Assessment – Sixth Form

Pupils may arrive at The Sixth Form at different times throughout the school. It is therefore important to be accurate about the assessment information we receive. Prior to entry pupils will have been met by at least one member of the SLT. This will have been carried out, if possible, at their current school or education provision. This will ensure that staff have a clarity of understanding about the needs of pupils and that important information is accurately recorded and effectively shared with the staff team.

During their first term, pupils will participate in a range of assessments to develop a holistic baseline. These assessments will, of course, be completed in a co-produced manner to ensure that parents and families, as well as the pupil, have knowledge of what is being recorded about them and what this means. The assessment information gathered will then be used to support improvements to EHCP writing and curriculum planning for the individual needs of the pupil. We will set challenging targets from our accurate knowledge of starting points.

Our cohort of learners are all individuals and as such their strengths and needs vary widely. Whilst assessment is a powerful tool in understanding our learners better it must be flexible to record their individual strengths and needs. We believe that assessment should be the opportunity for the learners and their families to share the narrative of their progress, success, challenges and potential.

Through the pupil centered reviews, we will ensure that all people around each learner understand where they are, how they are doing and where they want to get to. The purpose of assessment is to inform planning and enables us to be aspirational for all pupils. It keeps us on task and on track, without placing a ceiling on expectations. This progress is an integral part of our curriculum and supports us in celebrating the small, but significant, steps of progress. Our assessment is based upon pupils EHCP outcomes and our own baseline assessments, it builds on ‘Preparing For Adulthood’ expectations. We believe that assessment must capture attainment in a variety of contexts. Skills gained by the learner need to be recognised and to be generalised both in school and at home because learning occurs within a 24hr context.

We will provide through Evidence for Learning (EFL) a daily communication and a termly report on their EHCP outcomes.