, writing, numbers etc we tend to focus on the first 1-3 profile points and we fill this on target tracker and this then gets sent of. Number always tend to be high on entry where we are. The other areas we tend to observe and makes notes.

 

In sept we are planning on trying to make sure we choose different resources to go out everyday so the children get to know what we have in the classroom and show them how to use them and play with them. Near enough all children come from a small pre school and they tend to do things like art and craft 1-1 and they do not sit on the carpet but on chairs and they do not have free access to the outside (we have spoken to the pre school and they have come to us but doesn't seem to have fed back well - i have pointed them also into direction of all the great people on here but to no avail buts thats another story). So the children come to school and its like wow huge room, lots of new resources and they can go outsideand ther is a whole class not say 10. Some of resources have been ruined as they have just not respected it even though we have played with them taught them how to look after things etc. Sorry gone off on a tangent

 

So we choose a focus for our observations say emotional and tend to look like i said at the first 1-3 points (although if they are higher we would give) then CLL and PRSN tendsd to be a adult led activity. Its also interesting to find out as well say point 3 in reading knows a few familiar words - i know one school where they will not give it if they do not get 15!!! a couple of my children now do not know the first 16 words of our sight words we have but can read mum, dad, their bothers and sisters name, cat ,dog etc

 

Anyway have added our on entry booklet we used last year i'm a job share so we haven't sat down yet and talked through what we are going to change/add/keep from our practise this year. It has been adapted and ideas taken from other things.

[SmileyPR]

This is lovely, Eggwoman! Thanks for sharing

[Lucie]

A lovely booklet, which is like the one i was working on so i feel better about it now, thankyou!

[Guest]

We submit baseline results to the LA at the end of term 1. I usually carry out little tasks with the children to cover the obvious numeracy and literacy scale points and also use observations as well. For the last two years I have also devised a simple chart with information on each child based upon their transition info provided. I include their strengths and personal interests/motivations and a section for next steps (ofsted) like this! I have this ready in the first week and it forms the first part of my assessment file.

Hope this is helpful

NikkiMac

[catma]

Its also interesting to find out as well say point 3 in reading knows a few familiar words - i know one school where they will not give it if they do not get 15!!! a couple of my children now do not know the first 16 words of our sight words we have but can read mum, dad, their bothers and sisters name, cat ,dog etc

 

Sorry but I just have to comment on the other setting's arbitrary rule making - it really annoys me when this happens!!! The point is about a child's recognition of the sorts of words they may see everyday in their environment, nothing to do with common words really, that's point 6 where you do have to know at least 20 common words. It's all in the handbook!!

 

Back to the initial question:

 

For on entry it is still a problem for me when isolated tasks are used, e.g. can they cut with scissors, which provides really a yes or no answer. However maybe the child can't cut with scissors but CAN manipulate beads and pegs or a pencil to make holes in their clay model etc so is showing skills towards manipulating tools to achieve an effect or hand eye coordination etc. Without collecting the bigger picture, children's attainment can be diminished because we somehow arbitrarily think that the use of scissors is the most important thing and don't look across the picture of what the child can do. It can then create a negative picture of attainment, despite the fact that there is not really a requirement for children to enter reception being proficient in the use of scissors that I can find!!

 

RE Ofsted: You need to be looking across the 6 areas of learning - Ofsted are very clear that on entry is about the whole curriculum and the only real way to do this effectively in my opinion is through observation, use of previous records, communication with parents and other professionals who know the child, a very stimulating learning environment that allows a child to have high levels of engagement and practitioners who are skilled in seeing the learning behind the activity!! Which is a tall order but not impossible. Developing these aspects of effective assessment practice might form part of your quality improvement plan for your setting?

 

With all your knowledge of the child you are then looking at the ages and stages of development or the early scale points and consider where the child is against them. Ofsted typically would see an on entry outcome of secure in 30 - 50 and emerging in 40 -60+ as national expectations for reception entry.

