Assessment and Evidence of Learning for Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Brett, SENCO, St William of York Catholic Primary School

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Our New Frameworks

We have created 3 new frameworks in response to the removal of P Levels and the Rochford Review recommendations. The new frameworks are:

• Engagement Steps (Students not yet engaged in subject-specific learning)
• Progression Steps (Students engaged in subject-specific learning)  
• Primary Steps - End of Year Outcomes (Students engaged in subject-specific learning in a primary setting)

In old money, the Engagement Steps covers P1 to P6, Progression Steps covers from P4 to Level 7 and Primary Steps covers from P4 to above Year 6 End of Year Outcome. The following link will show you the comparison between the different frameworks and also the comparison against the old P Levels and National Curriculum Levels:

Engagement Steps

We have created a brand new assessment framework called Engagement Steps in response to the recommendations made within the ‘Rochford Review: Final Report’ (The Report). The Report identified two categories of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). These groups of pupils have different assessment requirements. The categories they identified were:

• Pupils engaged in subject-specific learning
• Pupils not yet engaged in subject-specific learning

We designed the Engagement Steps framework to support the learning and assessment of students not yet engaged in subject-specific learning. The Report recognised that the subject-specific areas assessed by the P Levels are not appropriate for students with the most significant disabilities and difficulties; therefore, a new approach was required. They built on the work already carried out by the CLDD research project (The CLDD Project) in 2011. Using old language our Engagement Steps content covers the developmental range from P1(i) to P6.

The assessment framework is divided into key developmental areas which reflect the four areas of need listed in the “Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years”. These areas are:

• Cognition & Learning;
• Communication & Interaction;
• Social, Emotional & Mental Health; and
• Sensory & Physical.

Engagement Steps has been updated to reflect the changes brought in by the Engagement Model, showing the 5 areas of engagement:

• Exploration;
• Realisation;
• Anticipation;
• Persistence; and
• Initiation.

Tracking non-linear learning

Our Engagement Steps assessment framework is designed to be used in a non-linear fashion. Through our research and understanding, we know that students will not work progressively through each step, completing one and then moving on to the next. Students will experience and engage with skills across multiple levels. For example, a child may develop their responses to environmental sounds regularly but may also be less motivated to respond to human voices. Therefore, students will develop skills across multiple steps simultaneously.

Progression Steps

Progression Steps is an observation-based assessment framework for Connecting Steps. It helps teachers to identify and record the on-going achievements of pupils who are working moderately or severely beneath age-related expectations in some or all areas of their development. It can be used with pupils who are either studying elements from a formal curriculum or those who are still engaged in a semi-formal approach to learning. Using old language, our Progression Steps covers a range from P4 to around Level 7 of the old National Curriculum. It supports the schools use of the new Pre-Key Stage standards from the DfE.

Our Cognition and Learning content aims to help staff to assess the knowledge and abilities associated with the intellectual development of the child against the national curriculum subjects. We have increased the range of areas within the Progression Steps to include areas like Sex and Relationship Education.

Towards the end of 2018 we will begin work on the other areas of need; Communication and Interaction; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; and Sensory and/or Physical Development. These will take between 1 and 2 years to develop.

Primary Steps

If you are looking at using B Squared assessment with both mainstream and SEN pupils in a Primary setting then the Primary Steps works well for you. It includes the End of Year Outcomes and the first 4 levels of our Progression Steps for pupils working below Year 1. Our Primary Assessment covers the following subjects:

Click here to download our SEN Assessment Order Form, or contact our sales team for more information on our products for Primary schools by emailing sales@bsquared.co.uk or phoning 01252 870133