Guidance on determining which pupils to include in the assessment cohort – EYFS, Phonics, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Contents:
- New Starters guidance Recent arrivals on roll - New pupils from overseas or with English as an additional language
- Pupils with English as an additional language
- Pupils arriving and leaving during test periods/test weeks guidance
- Pupils Out of year
SECTION ONE - NEW STARTERS - EYFS, Phonics, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Includes recent arrivals on roll, pupils from overseas, and pupils arriving or leaving during the spring or summer terms
Recent arrivals on roll
KS2
All pupils who sit the KS2 tests at your school must have teacher assessments submitted.
All pupils working below (B) the standard of the tests must have teacher assessments submitted, using the Pre-key Stage Framework.
Pupils whose performance cannot be established because they have just arrived in school
Schools may not have enough time before the tests to determine a pupil’s abilities or whether they are working at the overall standard of the tests. Where this is the case, the pupil must be registered in the ‘Pupil Registration’ section of NCA tools but should not take the test. They should be marked as ‘J’ (just arrived) on the attendance register.
Examples of pupils who may fit this category include:
• pupils who have arrived in school during the weeks immediately before the tests • pupils who have recently come from a different education system
(If a test is administered to a pupil who has just arrived in school, the pupil should be marked as ‘present’ and their test script must be returned for marking.)
Schools will be able to apply to then remove these newly arrived pupils during the KS2 Tables Checking exercise in September. The DfE will check each request and advise the school of the outcome.
Relevant criteria (from 2018 Tables Checking Guidance)
- If a pupil joined the school on or since the first day of summer term (for most areas this will be 16 April 2018, but may vary ), then you may apply for them to be removed from our calculations – this may happen automatically if the school they have left has asked to include them in their own figures.
- If you have recorded the status of a pupil as just arrived on the attendance register and you want to remove the pupil record from your school accountability measures, you must provide details of when the pupil arrived at the school.
KS1
All pupils who sit the KS1 tests at your school must have teacher assessments submitted.
If a pupil is working below the standard of the tests and KS1 Teacher Assessment Frameworks, they must be teacher assessed using the Pre-key Stage Standards.
Phonics
All pupils who sit the Phonics Screening Check at your school must have their score submitted.
EYFS
All pupils who are on roll up to the start of the late May half term should have their EYFS assessments submitted.
Pupils who arrive AFTER 31st May do not need to be submitted in the EYFS assessments. If the pupil has moved from another school, the previous school would have submitted the data.
If a child is going to remain in the EYFS the following year, you would not submit EYFS Profile judgements for them. You only submit Profile judgements if the child is moving into KS1.
New pupils with English as an additional language – general information
KS2
Pupils with EAL must be registered for the KS2 tests even if there is a valid reason why they will not take them.
Schools will be able to apply to then remove these pupils with English as an additional language if they meet the relevant criteria, during the KS2 Tables Checking exercise in September. The DfE will check each request and advise the school of the outcome.
Relevant criteria (from 2018 Tables Checking Guidance)
- they were admitted to an English school for the first time on, or after, the start of the 2016 to 2017 academic year; and
- they arrived from overseas prior to their admission; and
- English is not an official language of the country they came from; and
- English is not their first language
KS1
Teachers may not be able to provide a full TA judgement for some pupils, for example, if they have recently arrived from overseas or because of long periods of absence. Schools will still need to report a relevant TA code for these pupils when they submit their TA data.
There is no facility to apply to remove these pupils from school data for KS1 – they must be included in the assessment data.
Phonics
Pupils should not take the Phonics check if they have recently moved to the country and are unable to understand letters and sounds in English
EYFS
Teachers may not be able to provide a TA judgement for some pupils, for example, if they have recently arrived from overseas or because of long periods of absence. Schools will need to report TA code ‘A’ for these pupils when they submit their TA data.
There is no facility to apply to remove these pupils from school data for EYFS – they must be included in the assessment data.
SECTION TWO - Pupils with English as an additional language
KS2 - English tests & assessments
If pupils cannot communicate in English, they will be working below the overall standard of the English tests and should not take them. In order to make a TA judgement, these pupils should be assessed using the pre-key stage standards if they are working below the lowest standard in the relevant framework
KS2 - Mathematics tests & assessments
To establish a pupil’s abilities in mathematics, teachers and language support staff should work together to translate national curriculum work into the pupil’s preferred language.