 

You can then see who is above, at or below national expectations and then identify the profile of your cohort for the SEF. It's harder to identify national expectations from the EYFSP because you are using a tool designed to assess at the end of the key stage.

 

However I advise that a child only securing point 1 on any scale typically would be below expectations as this did generally equate to the old yellow stepping stone and therefore was more typical of on entry to F1. Points 2 and 3 are trickier, but I would argue that getting 2 or 3 as a total score on entry would probably make you emerging 40 - 60+ as they generally equated to the old blue/green SS which Ofsted previously determined as national expectations on entry to F2 and they are pre ELGs. Obviously anyone attaining more that is working within the elgs and therefore clearly above national expectations.

 

The caveat is that to make any summative judgment using the EYFSP you must do it with the same rigour and "rules" as making judgements at the end of the eyfs. otherwise the data is not secure. Which going back to my first point is through observation, parental involvement, previous knowledge etc etc etc.

 

Satisfactory progress would then be children attaining secure in 40 -60+ by the end of EYFS i.e. secure within the ELGs - which would be evidenced through attaining 6+ scale points in all scales within an area or 78+ points total (especially with 6+ in all 7 psed/CLLD scales).

 

I've attached a diagram I use with my settings to explain the progress/national expectatations links.

Cx

ages_stages.doc

[Chamonade]

Hello everyone.

I am a reception teacher starting my second full year in reception, although I have been teaching a lot longer than that.

 

I have had an amazing learning curve getting my head around the whole EYFS.

 

Assessment is one of those areas where I have had to completely change my way of working and thinking.

 

Last year we received lots of information on which points the children had achieved from the various pre-schools the children came from and we used this as a starting point and then used the first half term to make our own observations as well. Therefore most first half term observations and assessments became part of the 'on entry' baseline.

This year, however, many of the pre-schools have not kept records of assessment against the EYFS scale points. It seems that they have used 'Learning Journeys' books to show the children's progress with photos, observations etc, pasted in. These books have then been given to the parents at the end of the year, therefore unless I ask parents to see the books, I have very little to go on from the pre-schools apart from possibly a written report or a RDS.

 

I absolutely agree with Catma about the way which should be assessing the attainment of the children i.e through observation, previous records, parents, etc, but with so little information coming from the pre-school settings I am concerned as to how we are to make our on entry assessments as robust as they should be seeing as they are nearly exclusively based on our observations and communications with parents.

 

Also Catma, I have a question about this statement:

 

'Satisfactory progress would then be children attaining secure in 40 -60+ by the end of EYFS i.e. secure within the ELGs - which would be evidenced through attaining 6+ scale points in all scales within an area or 78+ points total (especially with 6+ in all 7 psed/CLLD scales).'

 

I have heard this before and have used this to make judgements on how last year's cohort has performed at the end of the EYFS, but I do not know where this comes from and I am therefore wondering if you can point me in the direction of its source. I am interested as we have an OFSTED looming and I am keen to be able to 'source' things that I am saying.

[catma]

It's in the Ofsted guidance on inspecting the EYFS. They may be reworking their website due to the updated primary inspections schedules but it should be here.

 

Scroll down to other guidance and briefings or something similar and it's in the zip file.

 

Their judgments on progress will be based on your on entry judgments and then the rates of progress made. So e.g. children come in below national and leave at national, progress would probably be seen as good.

Entry above national but leave at national probably progress unsatisfactory as it has stalled from original starting point.

above national on entry and still above on exit would probably only be satisfactory progress because all the children have done is make average progress if you see what I mean.

 

Of course they will take other factors into account but it helps to know where to start unpicking your own sef judgments.

Cx

Edited August 5, 2009 by catma

[Susan]

Hi and welcome to Chamonade.

 

Catma, some useful info as usual, thank you.

[Cait]

I've attached a diagram I use with my settings to explain the progress/national expectatations links.

