Ashford Park Primary School endeavours to ensure that all children make better than expected progress from their individual starting points. Formative and summative assessment are essential vehicles for supporting teachers to identify the knowledge and skills learnt and retained by children and to identify gaps and next steps in learning.

Assessments will include but are not limited to:

• Teacher / Learning Support Assistant feedback (please see Feedback Policy)
• Observations and interactions during whole class, group and 1:1 pupil conferencing
• Effective questioning
• Informal checks e.g. spelling, multiplication tables
• Formal summative assessments (including standardised and statutory tests)

This Assessment Policy and Feedback Policy set out procedures and protocols to enable this assessment to happen effectively.

National curriculum assessments

Primary school pupils in England take part in the:

• Reception Baseline Assessment: within the first 6 weeks of entering reception
• Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Assessment: between April and June of the academic year in which they turn 5 (usually the reception year)
• Phonics Screening Check: in June of year 1
• Key Stage 1 tests: optional, at the school’s discretion, at the end of year 2
• Multiplication Tables Check: in June of year 4
• Key Stage 2 tests (sometimes referred to as SATs): in May of year 6

Teachers lead information-sharing sessions for parents and carers ahead of statutory assessments but please feel free to ask teachers about the assessments at any time. For government guidance, please follow the link below:

National Curriculum Assessments: information for parents and carers