Assessment, Attainment and Progress

As a specialist school, we pride ourselves in providing a broad rounded holistic education that caters for the needs of all of our pupils. Our curriculum is flexible and dynamic and allows us to provide an extensive platform from which pupils make progress in skills, knowledge and positive behaviours, in addition to and as well as towards their Education and Health Care outcomes. The curriculum is at the heart of our provision and each pupils’ access points will be individual. Careful assessment indicates what a pupil’s curriculum will look like. It is that curriculum that we assess and track for each pupil ensuring progress towards their individual objectives. As we believe in a holistic approach we only measure what we value, and have created a menu of assessments which reflect this. Teachers use these in a targeted way to capture and demonstrate progress, which also underpins their planning.

We work with other Lancashire special schools to moderate pupil’s work to ensure that our judgement is accurate when assessing learning. We use progression charts (NWSAG) to support our judgement of pupils progress at the end of each key stage alongside assessments against pupil’s personalised learning outcomes. Pupil progress is tracked and monitored formally using these systems but also via learning walks and work sampling undertaken by SLT. Outcomes are analysed and action taken as needed.

Our use of data supports school improvement planning and actions for 2023/24 will include:
• Developing and refining cross-curricular opportunities in the use of technology to enhance the holistic curriculum offer and improve skill development across the cohort.
• Enhancing our Music offer in school to support engagement, communication, interaction, behaviour and the cultural richness of the holistic curriculum offer.
• Ensuring that all teachers feel confident in the delivery of writing, including emergent writing, throughout school through a comprehensive training schedule, led by English curriculum leaders.
• Developing staff competence around the communication of emotions, including a recognition of the physical sensation of emotions and how this impacts upon behaviour.

For further information please read Assessment at the Loyne Specialist School