Parents Evenings 2024/2025 15:30 - 18:00

Yr 11 - October 24th - on-site

Yr 8 - November 7th - online

Yr 7 - November 28th - on-site

Yr 13 - December 12th - on-site at St Regis Academy

Yr 9 - February 6th - on-site (Parents Evening & Options Evening)

Yr 12 - February 13th - on-site

Yr 11 - March 13th - online

Yr 10 - April 3rd - online

 

Key Stage 3

How do you assess students and reach judgements on my child’s attainment?

Our aim is for all students to have learnt, practised and remembered a broad and balanced curriculum of knowledge and skills by the end of KS3 to prepare for KS4. We use assessment to measure what students know and can do and to check that the curriculum is ambitious, well-planned and being delivered effectively. 

Students will typically sit summative assessments (key assessed tasks) at least once per term in each subject area. High-quality assessments provide insight into a student’s knowledge of the curriculum to inform future planning. In addition to the key assessed tasks, subjects will use additional formative assessment strategies to check understanding, address misconceptions and inform planning.

Subject progress ladders set out what students are expected to know and be able to do at each stage of the curriculum. They set out the endpoints required for mastery of the curriculum and the sequence of learning and development needed to reach those endpoints.  Key assessed tasks are designed with these endpoints in mind. Planned and scheduled by Heads of Departments, students undertake these tasks at appropriate points in the curriculum. Key assessed tasks assess how much of the curriculum has been learnt by students and, therefore, indicate how they are progressing through the curriculum. Please click below to view individual subject curricula and progress ladders.

 

 

When do parents or carers receive progress reports and what do they contain?

In Years 7, 8 and 9, parents and carers will receive three progress reports for their child at the end of each term. For each subject studied, the report will contain a word to describe your child’s attainment (average unit grade) and a word to describe your child’s attitude to learning. We refer to these words as attainment descriptors and attitude-to-learning descriptors.

Over the course of a term, your child’s understanding of the curriculum will be assessed in each subject area. The attainment descriptor broadly describes your child’s understanding of the curriculum that has been taught in each subject up to that point. 

Attainment Descriptors:

Emerging - Your child has been taught the curriculum but is rarely able to recall the taught knowledge or skills. 

Developing - Your child is beginning to recall and apply the taught knowledge and skills with the support of the teacher. 

Securing - Your child is consistently able to recall and apply the taught knowledge and skills with a degree of independence. 

Advancing - Your child has an excellent level of knowledge and an ability to apply skills independently.

Mastering - Your child has an exceptional level of knowledge and skill within the subject area.

We know from research that progress is unpredictable and not linear.  A child would not be expected to start in Year 7 as Emerging and then work up to Mastering by Year 9. A student described as Securing in Year 7 and then again in Year 8 will have made progress as the curriculum content will have become more demanding. Progression through the curriculum will be seen in assessment results as your child demonstrates their ability to recall and apply the knowledge and skills they have learnt. 

How do you know if my child is making progress in their learning?

We use prior attainment information from Key Stage 2 to give us an indication (benchmark) of what your child may go on to achieve at the end of Year 11. These benchmarks come from your child’s Key Stage 2 SAT scores or, in some cases, CAT Scores*. Our benchmarks are provided by the Fischer Family Trust (FFT) who process the National Pupil Database for the Department of Education, providing data and analysis to schools in England and Wales. FFT benchmarks are projections based on how similar students nationally performed in the subject last year (similar students are defined as similar prior attainment, gender and month of birth). 

We share this information with parents by email when it becomes available at the beginning of each academic year. We will share with you three grades for each subject your child is studying. 

The FFT 50 (Average) grade shows you the grade that your child would need to achieve or exceed at GCSE to be in the top 50% of achievement nationally for children with comparable prior attainment.

The FFT 20 (Good) shows you the grade your child would need to achieve to be in the top 20% nationally for children with comparable prior attainment.

The FFT 5 (Aspirational) grade shows you the grade your child would need to achieve to be in the top 5% nationally for children with comparable prior attainment.

