SQA
SQA Awards S4 – S6
In senior phase the PLP is linked directly to the choices made by learners, and will reflect National and Personal Achievement courses. Families are fully involved in the review process where progress towards achieving targets is discussed and next steps in learning are identified. The senior phase planning is bespoke, and each senior learner follows a different timetable of activities depending on their choices. We are mindful of the possible destinations, and target the skills learners will need in relation to their future activities in line with our ‘Mission Statement’. We are conscious of the ‘times we live in’ and the resources available to our learners. We strive to be creative and develop a ‘timetable’ of activities that our learners will continue to follow when they transition on to adult services, only the ‘provider’ will change. This keeps the learner at the centre as they transition on in life, using their skills to access community activities, take part in some voluntary work, and continue to develop their choices within recreation and leisure that will benefit their health and wellbeing.
In preparation for senior phase each learner has a 3 year plan which identifies all of the SQA courses taking into account their strengths and preferences. This allows learners to opt in and out of courses throughout their senior phase ensuring depth within subject choices. Activities are planned for in order for learners to achieve the SQA assessment standards, with the flexibility of entering learners biannually if appropriate.
Rosslyn School SQA – Moderation
This resource aims to support Rosslyn School SQA staff to:
Rationale
- Understand fully the process of moderation in Rosslyn School considering National, Regional and Local guidance.
- Understand the expectations and standards within Rosslyn school at each stage of the Learning and Teaching Cycle.
- Confidently make high quality assessments supported by PSA staff, families and partners.
- Network and work collaboratively to support moderation processes.
- Take an active part in moderation practice across school.
- Support wider moderation processes leading to greater consistency across the school, local authority and beyond.
The aim is to support teacher judgement and confidence in planning, assessing and tracking learners with complex needs in Rosslyn School. This in turn will impact learner engagement, timely progress, and achievement.
- At each stage of the process there is information for staff to understand the National guidance. This has been developed by members of the National Complex Needs Network (NCNN).
- Fife collaborative agreement?
- At the end of each step of the cycle there is then clarity on Rosslyn school expectations and standards agreed in consultation with SQA teachers.
National Guidance
Moderation using the Learning and Teaching Cycle
From National, to local, to school guidance
At Rosslyn we use a variety of profiles to ensure that our planning keeps the learner at the centre. We work closely with our families and partners to ensure our profiles and plans are up to date and fit for purpose.
These documents may include:
UNCRC – Self-esteem guidelines (whole school approach)
4 capacities profile (whole school approach)
Pupil Passport S6 in preparation for transition
Child’s Plan (Needs led)
Transition planning
SQA senior phase predictions – identified possible destinations
Senior Phase Person Centred Profile
Learner Mat (whole school approach) that may include signposting to:
Sensory profile
Proactive management profile
Risk assessment
Person Centred Profile
Communication profile
Eating and drinking profile
Moving and Handling profile
RSHP profile/plan
EHCP
Within SQA staff use assessment standards and judgement statements to plan for learning.
At Rosslyn we use a variety of learning and teaching approaches personalised for our learners. Each learner in the senior class has his/her own SQA Planner. This is developed from our Senior Phase 3 year planner discussed and agreed with families. There may be links across the group, but this is not planned. Each learner has a bespoke curriculum built around them.
This planner is updated annually with families at the Education Review
S4-6 Destination pathways
Each course is then linked to a possible destination
•LI- What children will know by the end of the planning block? Assessment Standards
•SC- How we will know they have done it? – Making assessment judgements
•SC- Teacher consideration of what children have to learn. Context/activities
Planning for SQA courses in Rosslyn does not require overly prescriptive details. It is important that staff are responsive to the needs of learners throughout the course. Evaluations/reflections and ongoing assessments support changes and feedback in to daily plans.
For SQA replace Es and Os with Assessment Standards
- Use the Es & Os when planning learning, teaching and assessment.
- Plan the assessment when selecting the Es & Os
- Assess using bundles of Es & Os.
- Avoid teach-test-teach-test.
- Planning should suit local contexts.
- High quality assessments that provide the learner with the opportunity to demonstrate; breadth, challenge and APPLICATION in new and unfamiliar situations.
- Four contexts for learning.
- Opportunity to apply knowledge from one organiser to another.
Importance of Planning Learning, Teaching and Assessment
A shared understanding of standards and expectations is developed when practitioners actively engage in professional dialogue i.e. they moderate the planning of learning, teaching and assessment.
The planning of learning, teaching and assessment is a vital part of the cycle of moderation:
- Planning should be carried out collaboratively with colleagues.
- The planning of assessment activities should be carried out at the same time as the planning of learning experiences.
- Discussions about the planning of learning experiences should include discussions of what learners’ progress looks like and how and when assessment evidence will be gathered.
What are High Quality Assessments and what are they not?
High quality assessments ARE:
- Individualised and learner needs led
- Shaped by the planning, informing the selection of Es and Os / ASN Milestones
context to assess - Engagement
- Breath
- Challenge
- Application
- Collective professional judgement based on evidence gathered over a period of time
- Continuation of engagement within progression towards
High quality assessments ARE NOT:
- Checklists
- Constraints to progression
- An end of unit assessment
- The only assessment evidence to be considered as part of achievement of, and progress through, CfE levels
What are key features of High Quality Assessments?
High quality assessments can be taken from one of the four contexts of learning:
- Ethos and life of school as a community
- Curriculum areas and subjects
- Interdisciplinary learning (IDL)
- Opportunities for personal achievement
What is the purpose of Assessment?
