Reception assessments - hold much weight?

[Cantsleepwontsleep123]

1 - emerging
2 - expected
3 - excelling
Do they hold much weight for entering year 1?

[mrz]

Speaking as a Y1 teacher ...yes.

[0ellenbrody0]

this (as another yr 1 teacher)

[QuackDuckQuack]

What do you use them for as a year 1 teacher? Is it differentiation for planning?

[0ellenbrody0]

this I mean

[Alwayssunnysideup]

I am a Reception teacher and yes our judgments carry a lot of weight and have a massive impact on ability groupings etc in their Year 1 class. :)

[catkind]

... but not much weight at all by the end of year 1. Or sooner if they're a bit wrong. DS somehow managed to get exceeding in writing in reception (or his teacher managed!) but not in maths. Has struggled with writing ever since and is G&T by school standards in maths.

[mrz]

Teachers will be continually assessing (all day every day) but like SATs the EYFS profile is the statutory end of key stage assessment (and carries equal weight). For me as a Y1 teacher it is the starting point for planning for my new class in September. I will also have long conversations with EYFS staff to fill in all the vital individual details to make transition as smooth as possible.

[Dandelion6565]

My eldest left reception and would have been emerging. (August baby so very young) book band 2 to give you an idea.

His brain sort of woke up in year one and he finished that year top of the class for everything. Highest book band, extension maths. ( turns out he's a gifted mathematician) his teacher was amazed with his progress, he just steamed ahead of the others. He is still ahead years later.

I'm sure that it is not the norm but don't loose heart, especially if you have a young child. A lot can change and the teacher will likely spot this.

[ReallyTired]

What are your worries. In the big scheme of life reception scores don't affect your child's job prospects or whether they go to uni. They are a record of attainment and show the year one teacher what the child already knows so that your child is given appriopiate work.

In a good primary children ablity tables are fluid. Children are given work at a level that challenges them. There is no cap on the number of children given top table work.

Development is a journey rather than a race.

[Ginmummy1]

Possibly a bit harsh, ReallyTired.

I didn’t get the impression the original poster was worried, as such: perhaps he/she was just wondering what the Y1 teacher will do with the levels on the report, and whether the child is tracked against these levels throughout primary.

I'm not worried but, as a parent of an only child just starting on their school journey, I'm excited by the whole process and really interested in what the end-of-year report will say, and how it will affect the start of Y1 in terms of the new teacher’s expectations, work groups, homework etc.

Of course, it’s a journey and they all progress at different speeds at different times, but please forgive us a bit of innocent enthusiasm

[QuackDuckQuack]

It's great to know that the information is used, although my with all sorts of other information and ongoing conversations. It means better continuity, opportunity to make progress from the start

[sanam2010]

for the Reception teachers here... how hard is it to get the "exceeding" or how unusual is "emerging"? Do they have to be really strong to get "exceeding"? I was a bit surprised bc DD had a very strong glowing school report, for example stating how long she can concentrate, how long she focuses, how she always pays attention and follows all instructions, but then she was just "expected" for attention, just as an example. She did have a couple of exceeding categories but the rest was all "expected", even in areas where according to the report and other feedback I got she is actually quite strong. So I was surprised.

[bojorojo]

I am not a teacher, but I do know that Ofsted will be looking for good teaching over time. Therefore they will look at the attainment of children on entry to the school and how they progress over a number of years, not just one. Therefore if a school can demonstrate they have exceeded the expected progress for the vast majority of children, they would expect to have a good inspection. It is, of course, good for the children too because they are receiving good teaching. Assessment often does show different rates of progress from year to year, hence the need to look at a child's profile over time, not just after a year in Reception.

[bojorojo]

I meant to add that a school that assesses very many children as "exceeding" may well have their work cut out to show good progress in subsequent years. Often starting from a slightly conservative and realistic "expected" judgement will give the school a much better chance of showing good progress in KS1. It is a very fine line.

[QuackDuckQuack]

There's obviously some subjectivity involved with borderline assessments and schools may well encourage teacher assessments in a particular direction to ensure they can demonstrate the progress they want later. I found that nursery assessments of my DD were completely different to the assessments made of her when she started reception, which might perhaps have then helped show that she made great progress during reception. Of course it may just be that the nursery put her too high on their assessments, we'll never know.

If you are into playing games with assessments and data, you can only play the 'grade low to start for excellent progress' once as they will catch up by demonstrating the progress.

Whilst I'm not a fan of generating work for the sake of it, every child having targets and being tracked can help avoid the risk of a massive focus on a small number of borderline pupils whilst ignoring the rest.

[leccybill]

While Year 1 teachers are on, I can't make sense of DD's report.
It has a grid with Emerging, Developing, Secure and then At, all in a row. Is At the highest? Is it the same as mastery/greater depth (the word 'at' (age related expectations, i assume) doesn't seem to suggest anything?)

Sorry to hijack for a moment, OP.

[buttertoffee]

when are these reception reports generally given? DC is in reception but we haven't had anything so far.

[catkind]

You should get something by end of term Buttertoffee. Might be in a school calendar when? All reports tomorrow at our school.

[Limegreentimemachine]

I'm also interested in this. Can teachers give an idea of what proportion of children get expected and excelling ?

[sirfredfredgeorge]

Limegreentimemachine The stats for last year are www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2014-to-2015

I doubt it's changed that much.

[Limegreentimemachine]

Thank you sir Fred. I couldn't find that data. It looks like 64% achieved at least expected in all areas.

[Ginmummy1]

Leccybill, I don't think anyone has answered your question yet. I'm not sure I can, but for what it's worth...

Chiefly from posts here on MN, I've come to understand that, during EYFS, pupils are scored (in age bands - Reception being the highest at 40-60 months) Emerging / Developing / Secure.

However, at the end of Reception this is changed slightly to allow for an 'excelling' or 'exceeding' category, ie working above expectations. I guess something like this which the original poser provided: 1 - emerging / 2 - expected / 3 - excelling.

I've not heard Emerging / Developing / Secure / At mentioned by anyone else, so it sounds like it's specific to your school. I was led to believe, however, that they had to do an 'above expectations' option at the end of Reception. Perhaps someone else will come along and clarify this, but I think it's worth you checking with the school how 'At' differs from 'Secure'. I agree with you that it's not clear!

[Ginmummy1]

QuackDuckQuack, we had a similar experience to you, with DD's nursery thinking she was exceptional (possibly exaggerating the truth) and the school seeming somewhat uninterested. I was (possibly unfairly) suspicious that the school would deliberately keep her baseline assessment score relatively low so they could show progress. I don't know what they did and we were not told, and of course the baseline assessments will not be used anyway.

A friend whose child is at a different school has said that their child's end of Reception report includes a start-of-year assessment. I guess this is not a requirement, but it seems a good idea!

Getting DD's report later today. I love all this to-ing and fro-ing and anticipating how it will be done (sad I know).

[leccybill]

Ginmummy1 - thank you. There's a drop in on Monday for any queries about reports, I think there might be a queue!