Assessment

Assessment Policy

The Independent Grammar School: Durham

Purpose and approach

Regular assessment is vital in any school. It provides feedback to parents on how their child is performing. It helps children know how they are progressing and what they need to do to improve. And it helps teachers understand where each child is in his or her development so they can adjust their teaching accordingly. Importantly, regular assessment provides an early indication of problems for all involved, which makes early remedial action possible.

Much of our assessment is formative: teachers and pupils use evidence of learning to decide what to teach, practise or improve next. This includes questioning, discussion, review of work, short tests and feedback. Regular marking of books and other feedback are carried out in line with the school’s Marking Policy. Assessment is useful when the information is acted upon; a test score alone is not an intervention.

Teachers assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly, use the results to plan teaching and evaluate progress against the school’s curriculum aims and, where available, national norms.

They take account of pupils’ starting points and additional needs, and discuss concerns with parents promptly. The Principal oversees the consistency and effectiveness of these arrangements.

Early Years Foundation Stage

The Reception curriculum is designed in accordance with the statutory EYFS framework.

Practitioners assess children through everyday interactions and observations, without unnecessary paperwork or prolonged interruptions to learning. This informs teaching and any additional support, including individual help with early reading, handwriting and sentence writing. Progress is discussed with parents during the year.

Towards the end of the Reception year, the EYFS profile is completed for every eligible child. The results are shared with parents and the Year 1 teacher and submitted to the local authority by 30 June in accordance with current requirements. The school will liaise with the local authority about moderation and relevant EYFS training. The statutory Reception Baseline Assessment applies to state-funded schools; our own on-entry observations are used to plan teaching.

Primary years

In Years 1 to 6 we use Core Knowledge UK as a basis for teaching in the primary years. The foremost priority in assessment for learning is to ensure that every child becomes literate and numerate. Teachers combine their day-to-day assessment with regular checks in reading, English and mathematics, then adapt teaching and arrange one-to-one or small-group support where needed.

Phonics and reading

Phonics is assessed approximately every half term from Reception until a child completes the Read Write Inc. scheme. Teachers use the results to identify pupils who are not on track and arrange appropriate intervention. Once pupils have mastered phonics, Accelerated Reader and the Star Reading assessment help teachers monitor reading and match books to pupils’ reading levels. Star Reading is normally taken once a term in the lower school. The school aims for pupils to have moved from Read Write Inc. to Accelerated Reader by the end of Year 2, while responding to each pupil’s actual progress.

Mathematics and standardised assessment

In mathematics, teachers use, inter alia, a published mathematics curriculum and its pre-unit and end-of-unit assessments to identify gaps and plan teaching. Where appropriate, one-to-one or small-group support and directed practice follow. NFER assessments in comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and mathematics are used at relevant points in Years 1 to 6. Results are recorded and compared with national norms, but are also used formatively to decide what further teaching or intervention is needed.

Class assessment records identify pupils working above, at, or below, the school’s targets.

Teachers monitor all pupils’ progress; those below target receive planned support and their response to it is reviewed. Pupils working above target are offered suitable extension and personal goals. A colour code is a prompt for action, not a fixed label or a diagnosis of special educational needs. The intervention record shows the support provided and its effect.

Parents receive regular reports covering attainment, effort and teacher comments, and a fuller end-of-year report. Where serious concerns arise, the teacher contacts parents to discuss support rather than waiting for the next scheduled report.

Pupils joining after Reception

Children joining the school after Reception are assessed promptly so that teachers can identify their starting points and any gaps in English and mathematics. In the lower school this normally includes the appropriate NFER assessment and a reading assessment.

Teachers also draw on information from parents, the previous school and any existing support plan. Where a pupil needs help, the teacher plans suitable intervention and monitors progress; assessment and support are adapted to the pupil’s age and needs.

Senior school

Years 7 to 9

Children in Years 7 to 9 follow the school’s schemes of work and are assessed through classroom work, questioning, short tests and end-of-term assessments. Teachers use this evidence to identify misconceptions, adjust teaching and support pupils who need additional help. Results are recorded centrally and inform regular reports to parents, which include attainment, attitude, effort and teacher comments. Parents are alerted promptly if problems arise.

Subject teachers may use assessments provided with their curriculum materials, suitable external questions and teacher-written questions. In Years 7 to 9, subject teachers will identify the knowledge and skills to be assessed in each unit, retain suitable examples of questions and pupils’ work, and discuss standards and results with colleagues and the Principal. The creation and use of shared question banks and additional mid-term tests are being introduced to ensure greater consistency.

Years 10 and 11

Students in these years prepare for GCSE examinations. They follow the relevant specifications and are assessed regularly using past examination questions and papers, or teacher-prepared questions matched to the material taught. Short assessments and formal end-of-term assessments help teachers identify gaps, adapt teaching and estimate likely grades.

In Year 11, assessment may become more frequent where it helps pupils prepare for their examinations.

Question-level analysis is used in mathematics and may be used in other subjects, to show which questions or topics caused difficulty for the class and for individual pupils. Teachers check whether a question itself was suitable before using its results to plan reteaching or practice. External moderation or discussion of standards may be used where available, particularly for work involving teacher judgement. Parents receive half-termly reports on current attainment, effort and likely progress, and are contacted promptly about concerns.

Additional for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10

Towards the end of the academic year students in years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will all follow an exam timetable over a specified week in order to complete examinations in ALL subjects. There will be a morning examination session of 2 hours and an afternoon session of 2 hours over the whole week. This will be structured in the following way each academic year:

 2nd week in June - Year 10 Examination Week

 3rd week in June - Year 9 Examination Week

 4th week in June - Year 8 Examination Week

 1st week in July - Year 7 Examination Week

All students will be assessed using the GCSE marking and assessment criteria and they will all receive a GCSE grade for each subject from grade 1 to 9.

All students will also receive the following feedback:

 What went well (WWW) - 1 comment - Between 1 and 2 sentences

 Even better if (EBI) - 1 comment - Between 1 and 2 sentences

Review and responsibility

Teachers keep assessment records sufficiently clear to show pupils’ progress, planned responses and the impact of additional support. Subject leaders and the Principal review the effectiveness and consistency of assessment, including the approach in Years 7 to 9.

The School Board reviews the policy and its implementation. This policy should be read alongside the Curriculum, SEND and Marking policies.

May 2026. Reviewed September 2026

Next review: Annually