Plans have been announced by Education Secretary Justine Greening on 14/9/17 for a primary assessment system which focuses on pupil progress, mastering literacy and numeracy, and scrapping unnecessary workload for teachers. This follows a 12 week consultation and the understanding that, ‘a good primary education lays the foundations for success at secondary school and beyond.’
However, some of these proposals will not come into effect for some time with planned introduction dates ranging from the academic year 18/19 to 2023:
- Improve teacher assessment of English writing by giving teachers greater scope to use their professional judgement when assessing pupils at the end of key stages 1 and 2 from the current academic year (2017-18).
- Introduce a multiplication tables check to aid children’s fluency in mathematics from 2019-20;
- Introduce a new teacher-mediated assessment in the reception year from 2020 to provide a baseline measure to better track pupils’ progress during primary school. The check, which will be developed in conjunction with the teaching profession, will ensure schools are given credit for all the work they do throughout a child’s time at primary school;
- Improve the early years foundation stage profile – a check on a child’s school readiness at the end of their early years education. This includes reviewing supporting guidance, to reduce burdens for teachers;
- Make key stage 1 tests and assessments non-statutory from 2023 and remove the requirement for schools to submit teacher assessment data to the government for reading and maths at the end of key stage 2, as these subjects are already assessed through statutory tests, from 2018-19;