If a pupil is working at the standard of the mathematics tests, the school should consider using access arrangements to enable the pupil to take the tests. Care should be taken to ensure that any translation does not provide additional support or understanding of mathematical terms.
Pupils working below the overall standard of the mathematics tests should not take them. They should be marked as ‘B’ on the attendance register. These pupils should be assessed using the pre-key stage standards
KS1 - English tests & assessments
If pupils cannot communicate in English, they will be working below the overall standard of the English tests and should not take them. In order to make a TA judgement, these pupils should be assessed using the pre-key stage standards
KS1 - Mathematics tests & assessments
To establish a pupil’s abilities in mathematics, teachers and language support staff should work together to translate national curriculum work into the pupil’s preferred language.
If a pupil is working at the standard of the mathematics tests, the school should consider using access arrangements to enable the pupil to take the tests. Care should be taken to ensure that any translation does not provide additional support or understanding of mathematical terms.
Pupils working below the overall standard of the mathematics tests should not take them. These pupils should be assessed using the pre-key stage standards
Phonics tests
Pupils should not take the Phonics check if they have recently moved to the country and are unable to understand letters and sounds in English
Schools must submit data for all pupils including those that should not take the check. Pupils who do not take the check should be marked as ‘D’ (headteacher decided it was inappropriate for the pupil to take the check).
EYFS assessments
Practitioners need to find out as much as they can about a child’s prior language experience and any education they have received elsewhere.
Within the EYFS profile, the ELGs for communication and language, and for literacy, must be assessed in relation to the child’s competency in English. The remaining ELGs may be assessed in the context of any language – including their home language and English.
SECTION THREE - PUPILS WHO LEAVE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE TEST WEEK/TEST PERIOD – EYFS, PHONICS, KEY STAGE 1 AND KEY STAGE2
Key Stage 2 (unchanged from 2018)
If a pupil sits the Key Stage 2 TESTS at your school, then your school must submit the Teacher Assessments (TA) for that pupil
Examples:
Change of school before KS2 test week
If a pupil changes school before the test week, the receiving school must submit TA data for the pupil.
Change of school during the KS2 test week
If a pupil changes school during the KS2 test week, the school where the pupil was registered at the beginning of the test week must submit TA data for the pupil.
(So, if a pupil joins your school AFTER the tests, you do NOT need to submit the TA for that pupil – the losing school should be submitting the TA for that pupil
Change of school after the KS2 test week
If a pupil changes school after the KS2 test week, the school where the pupil was registered during the KS2 test week must submit TA data for the pupil.
Key Stage 1
If a pupil sits the Key Stage 1 TESTS at your school, then your school must submit the Teacher Assessments (TA) for that pupil
Examples:
Change of school before KS1 test period (updated for 2019)
If a pupil changes school before Tuesday 1st May, or a pupil who has not been as a previous school joins during the test period the receiving school must administer the KS1 tests to the pupil and submit TA data for them.
Change of school during KS1 test period
If a pupil changes school during the KS1 test period in May 2019, the receiving school must find out which tests have already been administered to the pupil and administer any remaining tests. The school where the pupil was registered (on-roll) for the greater number of school days in May should submit TA data for that pupil to the LA.
Change of school after the KS1 test period
- If a pupil changes school after Thursday 31st May, the school where the pupil was registered during the KS1 test period must submit TA data.
- If a pupil leaves your school BEFORE 31st May 2019 (start of half-term), but has no expectation of starting at the new school until AFTER half-term (e.g. due to house-move, etc), you should still submit assessments for that pupil
Phonics
If a pupil sits the Phonics test at your school, then your school must submit the Phonics results for that pupil.
Examples:
Pupil leaves your school straight after the Phonics test
If a pupil leaves your school straight after the Phonics test, you still need to submit the Phonics test results for that pupil, even though the submission deadline is 3-4 weeks later
Pupil arrives at your school during test week
If a pupil joins your school straight after the Phonics tests, you need to verify with the old school if they sat the Phonics test:
- If they did sit the test at their old school, then you do NOT need to submit the Phonics test results for that pupil – the losing school should be submitting the results for that pupil
- If they did NOT sit the test at their old school, then you should administer the Phonics test (but before 21st June), and submit the Phonics test results for that pupil
Last Update: 07/02/2019
EYFS (unchanged from 2018)
If a pupil transfers schools before the summer half-term holiday, the new school/setting must report the pupil results to its LA.
