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Year 7 Milestones

In Year 7 we want to offer a curriculum that ensures that our pupils fulfil the aspirations expressed in our Mission Statement by becoming:

·      successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve
·      confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
·      responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to our school and to society.

Assessment of Progress

We aim "high" to ensure that all of our pupils make outstanding progress
We believe that by having high aspirations we are able to secure the best possible outcomes for our pupils.  Ability is not fixed or innate, and we firmly believe that ability can be enhanced through the adoption of a growth mindset. Your daughter must work extremely hard in the knowledge that human qualities and intellectual skills are cultivated through hard work, effort and having the character to overcome setbacks and utilise constructive criticism.  Your daughter must display tenacity and persistence when confronting challenges, see failure as a valuable part of the learning process and display a readiness and passion for learning and self-improvement.  She has the potential to grow and succeed, and in order to do this your daughter must take charge of her own learning.  Your daughter has clear goals and aims, and must take the appropriate steps to make sure they happen. Some pupils may feel that meeting their targets is very difficult and it is important that we encourage them to be resilient.  We must work in partnership with parents to ensure that we praise the effort that pupils make and celebrate achievements in all aspects of their work.

Assessment without Levels
Following the removal of levels by the DfE, across all subjects at KS3, Upton has its own assessment processes. In Years 7 & 8, pupils will be assessed regularly in all subject areas. Their assessments will take on a variety of formats including self, peer and teacher assessed tasks.  After these assessments, the pupils will be categorised as  ‘Excellent’, ‘Secure’ or ‘Developing’ in that particular topic. We will refer to these as grades. Some subjects have also chosen to provide parents with information about the pupils percentage score alongside that of the year group. Our assessments will focus on the pupils developing skills. Their feedback following on from each assessment will be formative and will be focused on what they need to do to improve.

How will my daughter know which grade she is working at?
In English and Mathematics, our pupils undergo literacy and numeracy screening on entry to Upton Hall. Parents will receive information about how they did in these tests and you will be given some strategies to support them to progress from there.

Your daughter will regularly discuss which grade she is working at during lessons and this information can also be found in her exercise books.  She should be able to describe her grade and will know what she needs to do in order to progress.  Your daughter will have opportunities to act upon advice received and if she is unsure of her current grade or what she needs to do in order to progress she should speak to her subject teacher.

 What happens if my daughter isn't making the progress that we would expect?
If your daughter is not making expected progress we will ensure that she is provided with the opportunities to improve.  Intervention happens predominantly in the classroom, but staff may also offer additional support which takes place outside of lessons, uses student mentors or requires attendance at a study group.  If your daughter is receiving extra intervention, it will be indicated on her progress report.  Information will also be available through annual reports and at parents evenings. It is really important that as parents, you discuss the information with your daughter as it is often helpful for pupils to verbalise how they are progressing.

Tracking of Progress
Your daughter will receive 3 Progress Sheets and an Annual Report throughout the course of the academic year.  These documents will give the following information for each subject she is studying: -

Current Attainment:
This is the grade that your daughter is currently working at, as identified by the subject teacher.

Effort:
An effort grade is awarded based on the following criteria:

1     Outstanding

2     Good

3      Need to improve

4      Cause for concern

"Thorough! No matter what she undertook it was always the same, heart and soul"
Philomena Skiffen FCJ     (1840-1898)

The curriculum that is taught and the assessments that take place throughout KS3 are designed to equip all of our pupils with the skills that they will need to be successful in the GCSE examinations. Currently GCSEs are being reformed. By the time that your daughter completes her GCSE exams in 2021, she will be awarded grades 9.