Progress in Foundation Stage

[Guest TimF]

Hi I work in a school and take the lead in EYFS. I had a question about what does good progress in nursery and reception look like and more importantly how can it be measured?

 

I understand that Ofsted have stated that children should be coming in nursery aged 3 being secure within the 22-36 month band and secure within the 30-50 month band for reception.

My head wants me to be able to tell him not just how much progress a child should make but how it can be measured and analysed to identify children who may be in need of additional support.

This is what he is able to do for children in Key Stage 1 and 2. There is national data to support a school's analysis. There is no national data for foundation stage.

I have thought about giving a point for each stage also taking into account that within each month band a child maybe emerging, developing or secure.

 

It will also tie in with appraisal as all teachers in our school will have an objective based on attainment and progress.

Just interested if anyone else is doing this.

Thanks

Tim

[Guest]

We are using Optimum tracker as a whole school and it can be used in the EYFS and this works out for you if there is a good level of progress.

I think there are some ways of analysing the data available, I know our LA have introduced something to measure this to see if the 2 year old funding is working!!!

 

Brain a little dense right now will come back to this I think. . . . .

[Rufus]

OFSTED say that children entering reception should be entering into 40-60 and that when they leave they should be 'expected'...which is 40-60 secure. Taking this, they therefore see that good progress is moving across 2 'bands' 40-60 E to D to S. I therefore measure progress using the e/d/s progression and say that 2 bands progress is good and 3 bands progress is outstanding. OFSTED really liked this when they came in a few months ago but that doesn't mean it's right, it's just what we do. However I have to say that 30-50 is a weighty band, especially in reading, therefore you could argue that 2 bands progress in this month bracket is outstanding. Usually OFSTED don't unpick individual progress if the cohort's progress looks good. Hope this helps.

[Guest]

what do you think this looks like in nursery? i would say entering 30-50 band at start and secure by end is definately not outstanding progress - i would say not enough progress.

[wyethf]

We have been trialling a new EY tracker system which has been developed by my EY teacher and her very clever husband. It is very user friendly and enables teachers and leaders to identify clearly what each child can do, plan next steps and track progress. We have shared it with our LA advisers and with colleagues across Hampshire. It is now been produced commerically and if anyone is interested I can demonstrate how we use it within my school. I have used with my GB and also in PM. All round, realy fantatsic - developed by practioners for practioners! Raelly recommend it!

 

Please contact me fiona.wyeth@overton.hants.sch.uk

[Guest]

blank class termly tracker.docblank summary chart for cohort.docThis is a simple tracking system that we have developed to use in our EYFS. We complete the Pupil Tracker three times a year (Oct, March and June) highlighting the boxes according to the colour key at the bottom. We then transfer this information on to the Cohort Tracker. Hope this helps.

 

 

[Guest]

I should add that on the class termly tracker we type in the boxes using abbreviations such as 30-50, E40-60, 40-60, E ELG, ELG and ELG+ to show best fit where the children are. Hope that makes sense!

[Guest]

Hi popcornpie - can I ask . . . on the summary chart or the cohort - how do you determine the percentages for each area of learning as a whole and not the aspects for each?? I apologise in advance for asking what may seem a silly question !!!

[catma]

The subsidiary guidance gives specific information:

"Where children progress steadily against what is a typical level of development for their age, they can be said to have made typical progress. Children who meet all the early learning goals but who started at a lower level of development than is typical for their age might be said to be making rapid progress. However, a child starting school at a higher level of development, who meets all the early learning goals but exceeds none of them is unlikely to have made enough progress. Inspectors should consider how well prepared children are for the next stage in their education"

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/subsidiary-guidance-supporting-inspection-of-maintained-schools-and-academies

Cx

[Guest]

Fluffy - it's not a silly question. These trackers are meant to give an overview of the children's progress which is especially useful for our Head. We keep more detailed information about individual children in our class observation files as well as in the children's learning journeys.

To decide on a child's level for say, literacy, we look at both of the aspects (reading and writing) as a whole and make a judgement as to which level is the 'best fit' for that child at that point in time.