It is important to remember that these projections are based on average progress across approximately 250,000 students each year. Your child’s progress and attainment may be less or more than the projections.

*Cognitive Ability Tests (CAT) scores are used where a student has no Key Stage 2 assessment scores.

At St Peter’s, we use the FFT 20 benchmark to give every student a minimum target grade which, were they to achieve it at GCSE, would place them in the top 20% of students with similar prior attainment nationally.  In Key Stage 3, we use this grade to determine an expected attainment descriptor (emerging, developing, securing, advancing, mastering) for the Key Stage 3 curriculum for your child. 

The image below gives a rough visual approximation of how our minimum target grades relate to Key Stage 2 prior attainment. You will see that the majority of students will have an expected attainment descriptor of either developing, securing or advancing. If your child’s Key Stage 2 attainment means they have an expected attainment of developing, there is nothing to prevent them from exceeding this at every assessment throughout Key Stage 3. 

We use the expected attainment descriptor for each child to see whether they are making satisfactory progress through the curriculum.   It is important to remember that progress is not linear, and your child may make different rates of progress in subjects at different times. Small variations in progress rates would not be a cause for concern but, where a number of subjects suggest lower than expected levels of progress, we would explore this further with you and your child.

Does the report tell me if my child is making progress?

Yes, it does. To see if your child is making progress, you need to compare the expected attainment descriptor (minimum target grade) with the actual attainment descriptor (average unit grade).  The colours help you to do this.

Blue - above expected attainment

Green - expected attainment 

Orange - one level below expected attainment

Red - more than one level away from expected attainment

Remember that attainment descriptors are not incremental. A child who is consistently receiving a securing descriptor will be making progress, as the curriculum is sequenced to increase in complexity and difficulty over time. A student described as securing in Year 7 and then again in Year 8 will have made progress because the curriculum content will have become more demanding.

Below is an example of a report for a student in Key Stage 3. In this example, the student is making above-expected progress in the blue subjects, expected progress in the green subjects and below-expected progress in the orange and red subjects. Their attitude to learning is on the whole good, but the teacher or teachers indicate that their attitude in three subjects requires some improvement.

What is ‘Attitude to Learning’? 

Your child’s teacher determines the attitude to learning descriptor. It reflects your child’s attitude towards their learning and how they demonstrate St Peter’s values and virtues. 

At St Peter’s, we expect all students to follow our code of conduct, based on our values of Service, Respect and Aspiration. Your child’s attitude to learning will be given one of the following descriptors:

Exemplary

Your child's attitude to learning is exemplary, which will help them make excellent progress. They are highly motivated, focused, and reflective, actively contributing in class and seeking feedback. Their behaviour is outstanding, serving as a role model for the positive behaviours we value at St Peter’s.

Good

Your child has a good attitude towards learning, which will support them in making good progress. They are hard-working, eager to contribute, and consistently put in their best effort. They show initiative, respond well to feedback, and display the positive behaviours we encourage at St Peter’s.

Requires Improvement

Your child's attitude to learning needs improvement to ensure they meet expected progress. While they sometimes try hard and contribute in class, their effort is not consistent. They don’t always act on feedback, and their behaviour occasionally falls short of our expectations.

Cause for Concern

We are concerned about your child's attitude to learning, which may hinder their progress. They are often unmotivated, rarely participate in class, and their work does not meet expected standards. Their attitude and behaviour affect their own learning and may affect others negatively.

Key Stage 4 

In Key Stage 4, students will be assessed using GCSE grades, and we will report GCSE grades to parents. From Year 10, students are studying subject curricula which will enable them to sit GCSE or vocational exams. Assessments in Years 10 and 11 will be based on criteria relevant to the exam specifications and, therefore, it is appropriate to report a GCSE or vocational grade. GCSE grades range from 1 - 9 and vocational subject grades range from a L1 pass through to a L2 Distinction*.

Below is an example of a report for a student in Key Stage 4.  

 

In this example, the student is exceeding their minimum target grade in combined science, and they are meeting the minimum target grade in four other subjects. They are one grade below the minimum target grade in Business and Health & Social Care. Students will not receive a grade in core PE or PSHE.