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Buxton Community School

Buxton Community School

Assessment & Reporting

Target Setting at Buxton Community School

Government Benchmarks

Historically all schools are measured against how many GCSE’s pupils achieve at A*- C, including English and Maths. The Government’s new measures mean schools are no longer assessed against this benchmark and instead are expected to show how much progress pupils make since the start of year 7 across 8 subjects.

This is known as Progress 8. It is designed to ensure that pupil’s attainment is broad and balanced. English and Maths are double weighted and therefore are still at the core of the curriculum and vital for students. There are also several other measures such as the number of students achieving 5 x grade 4 to 9 and 5 x grade 5 to 9 amongst others.

We strive to ensure students at Buxton Community School reach their potential and attain the highest grade possible. Our new targets for years 7 to 11 are designed to be aspirational and yet achievable.

What does this mean?

Your son/daughter’s target is formed using the actual results of students from the same KS2 starting point as your child. Progress will then be measured from this starting point to their final GCSE results in the same way as the Government will report progress.

Your son/daughter may have different targets in English, Maths, Art etc. because attainment in creative and academic subjects may be very different. In subjects your child has not studied at primary school, a range of assessment data is used to provide a starting point.

Targets for each tracking point enable staff to recognise students failing to make progress or those consistently failing to meet targets and to subsequently provide support.

Tracking and Reports

Tracking and Annual reports provide current attendance data and current achievement / behaviour points.

Parents receive an electronic copy of tracking and annual reports automatically.

 

Remember:

  • Students’ progress at different rates and may not necessarily progress at every tracking.
  • In general we would expect students to stay on track to achieve their target throughout their school career
  • Tracking reports show where your child is succeeding and they can still improve
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Effective Learning Behaviour Grades (ELBs)

‘Going beyond attitude to learning’

From this September, we will be replacing ‘Attitude to Learning’ (AtL) grades with our new Effective Learning Behaviour grades (ELBs).

A positive attitude can help learning but doesn’t necessarily lead to the gains we might expect. As a school we want to be more explicit on how learning works and why certain learning behaviours are more likely to lead to successful outcomes.

What are effective learning behaviours?

“A learning behaviour can be thought of as a behaviour that is necessary in order for a person to learn effectively in the group setting of the classroom.”

'Behaviour for Learning: Promoting Positive Relationships in the Classroom', Ellis and Todd, 2018

 

Managing a child’s misbehaviour does not necessarily lead to that child learning: they may be quieter, but not necessarily engaging with the content of the lesson. Instead, research suggests that when children improve their learning behaviours, this skill set can improve both academic achievement and cognitive ability.

‘Improving Behaviour in Schools’, EEF report, 2019

 

What is our key aim?

Our ELB descriptors outline ways of behaving and learning that underpin our key aim.  We want all our students to successfully access the curriculum and become fluent learners in each subject they study. Teachers will use these descriptors to praise students who are secure in their learning and redirect students towards more effective learning behaviours when needed.

We anticipate this will also be a useful tool for parents and carers to hold conversations with their children to reinforce the key message that good behaviour in school should always link to effective habits of learning.

 

How will it work?

Effective Learning Behaviour grades will be awarded based on a best-fit criteria. This does not mean students have to demonstrate every strand of the descriptors but typically will display a majority of them. Reasonable adjustments will made for certain students (e.g. those with SEND) when appropriate.

Instead of an ATL grade A, B, C or D, students will now receive either a Green, Amber or Red ELB grade.

 

GREEN:

The student securely demonstrates a range of effective learning behaviours that are likely to lead to good attainment and progress

AMBER:

The student is beginning to demonstrate some effective learning behaviours, but these are not yet consistent or secure

RED:

The student demonstrates several poor learning behaviours that are likely to hinder attainment and progress

The following descriptors will be used by our teachers to determine a student’s ELB grade for each subject:

Green (secure)

  • You always take pride in your work and the success and achievements of others.
  • You arrive on time to lessons, well organised, fully equipped and ready to learn.
  • You stay focused in class and understand why this is important for learning.
  • You are alert to instructions and always listen to your teacher.
  • You value other students’ contributions and speak respectfully to your peers.
  • You use the strategies you have been taught in class to successfully complete classwork and homework.
  • You stay positive and stick at it even though a task might seem challenging at first.
  • You enjoy talking about what you are learning with your teacher and your peers.
  • You frequently ask questions about what you are learning.
  • You regularly volunteer responses to questions in class and will reflect on your learning.
  • You are keen to learn from your mistakes and welcome feedback as an opportunity to improve your work.
  • You can self-assess your work and suggest ways it might be improved.
  • You make connections between different ideas and between different subjects.
  • You independently seek further information and follow up ideas raised in class.
  • You ensure your opinions are justified and explained.
  • You can suggest alternative explanations.

Amber (emerging)

  • You take some pride in your work and the success and achievements of others.
  • You arrive on time to lessons, well organised and equipped, but this can be inconsistent.
  • You are largely focused in class and will usually listen the teacher’s instructions.
  • You mostly value other students’ contributions and speak respectfully to your peers.
  • You normally attempt to use the strategies you have been taught in class to complete classwork and homework but sometimes find this a struggle, particularly at home.
  • You are generally positive but will occasionally give up if you find a task too challenging.
  • You will talk about what you are learning if asked to by your teacher.
  • You sometimes ask questions about what you are learning.
  • You will volunteer responses to questions in class when feeling confident.
  • You usually act on feedback and make some effort to improve your work.  However, you don’t always welcome feedback or see mistakes as a learning opportunity.
  • You occasionally attempt to self-assess your work but can struggle to suggest solutions or you believe assessment is only something teachers should do.
  • You can make connections between different ideas and between different subjects but sometimes are unable or unwilling to do this.
  • You sometimes attempt to seek further information about ideas raised in class but typically see learning as something that happens only in school.
  • You find justifying your opinion a challenge but will attempt this if required.
  • You occasionally offer alternative explanations but can lack the motivation to do so.

Red (likely to hinder learning)

  • You regard academic achievement and success at school as unimportant or socially harmful.
  • You arrive poorly equipped for lessons and do not see being ready to learn as important.
  • You make little effort to be involved in the lesson and may disrupt the learning of others.
  • You often choose not to engage with the strategies and explanations your teacher is providing to help you with your learning.
  • You interact poorly with your peers – for example, speaking disrespectfully to them.
  • You are unwilling to accept support to better organise and plan your learning.
  • You see feedback as criticism of your work and struggle to act on feedback that is provided.
  • You are uninterested in being challenged and will usually give up without really trying.
  • You spend little time thinking about your learning or why it is important.
  • You prefer to let others ask and respond to questions about the learning in the classroom.
  • You take little or no responsibility for your own learning or behaviour. You usually blame others for your lack of progress or misbehaviour.