Cx

 

 

Thanks Catma - that's really useful info in your post. I wondered what national expectations were for 'on entry' attainment generally, and you've answered that for me. Just going to look at your diagram now ...

[catma]

I've only done it for the FS part of EYFS cos that's what I mostly support. And actually I've never seen anything else apart from that!!

Cx

[Cait]

Well it's useful info for me in the first part of the FS, the Pre-Reception year. Thanks

[Marion]

Point scores are levels of achievement and not the points in the profile, i.e. a score of 6 does not mean profile 6, it means point 3, plus 3 aspects achieved of sections 4-8. Children with the same points score will therefore probably have a different level of achievement.

 

The FSP is more about assessment for learning than average points scores.

 

 

Judgement for FSP should be based on at least 80% coming from observation and knowledge of the child.

 

 

There is no need to record everything and no supplementary assessments are required.

 

Because of the nature of some of the scale points, confusion can exist when LAs/SIPS/Ofsted are interpreting FSP data.

 

There is ongoing research into the relationship between FSP and KS1 outcomes, and it would appear that some of the links are spurious.

 

NAA are allocating resources and advice to the most "inconsistent"LAs,i.e.those LAs whose knowledge of, and experience in, FSP progression is patchy. In other words, where LAs are using the data incorrectly in an attempt to "drive up" standards.

 

• The FSP is for organising children`s learning, not target setting.The forthcoming NAA Report will recommend training for all stakeholders, particularly in the inappropriate use of profile data. There will also be inter-LA moderation conferences. (NAHT has asked for schools to be included in these).

 

• Some scale points, known as "super scale points", with research, appear to have a greater link to KS1 outcomes than others, particularly those that involve creativity, thinking and applying, rather than rote learning. Some specific scale points (the "super scale points") seem to indicate that without them, a child is unlikely to achieve more than 2c at KS1.

 

 

• It is therefore not enough to say that the acquisition of 6 scale points is indicative as an acceptable basis for the next stage; it depends upon the particular scale points achieved.

 

I don't know if anyone has seen this information that went to some head teachers

[Susan]

No not seen that Marion, what's the source please?

[Marion]

NAHT

[catma]

Good to see that the unions are finally catching up with what's been said all along (and they are my union). However anything that supports school leadership understanding of EYFSP is welcome! That link however does seem to be more about "we'll use this QCA message as a weapon to challenge SIPs/LA pressure on us heads" rather than a statement of NAHT policy re the eyfsp.

 

In relation to links with other things I think we can see links with the EYFS because after all the EYFSP came out of the old Curriculum Guidance/Stepping Stones so the intrinsic developmental nature of pre ELGs/at ELGs/beyond ELGs is inherent in it. (And I know scale points 4 - 8 are not hierarchical because they're the ELGs etc.)

 

Because of this we can see the approximate (and I stress approximate) developmental stage that the profile outcomes might be indicative of on entry because of the relationship between the 2 systems. ie a child who is not getting any of the points 4 - 8 must be pre secure 40 - 60+ as they have none of the ELG linked scale points yet. So we can then be "organising children`s learning, not target setting".

 

I think we have to try to find ways to make sense of what at first seems to be a disparate and very hard to explain set of tools and see where logically we can make dovetails (not equivalences) so we are only doing 1 sensible thing and not several other spurious things as directed by SMT!!! (Like blanket use of APP in reception)

 

The "6 points" thing is indeed becoming a mantra within leadership in schools and they do not yet always see that the EYFSP outcomes are "like a book" to quote QCA. You have to go behind the numbers to see the true story. 6 points indeed indicates a child working within the level of the ELGs in any 1 scale so as a raw outcome it tells you this only and then there is the the overall 78 points + that would indicate a level of security within the ELGs across the EYFSP.

