Tracking Progress (Years 1 to 6)
We use Target Tracker (TT) for our school assessment data in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. At appropriate termly intervals, children’s attainment is recorded as a ‘step’ on the TT progress ladder. The ladder is divided into 6 bands (which correspond to expectations for each year group, e.g. Band 3 is the expectation for Year 3).
These bands are then sub-divided into 6 smaller ‘steps’ to allow us to track progress over the year. These steps are as follows:
The expectation is that children should be working towards securing and ‘mastering’ the curriculum content for their year group, rather than being ‘accelerated’ through content for future years with only a superficial understanding of it.
Children who have secured key objectives
Where children have secured the key objectives for their year group (and are assessed at s or s+), they will be given opportunities to show their understanding and application of those objectives at greater depth, rather than moving them onto the objectives for bands above their year group.
Children who have not secured key objectives
Where children have not secured the key objectives from previous years, we will continue to track their progress through lower bands while seeking to help them catch up and reach the expected standard.
We believe this approach balances the need for high expectations with the importance of recognising the steps of progress children are making from their starting points.
The Target Tracker software enables teachers to quickly review the achievement and progress of their class and of particular vulnerable groups within it (e.g. Pupil Premium or EAL learners). After each assessment, class teachers will use their data to make adjustments to teaching and learning. This may include: revisiting areas of the curriculum with the whole class; providing flexible guided support on objectives that specific groups found challenging; targeting additional 1-1 or small group intervention for children failing to make good progress (or to catch up with their peers).
Expected Progress
We define ‘good’ progress when a child moves at least 6 steps up the Target Tracker ladder over the course of a full school year (for example, from a 3w+ at the end of Y3 to a 4w+ at the end of Y4).
The following are examples of progress by children in Y3.
At the bottom of the page is a link to a page with child friendly 'I can' skills statements produced by Target Tracker which you may find useful to look at. They show progression in skills learned and taught from Year 1 to Year 6 in each subject. The teachers use these on Target Tracker Termly to assess your child's acquisition of skills and tailor their teaching accordingly.
Assessment in Other Subjects
In Science, teachers assess their pupils each half-term against the objectives laid out in the National Curriculum for the particular unit they have taught. For each unit, they record whether a child is working towards, at or at greater depth within the expected standard in their knowledge and understanding. These assessments are used to inform a summary end-of-year Science judgement which is recorded in Target Tracker. In Years 2 and 6, we also use of end-of-Key-Stage assessment criteria to ensure our judgments match national expectations.
Assessment in other subjects is carried out informally, with teachers making judgements based on three aspects of the children’s learning in each subject each year. These judgements indicate whether the child is working towards, at or at greater depth within age-related expectations and are incorporated into the child’s end-of-year report. Subject leaders monitor the skills that are assessed in each year group to ensure that there is good progression and to make judgements on standards being achieved.