[peter_lindley]

I am looking at progress ( in my 2012 intake!) and I am using the subsidiary guidance that Catma quotes.I read and understand that any child coming in below their age related expectations and go out with a 2 or a 3 ( on the profile)are classed as having made rapid progress( in ofsted speak).

Does anyone know what happens if a child comes in below their age related band and gets a 1 at the end? Is this seen as Typical progress or Unlikely to have made enough progress???

Anyone else producing anything similar??

As usual the Ofted guidance is fuzzy.

Cheers in advance!

[peter_lindley]

Bump

[Guest tinkerbell]

Hi Pete

If a child comes in below there expected age related band and gets a 1 then they have made good progress. You just need a way of recording this for management(and Ofsted).

[peter_lindley]

Thank you. I appreciate you answering. i can see that they have made progress if they come in below and go out at a 1 but is that what ofsted see it as? Not 100% sure....

[Guest]

The 1 tells you nothing other than they didn't achieve the ELG, so is no indicator of progress really. You'd need to establish exactly where they were on entry in DMs and where they were on exit. Only then can you 'measure' the progress. It could be good, dire, outstanding, but the 1 won't tell you which.

[humph08]

We are using Optimum tracker as a whole school and it can be used in the EYFS and this works out for you if there is a good level of progress.

I think there are some ways of analysing the data available, I know our LA have introduced something to measure this to see if the 2 year old funding is working!!!

 

Brain a little dense right now will come back to this I think. . . . .

Is anyone using Pupil Tracker in the foundation stage? Our school are starting to use it for Year one upwards and we are wondering whether to use it for nursery and reception. It would be really useful for the school to have a seamless track of evidence using one system from nursery to year six. I also like the way you can generate graphs that show very clearly any trends etc. Our current tracking system is not as detailed or user friendly. I know there are other systems, such as build a profile etc.

 

Any thoughts on this would be really helpful

[Guest]

Hi,

Our reception teacher really likes the o tracker and feels it does generate the information she needs for the Head.

It does look at how much progress children are making and if they are on track for a good level of progress.

Its user friendly and you are now able to identify which strands in each band a child is achieving rather than just putting in 30-50 months emerging, developing etc when they are assessed.

I like visual things and the tracker from the LA is quite visual using green orange and red to identify if children are on track a little behind or way off course (according to their age in months)

[emmajess]

Not sure if this is really the right place to post this, but what are you all being told in your different counties / by Ofsted as age-related expectations at different points through the reception year? i had logically worked out that if ARE on entry is secure 30-50 / entering 40-60 and at the end of the year 'expected' ELG that mid way through the year it would be developing 40-60. However I have been told that ARE at end of term 2 (December) is secure 40-60. If this is the case, how do we track and show progress for the 'average' (ha!) child from December secure 40-60 to expected ELG in June? We can demonstrate how they have become more and more secure within the ELG, by looking at work, but in terms of a quantifiable data tracking thing for a whole cohort, what would we use? Also, I may well be wrong, but I would have thought that if a child was secure 40-60 in December of the reception year, you would be looking for them to be achieving exceeding at the end of the year, not expected (the ARE).

We are writing mid-year reports on our Reception classes and we discuss percentages of childrebn working at, below and above ARE and percentages of children who have / have not made expected progress. I really need to know what ARE is at this point mid way through the year!!

Can anyone help?

Thank you!

[jocrow]

Hi,

We use O-Track it states;

For pupils to be deemed as on track for a good level of development they need to be attaining the following

Entry - At least secure in 30-50 months

Autumn - At least begiining in 40-60 months

Spring - At least secure in 40-60 months

Summer - At least developing/expecting in the ELGs

Hope this helps. :rolleyes:

[emmajess]

Thank you - that is so helpful! Where does O-track come from? What is it etc? Off to Google it now!