If a pupil transfers schools during the second half of the summer term then the previous school is responsible for reporting to the LA.
Last Update: 07/02/2019
SECTION FOUR - PUPILS OUT OF YEAR
Pupils out of Year - EYFS, Phonics, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
There are specific rules about what to do with pupils who are Out-of-Year – i.e. pupils who are not in the Year Group of their date of birth. Generally, you submit assessments based on the year they are TAUGHT in.
Terminology:
• Chronological Year – the Year Group based on the pupil’s date of birth
• Year Taught – the Year Group the pupil is actually taught in (regardless of the date of birth)
• Held Back – a pupil who is going to repeat a year is described as being Held Back – so NOT
going on to the next Key Stage yet
General Guidelines:
- You must be sure that the pupil will be held back – you must not miss submitting assessments for them:
- A pupil must not have two lots of assessments submitted – BUT you must not miss entering a pupil’s assessment. (but see below about Phonics)
Note: If there is a late decision to hold the pupil back for next year, and the assessments have already been submitted – contact the Data Team to discuss if the assessments submitted can be nulled. If they can – then the pupil can be assessed next year. If they can’t be removed – then the pupil can repeat the year next year – but you can NOT submit another set of assessments for them.
Submitting assessments principles
If a pupil is to be held back/is to repeat a year:
• At the end of the year – do NOT submit assessments for the pupil
• At the end of the year held back* – DO submit assessments for the pupil
*If a pupil is going to repeat a year for a third-year contact the LA Data Team for advice
If the pupil was held back - and assessments were submitted in the previous year – do NOT submit assessments again If a pupil IS going to move to the next year, but you are unable to assess them, you can use A – for Absent / unable to Assess (D for Phonics)
Change the MIS
If a pupil is to be held back/is to repeat a year:
Change the year group to the year the pupil is TAUGHT IN (and not their Chronological Year Group This will ensure the pupil shows up in any pupil lists produced by the MIS
Submitting the Assessment Data
Check if the pupil’s assessments are included in the school assessment data:
-
- If it has been agreed that the assessments are NOT to be submitted – then you must check
that the pupil’s data is NOT included in your school assessment data file
-
- If it has been agreed that the child was to be held back last year (and assessments not
submitted) and is now being assessed in this current year - then you must check that the
pupil’s data IS included in your school assessment data file for this year
The LA provides provisional School Summary Reports for you to check – do check to ensure the right number of pupils have been included in your data file.
Example scenarios:
EYFS (KS1 and KS2 are similar)
A child in Reception year who would be expected to move on to Year 1 (start of KS1) at the end of the year has development issues. The teacher, headteacher and parents agree that the child should stay in Reception year for a further year:
-
- This year - do NOT submit EYFS assessments for the child this year – do NOT include the pupil in your assessment data file.
- Next year – after the pupil has repeated EYFS again, submit the EYFS assessments. (Each year check your School Summary Report to ensure you have the correct number of pupils in your report)
Last Update: 07/02/2019
Phonics
A child in Year 1, who would be expected to move on to Year 2 at the end of the year, has development issues. The teacher, head teacher and parents agree that the child should stay in Year 1 for a further year:
- This year - do NOT submit a Phonics score for the child this year – do NOT include the pupil in your assessment data file. Next year – after the pupil has repeated Year 1 again, submit the Phonics scores
- The year after (Year 2) - if the child did not reach the standard at Phonics, then re-test and submit their Phonics score
- If the Phonics score was submitted in Year 1 (and didn’t reach the standard), and the pupil is then Held Back in Year 1, do NOT submit a Year 2 Phonics re-test score - wait until the pupil is Taught in Year 2 – and then submit the Phonics re-test score. (Do not submit a third Phonics score.) (But be careful of pupils who might “jump” from Taught in Year 1 straight to Year 3 – they will need to be re-tested)
Last Update: 07/02/2019
