How Do We Assess?

At Castletown Primary School, we place the achievement and progress of all pupils at the heart of our work. Our assessment approach is designed to support high-quality teaching and learning and to ensure every child is prepared for the next stage of their education, including transition to secondary school at the end of Year 6. We do not assess everything taught, but instead focus on key knowledge and skills that are essential for children to secure as they move through each year group.

Formal Assessment and Reporting

Pupils are regularly assessed throughout the school year so we can carefully track their progress against national expectations. We share updates with parents each term so you are kept informed about how your child is doing and how you can support them at home. Assessment information is also reviewed by school leaders and Governors, who work with the Headteacher to ensure standards remain high and to identify where further improvements can be made to support all pupils.

Our approach to assessment is designed to:

• Ensure pupils reach or exceed end of key stage expectations
• Help teachers identify whether pupils are on track
• Highlight areas where pupils may need additional support or challenge
• Support effective planning and teaching for all learners
• Provide clear information to parents and receiving schools about each child’s progress, strengths and areas for development

Assessment Judgements

Pupils’ attainment is measured against end of term/year expectations and reported using the following categories:

• Working Below Expected – Working below year group expectations
• Working towards Expected – Working within expectations but not yet secure
• Working at Expected – Meeting end of year expectations (expected standard)
• Working at Higher Standard/Greater Depth – Exceeding expectations with strong application of knowledge and skills

What type of Assessment do we use?

Formative assessment: this is an important part of everyday teaching at our school and helps us understand how well children are learning in each lesson. Teachers regularly check what pupils know, what they are finding tricky and what support they need next. To help children remember more over time, lessons include short quizzes, recaps and opportunities to revisit previous learning, strengthening their understanding before moving on.

Teachers give immediate feedback during lessons so that any misunderstandings can be quickly addressed and children are supported or challenged appropriately. They also use effective questioning and partner discussions to check pupils’ understanding as learning happens. When needed, written feedback is provided in books and teachers may also use whole-class feedback to share strengths and next steps. This approach ensures that teaching is responsive, supports good progress and helps every child succeed.

Summative assessment: In addition, pupils complete termly summative assessments, including NFER tests in:

• Maths
• Reading
• Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

At the end of Year 6, pupils also complete statutory KS2 National Curriculum Tests (SATs). These results are used alongside teacher assessments to evaluate attainment and progress locally and nationally.

Statutory Assessments

Throughout their time in primary school, our pupils will take part in a number of statutory assessments:

Assessment in the Foundation Subjects

At Castletown Primary School, assessment of foundation subjects is designed to be purposeful, manageable and closely aligned with the intent and implementation of each subject curriculum. Assessment is used to support curriculum thinking, inform teaching and ensure pupils know more and remember more over time, rather than to generate excessive or burdensome data.

Assessment in foundation subjects is undertaken termly by class teachers, with PE, Art and Music moving to a half-termly cycle from summer term 2026 to reflect curriculum structure and depth of coverage. This ensures that judgements are based on sufficient evidence of learning over time.

The Key Question?

For Geography, History, Religious Education and Science, assessment is deliberately and coherently structured around a carefully designed “Key Question” that is established at the outset of each unit and embedded within pupil knowledge organisers (for example, “What did the Romans do for us?”). This key question acts as the conceptual thread that secures coherence across the sequence of learning, ensuring that teaching is purposeful, progressive and cumulative.

Teachers consistently revisit and reinforce the key question throughout the unit, enabling pupils to build secure knowledge and make meaningful connections between new and prior learning. This approach ensures that knowledge is not only acquired but also retained and applied with increasing depth over time.

High-quality curriculum design places a strong emphasis on disciplinary literacy. Key vocabulary is explicitly identified and systematically taught through knowledge organisers, supporting pupils to develop precise understanding of subject-specific language. In addition, structured opportunities for oracy are embedded within lessons, enabling pupils to articulate their thinking using appropriate academic language, for example through approaches such as “Talk like a Scientist” or “Talk like a Geographer”. This consistent focus on reading, vocabulary and spoken language ensures that pupils are able to engage confidently with subject content and develop a secure understanding of disciplinary ways of thinking.

Pupils Understanding?

At the end of each unit, pupils’ understanding is assessed through their response to the key question. Responses may be verbal or written, depending on age, stage and curriculum design. Teachers make judgements based on pupils’ ability to recall, organise and apply knowledge appropriately. Pupils are then assessed against agreed descriptors:

• Below expected standard – where understanding is limited or inaccurate
• Expected standard – where pupils demonstrate secure understanding with some detail and accuracy
• Above expected standard – where pupils demonstrate a deep and well-developed understanding with clarity and precision

Fundamental Skills

In PE, assessment is based on fundamental skills structured around key strands of physical development in line with national curriculum expectations. These include:

• Physical competence, fitness, and control
• Cognitive understanding, including tactical awareness, decision-making, and knowledge of physical development
• Social and emotional skills, including teamwork, communication, resilience, confidence, and respect
• Personal challenge, including pupils’ ability to evaluate and improve their own performance

In foundation subjects such as Art, Computing, Design Technology, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, PSHE and RSE, assessment is primarily based on teachers’ ongoing professional judgement of pupils’ skill development, application of knowledge and progression within lesson sequences. This is supported by evidence gathered through practical outcomes, discussion, questioning and observation of pupils’ work over time.

Assessment information is recorded in each subject. The proportions of pupils working at, above and below expected levels are recorded at cohort level, with pupils working above expected identified to support monitoring of higher attainment. This information is used formatively by both class teachers and subject leaders to evaluate curriculum effectiveness, identify areas for development and plan targeted support or intervention where appropriate. Subject leaders use this alongside wider monitoring activities, such as work scrutiny, pupil voice and learning walks, to ensure consistency and quality across the school.

Overall, assessment practices across the foundation curriculum are designed to support high-quality teaching and learning, ensure curriculum ambition is realised in practice and emphasises the importance of curriculum impact over excessive data collection.