- Assessment supports learning by focusing on the process of children and young people moving from where they are in their learning towards outcomes
- Promoting learner engagement
- Meet learner needs
- Ensuring appropriate pace, support and challenge
When do we use assessment ? (Ongoing and periodically)
Ongoing assessment opportunities might include:
- Observations
- Appropriate Questioning
- Collaborative
- Pupil Voice
Periodic assessment includes:
- Outcome evaluations
- Progress / summary report
SQA staff in Rosslyn record evaluations and assessment daily, weekly and termly in response to significant observations and discussions.
Evidence should be in the form of;
- Observations
- Dialogue
- Data
This ensures triangulation of evidence and robust assessment.
•Different types of evidence.
•Planned periodic, high quality assessments.
•Demonstrate application of knowledge from one organiser to another.
•Clear evidence of breadth, challenge and application.
Evidence Should…
•Be planned for in a personal way.
•Demonstrate breadth, challenge and application.
•Evidence the targeted LEARNING – not the activity.
•Relate to the success criteria that has been set.
•Be varied and gathered over time.
•Be proportionate and manageable.
•Be captured in an accessible format.
Evidence – Valid and Reliable?
•To ensure that evidence is valid and reliable, at the planning stage the assessment should be discussed with, reviewed by or created in collaboration with colleagues so that there is agreement that it provides opportunities for the learner to successfully demonstrate their learning.
•Evidence should be moderated with colleagues against shared, agreed standards, for example levels of engagement. This will increase its validity and reliability as the professional judgement reached in terms of progress is more objective; not only dependent on the opinion of an individual.
•This can be done in a planned, proportionate way and subject to the normal quality assurance and self-evaluation processes of the establishment.
Evidence of progress and achievement
- Is there enough evidence to confidently say – ‘that’s enough to show…..’
- Questions you need to ask yourself/team?
- Team work/high quality observations/collective assessment and evidence
- Building on where the learners is…
We use a range of evidence in Rosslyn school gathered in a holistic way involving families and partners:
Media and photographs are a powerful evidence tool used frequently within our context.
Video is currently not compatible with SWAY anymore and we are looking for a new format for this.
Charts and recording formats personalised to the learner.
Feedback from parents – often written/pictured via SeeSaw
Regular reviews with families
Questionnaires – FORMS
Feedback from partners
Pictures MUST evidence the assessment standards and judgement statements. Staff moderate this within their teams.
SQA verify evidence every 5 years.
Annually SQA staff across the Special Schools meet to moderate an item within the cycle. This year staff will be looking at Evidence Packs and moderating against the SQA standards.
The checklist ensures the role of the moderator (teacher) and verifier (headteacher) carry out their role throughout the year.
- Meets the success criteria.
- Appropriate level of challenge.
- Has the learner responded consistently well to challenge and moved on to some aspects of the next level.
- Knowledge applied from one organiser to another.
- Demonstrates breadth of learning.
- Demonstrates application in the new and unfamiliar situations.
- Standards within and achievement of a level.
Evaluating the process of learning:
- Meets the individualised success criteria.
- Demonstrates meaningful and purposeful learning.
- Appear to demonstrate building on prior learning.
- Appropriate level of challenge and support.
- Has the learner responded consistently well to challenge and moved on to some aspects of the next step/level.
- Demonstrates application in the new and unfamiliar situations.
- Standards within and achievement of a level.
- Feedback is linked to success criteria.
- Learners are clear about what they have done well and what they need to do next to improve.
- Quality dialogue and/or written comments.
- Age and stage appropriate.
- Peer and self feedback.
Feedback in Rosslyn school must be personalised, timely and understood by the learner.
This is often more about a response to staffs tone, facial expression, body language and interactions.
Class staff may choose to share feedback with other staff or peers, depending on the group.
Feedback MUST be in the moment.
Rosslyn do not use Circle Time or other formats of group feedback.
While some learners may like a sticker or a ‘high 5’, other learners do not like the emotions and noise that can come with praise. They may prefer a thumbs up, symbol, or object to quietly show them that they have done well.
Feedback will always be in relation to the target. “Good matching”, “Good choosing” etc.
In the senior school staff interactions are still the key to understanding praise. Staff are mindful that the tone is age appropriate and may offer a ‘fist pump’ or a more age appropriate reward/signifier.
- An ongoing process.
- Provides a clear account of progress against which to base further discussion about learning with the learner, parents and carers, and partners.
- Clearly stated progress and next steps.
Reporting to families happens daily via SeeSaw and termly either through family meetings and reviews, Child’s Plans or calls home.
At Rosslyn school we currently provide a full annual report using SWAY.
SQA reports provide the narrative of how a learner has achieved/working towards accreditation with a judgement of passed, ongoing or withdrawn.
Within Personal Achievement we assess the ability to prepare/take part/feedback within 2 activities to show breadth and application within an area of interest. For example if Personal Presentation is chosen the assessment standards would be met through hair dressing and hand and nail care. This narrows the number of courses chosen, but widens the breadth and challenge within a course.
Next steps are suggested within the report, and agreed with families during the meeting.
4 capacities are also shared and families agree what is important to them within wider achievement.
Moderation Reflective Questions and Self Evaluation
- Do you plan for assessment when planning learning and teaching?
- Do you discuss and moderate at the planning stages?
- Does the assessment and evidence allow learners to demonstrate the application of their knowledge, understanding and skills?
- What information / evidence of learning do you hope to get from this assessment evidence?
- What does this evidence tell you (and what are the next steps)?
- Does it reflect breadth, challenge and application?
- Does it demonstrate application in new and unfamiliar contexts?
- Does it reflect one of the four contexts of learning?
- Do you have a range of evidence to support your professional judgements?
HGIOASL
Professional Learning
