During their time at Newington, children will be assessed in many ways, both formally and informally using a combination of on-going teacher assessments and formal testing. The results of these assessments are used to measure progress, enable teachers to plan appropriately and inform parents of their child’s achievements.

At the end of the Autumn, Spring and Summer terms, every class teacher is required to carry out assessments in reading, writing, and maths. These assessments are then recorded on Insight Tracking, to enable the class teacher and the Senior Leadership Team to monitor pupil progress. Children will be assessed to show whether they are working:

Significantly below the expected level for their year group

Working towards the expected level for their year group

Working at the expected level for their year group

Exceeding the expected level for their year group (Greater Depth)

In addition to these formal assessments, teachers carry out regular day-to-day assessments, which are an integral part of the teaching process. This is achieved in a number of ways by class teachers; for example, through talking and listening, questioning, marking work, observations of children during recorded tasks and play.

 

NFER Reading and ARK Maths Testing

In Years 1 through to 5, the children sit reading and maths tests three times during the academic year. These bi-termly standardised assessments enable teachers to accurately measure and predict pupil progress in maths and reading. It also enables us to benchmark pupil performance against national averages. Results then provide support and guidance for teachers to drive progress forwards.

We use NFER Reading papers to support teacher assessment in reading. NFER reading tests provide reliable standardised and age-standardised scores to monitor children's attainment and progress. 

At Newington use ARK Maths Papers to track mathematics, which aligns to our Mathematical Mastery Programme. This also involves pre-unit and post-unit quizzes to identify where pupils’ learning and understanding is currently at and to evaluate pupil understanding.

 

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader is a whole-class management and monitoring programme that aims to foster independent reading in primary and secondary pupils. It allows teachers to monitor the reading development and practices of their pupils and provides tools to quickly ascertain their reading level, reading age and comprehension level.

At the start of each term, the online STAR Reading Assessment gives pupils their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This supports pupils and teachers in finding the appropriate reading materials for them. The test is multiple choice and takes approximately 20 minutes. The test adjusts questions in response to the child’s answers. If a child answers a question correctly, it increases in difficulty, and if they cannot answer a question it reduces difficulty.

 

Reception

Within the first term at Newington, we complete the statutory Baseline Assessment alongside our own Newington Reception Baseline Assessment. This information tells us what our children’s current skills and abilities are. Afterwards, children are assessed against the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. This looks at 17 areas of a child’s development. All children are screened on Language Link in Term 1. For more information, please visit our Early Years Page.

 

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

In June, all Year 1 pupils’ progress in phonics will be assessed.  Each child will be assessed individually.  They will be asked to read 20 real and 20 pseudo-words in order to assess their decoding ability.  Any child currently in Year 2 who either did not take the test in Year 1 or did not achieve the pass mark last year will also take the test.

Phonics Screening Check 2025 – Monday 9^th June – Friday 13^th June 2025.

 

End of KS1 SATs (Year 2)

In England, children in Year 2 may participate in optional National Curriculum assessments in the summer terms. These assessments are non-statutory, meaning that they are not compulsory. Children at Newington will complete the optional SATs papers. We do this to measure pupil achievement in maths and reading, to informal teacher planning and teacher assessments. Children will complete 2 reading papers and 2 maths papers.

 

Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check

During the summer term, Year 4 will take part in the Multiplication Tables Check. This assessment checks the children’s multiplication knowledge of times tables up to 12. It is an on-screen check consisting of 25 times table questions. Your child will have 6 seconds to answer each question. There is no pass mark for the check.

Your child’s teacher will share your child’s score with you.

Multiplication Check 2025 – Monday 2^nd June – Friday 13^th June 2025.

 

End of KS2 SATs (Year 6)

In Year 6, children are tested in English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SPaG), Reading and maths. They are teacher assessed for writing and science. More information about Year 6 SATs can be found in SATs (Year 6).