 

These are just starting points. For me I want my settings to look at all the scales in an area, ie child gets overall 18 for PSRN - on the surface that's good. However did the child get 6+ in all 3 PSRN scales, otherwise their maths score isn't that good despite the 9 in NLC if their Calc/SSM is only 4 and 5 respectively. Why are they not applying their above national counting skills in their calculations for example. I also want to know did they get 6+ in all 7 psed/clld scales AND 78+ points total to have a good overall level of development.

 

The idea of super scale points has been kicking around for quite a while now and was originally rather quashed politically but seems to be showing that some points are more indicative of skills that will support in Yr1. E.g I know I always check a child's attainment of point 6 in reading because this is the decoding text one - they could know all about how books work but not actually be able to read the text for themselves in any meaningful way. High score maybe but clearly a big gap!!! However my worry would be that schools then only concentrate on those points rather than seeing EYFSP as a holistic picture of the child and it would become pass/fail in their eyes. I think we should also note the caution the NAHT added in their report of the QCA presentation to them: "As this is still at a research stage, and is not yet fully in the public domain, it may be prudent to move ahead with caution."

 

However, my favourite moment recently was when our Assistant Director asked our Head of Research and Statistics in front of the Director what a child achieving 6+ in EYFSP might get in KS1. "Well" he said "anything between w and level 3+". And they all nodded and said no more!!! Now I know QCA have been saying that for ever so he knew the answer to make, but it was so good to hear it said and NOT CHALLENGED in the highest place! Small steps but we do make them every day.

 

Cx

Edited August 6, 2009 by catma

[redjayne]

do none of your schools get information from the childs previous setting , Nursery , Pre-school etc ? In Portsmouth we complete a Transfer Record for each child , which is a 'snapshot' of the childs attainment with us in all 6 areas plus a report from the parent and also a sheet on which the child can comment about thier likes/dislikes etc. This information is lifted from thier Learning Journey - another useful document which can tell the school a significant amount about what a child can do .The Learning Journey is given to the parents to share with the school on the home visit as well . A good baseline of what a child can do on entry and all ready prepared for your use .

Edited August 12, 2009 by redjayne

[Min]

Hi everyone,

 

Was just wondering if anyone has found an easy way of assessing/recording/ the level of your new year R's when they arrive? I know the Big O are very interested in this and since Basline does not exist anymore, I thought I would ask what you are all up to?

 

Thanks XXX

 

 

Hi - surely you have the Learning Journies for most of them from their pre-schools? You shouldn't need to do anything apart from the usual settling in to a new setting and daily rhythm.

[Helen]

I think pre-schools in many areas still decide what to pass onto the reception classes, and learning journeys often go straight to parents. Reception teachers then don't get to see these wonderful records of the child's learning.

 

In the light of the "Progress Matters" publication. and the upcoming LA training starting in the autumn I believe, the idea of summative records to pass onto schools will be disseminated. I think then that all pre-schools will be required to send these on.

[Guest]

Just wanted to say thankyou to eggwoman for the on entry assessment tracker. I have fiddled and made up my own each year since abandoning baseline but your example is more indepth and tidier. You have saved me a long job this holiday.

[Guest]

Glad i could help thank you.

[Min]

Hello everyone.

I am a reception teacher starting my second full year in reception, although I have been teaching a lot longer than that.

 

I have had an amazing learning curve getting my head around the whole EYFS.

 

Assessment is one of those areas where I have had to completely change my way of working and thinking.

 

Last year we received lots of information on which points the children had achieved from the various pre-schools the children came from and we used this as a starting point and then used the first half term to make our own observations as well. Therefore most first half term observations and assessments became part of the 'on entry' baseline.

This year, however, many of the pre-schools have not kept records of assessment against the EYFS scale points. It seems that they have used 'Learning Journeys' books to show the children's progress with photos, observations etc, pasted in. These books have then been given to the parents at the end of the year, therefore unless I ask parents to see the books, I have very little to go on from the pre-schools apart from possibly a written report or a RDS.

