LearningScales

THE NEW MARY BASSETT LEARNING SCALES

Following feedback we collected from you in the Summer Term, we have devised a new approach for communicating information about how your child is progressing. The Mary Bassett Learning Scales will support you to understand instantly where your child is on their journey to independency in different areas of the school curriculum. In addition, it will provide you with further detail about what they have demonstrated so far and what they will be focusing on learning next.

We plan to use these scales in the February 2020 interim reports as a way of introducing this approach. Interim reports will be issued soon after the half-term break in preparation for your meeting with the class teacher.

Set out below are some of the key benefits to this approach:

Benefits	Explanation
Clear understanding about the longer term journey your child is on	You will always see your child’s attainment in relation to the key milestones throughout their Primary education
Positive language we can use with parents/carers and children about current strengths and capability	We will focus on using positive language, acknowledging what children can do and the strengths they have shown so far Children naturally progress at different rates and the scales do not assume a ‘standardised’ progress rate, which can often be unhelpful for children (as well as parents & carers!)
Not framing all discussion in the limits of ‘what your child can do compared to others their age’	The Government’s approach to standardised testing tends to lead to a black and white judgement about whether a child performs ‘in line with other pupils of their age’ Within any cohort, there can be a difference of up to a year in ages, and it can be harmful to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach Typically 24 – 31% of pupils nationally do not meet this standard We feel it is detrimental for such a large proportion of pupils to feel they are not good enough, especially when they do actually have every chance to accelerate progress and meet the standard in the future. In fact, a motivated and positive child is the most likely to make that kind of leap when they are ready!
Clear indicators of what your child can do next to succeed, and move up the scale	The Learning Scales are accompanied with clear documentation describing what children can do at each stage. This includes the learning behaviours that you are likely to recognise in your child The documents also set out the clear next steps your child will need to make to progress onto the next stage towards independency
No limits!	The scale is a continuum and means we can support children who accelerate more quickly more effectively. It will be clear where they are going next on the scale and this will support parents and carers to understand more about what the school is doing to support ongoing progress

We are committed to monitoring all individuals on their journey along the Learning Scales, ensuring teaching and learning is tailored appropriately for each child, relevant to their current needs. We will still provide you the means to understand how their attainment compares to other children nationally.

We have a statutory duty to submit data to the DfE about pupil outcomes at the end of Reception and Year 2, and we also submit the Phonics Check outcomes at the end of Years 1 and 2. We will always provide you with a record of the data submitted for your child at these stages, and this will match the information we share with you through reports and consultations.

By the end of the Summer Term we hope to have developed Learning Scales for more areas of the curriculum. This means we can provide the same clarity for every subject, supporting our commitment to value the wider range of skills and understanding children demonstrate during their time in school.

We will be gathering feedback on this new approach at the consultation events planned after February half term, and we look forward to hearing your views and opinions.

Understanding more about the Learning Scale steps for Reading

Understanding more about the Learning Scale steps for Writing

Understanding more about the Learning Scale steps for Maths