[Rufus]

Hi,

We use O-Track it states;

For pupils to be deemed as on track for a good level of development they need to be attaining the following

Entry - At least secure in 30-50 months

Autumn - At least begiining in 40-60 months

Spring - At least secure in 40-60 months

Summer - At least developing/expecting in the ELGs

Hope this helps. :rolleyes:

This is interesting. I don't separate the ELG from the 40-60 band and neither does anyone else in my development group of schools. We judge the children to be 40-60 entering, developing or secure taking into account all the statements in that band, including elg. Therefore most children who we deem to be 40-60S is because they are working within the elg.

[catma]

One of my dislikes re Otrack is splitting the ELG - it's not a developmental stage it's a discrete goal ie a totality.

Cx

[jocrow]

I understand what you are saying Catma, however when it comes to tracking it does help to think if they are developing or expected within the goal, after all many of the statements are quite meaty. We are all under pressure from above to show progress and O-Track fits the bill. When we complete the final assesment we do a 'best fit' of the goal.

[emmajess]

Also, when you look at the exemplify action materials, particularly in writing, for example, there seems to be quite a range of 'securedness'(!). But the ELG is stand alone, as I understand it, are they or aren't they at this level as a best fit.

[green hippo]

This is very interesting and somewhat confusing!

In our LA we 'score' the same as outlined above - emerging 40-60 on entry to Reception, securing 40-60 in February and Expected ELG at the end of the year (as a expected attainment).

If I understand you rightly, Catma and Rufus, how we should be looking at is, is children are expected ELG then they will be secure in the above ages and stages?

However, some of the statements outlined in the 40-60 section are some way off what would make the expected in the ELG? I know that the ages and stages are just examples of things we might expect children to be able to do and not to be used as a ticklist, but if these statements are a way off what the ELG outlines then we need a way of showing how children are progressing towards the 'harder' goal of the ELG?

In effect, I suppose it's just a different way (if maybe a bit faulty way) of showing where the children are up to e.g. they will still make 2 'steps' progress whether we do it in the way my LA do it/O-tracker etc or emerging, developing, secure (expected ELG) in 40-60. We do class it as 'securing' and not 'secure' in our LA i.e. we are saying that they are still working within this stage, then those that get 'expected' ELG at the end of reception are COMPLETELY secure within 40-60 and beginning to work on year 1 content?

An interesting one...

[Moorside]

I read this thread with interest. The debate over whether to class the ELG as part of secure 40-60 judgement or in addition is interesting. I think some of the issue is that for some of the ELG's they are a summary of what is written in the 40-60 months development statements. However particularly the maths suddenly introduces new concepts. This is why I think both are correct different for different ELG - makes data a nightmare!

[catma]

Well really the goal isn't really related to development matters at all. The ELGs are statutory and aligned with the legal educational programme in the EYFS statutory framework. If you take Dev matters out of it all you have the teaching part of the L+D requirements plus the assessment part (ELGs).

Dev matters is non statutory guidance. However you will find the skills of the ELG usually somewhere across the 30 - 60+ bands. It may not be explicitly written into in 40 - 60 but it doesn't mean it isn't part of what you do - it will be in the educational programme!!

Cx

[Moorside]

I agree with what you say Catma and teaching is easy as is getting the children to make progress presenting this in a way which meets SLT's agenda, OFSTED's and the year 1 teachers all seems a bit of a nightmare- straightforward in theory but someone somewhere is never happy!!

[catma]

I know - spend my days explaining it all to someone!!

[twistedficus1]

Have studied lots of these posts and am still really not miuch clearer :-(

We know that our children are making progress. Its eveident in their Ljs, pupil voice and their teacher directed and c.i learning BUT

Head still wants us to show they were here at X and now they are here at X and this is / isnt in-line with national expectations and in addition does or doesnt show good level of progress for them.

Surely there must be a formula that we can agree on????? Or Im at the stage where Id happily use a formula that i dont agree with if someone in the know siad this IS WHAT YOU MUST USE?DO................ :-)

Has anyone had to show this in points progress as I am being asked too?

Would you start at the lowest level like 8-20 months so that your SEN children have a starting point that isnt a negative number? Its all such a headache!

For once I wish someone would just tell us what to do with a certainty that convinces us all so we can get back to teh fun stuff of planning exciting lessons and not feeling so bogged down.

Rant over! Sorry peeps