 

I absolutely agree with Catma about the way which should be assessing the attainment of the children i.e through observation, previous records, parents, etc, but with so little information coming from the pre-school settings I am concerned as to how we are to make our on entry assessments as robust as they should be seeing as they are nearly exclusively based on our observations and communications with parents.

 

Also Catma, I have a question about this statement:

 

'Satisfactory progress would then be children attaining secure in 40 -60+ by the end of EYFS i.e. secure within the ELGs - which would be evidenced through attaining 6+ scale points in all scales within an area or 78+ points total (especially with 6+ in all 7 psed/CLLD scales).'

 

I have heard this before and have used this to make judgements on how last year's cohort has performed at the end of the EYFS, but I do not know where this comes from and I am therefore wondering if you can point me in the direction of its source. I am interested as we have an OFSTED looming and I am keen to be able to 'source' things that I am saying.

 

 

Hi Chamonade.

 

Just read your post on the Learning Journies. Why is there so much confusion over this - i.e. who gets them? The idea is that settings should send the learning journey on to the next setting within the Foundation Stage so that it can be completed. Otherwise it is an unfinished document with little intrinsic value, from an educational perspective. Since many schools tend to keep records, and parents rarely see them again (!), I know quite a few settings here in Surrey who send on the Surrey printed Learning Journey (which is basically a tick list) to the Yr R teacher, but send all the little photos, observations, records of work, etc. home in a 'book' made with each child. That way both parents and teachers get the information they need. No matter how you look at it, assessment is a form of ticking off what a child can do at a certain moment in time. Hopefully, that achievement is embedded and can be brought forward and built on as the child progresses in Yr R.. Maybe it is something you can discuss with your Head Teacher and Early Years Service, or maybe ask the settings who feed into your school to adapt their Learning Journies, so you get a snapshot at least of where each child is at?

[catma]

The trouble is that it is not a universal practice and there can be an opinion in some settings that the records belong to the child/parent and shouldn't be passed on to others, whereas schools generally take the line that any assessment records for any child are primarily to share info within the system, which parents have a right to request access to but not to get given automatically outside of the annual statutory report. So it does sometimes create an impasse and a difference of opinion. LAs are working towards shared records but different LAs are at different stages I suppose.

I agree that it is the summative records which are generally matched against attainment points of the ages/stages that are important to give an overall point of attainment, but I feel you do also need some of the formative evidence base to help build that rounded picture of progress which is a bit different and to "see" what the previous practitioner saw the child doing. Often there is a dip in progress when a child changes to a new setting despite their previous confidence in their old one and it can be thought that the other setting is assessing "too highly" because of that. If you can actually see examples of the child's "previous best" (which is what I try to get my practitioners to see it as, to account for any dip) then you know what they are capable of and can moderate your own observations against those you receive, especially if you are going to be using the EYFSP for your starting points in Reception, which your previous feeder setting may not be considering as a summative judgment for that particular transition.

 

Cx

Edited August 15, 2009 by catma

[emsie10]

Moving from Year 5/6 into R/1 this year so a huge learning curve all round but eggwoman I love your booklet. I know that baseline has all but gone but the Ofsted question about attainment on entry being average (etc) still weighs heavy so this will be a really useful tool to guage where they are at in the first term.

Thanks!

[catma]

Hi - yes it is important!! Note however that Ofsted talk about tthe match against "national expectations", they recognise that there is no definitive average for children here and don't use that term because of the variety of prior experience a child may have had. Which can be useful when debating with Head Teachers!!

 

Cx

[Guest]

entry_booklet_2008.doc

 

So helpful, better than the boring assesment sheet plan i had in my head! Il definately use it to assess reception! Ive also adapted your booklet to include all the profile points so that I can use it to assess my yr 1s. Thanks!

Kate

assessment_booklet_with_full_profile_points.doc