Each child is different and has their own individual strengths and developmental needs.  Here at Kirkshaws, learners are taught in a way which suits their individual requirements, regardless of age and stage.

Day to day, teachers will use a wide variety of assessment strategies. The most effective method widely used is Formative Assessment.  This type of assessment is not about giving marks out of a total but gives pupils feedback on targets achieved and points for action to improve the next time.  It is not enough to say “well done” to a learner, unless you specifically tell them what was done well, so they can repeat the positive behaviours and build on their success.  Our teachers and management team work hard to ensure they provide regular feedback to learners, allowing for quality, two-way learning conversations.

Teachers also may use other forms of assessment e.g. observations, which are particularly useful when pupils are engaged in practical tasks or play.  Learning intentions and success criteria provide a measure to note progress in individual lessons, while benchmarking can establish competence across a Level.  Baseline assessments can provide a starting point for a course of learning and written work such as mind maps, topic files and presentations all provide valuable evidence of progress.

In addition, we encourage our pupils to be knowledgeable about targets to begin to self-assess their own work and that of their peers.  This is done through co-operative working with a strict framework of social and positive skills to be used to give feed back.

Summative Assessments are also carried out periodically  to confirm progress and provide evidence of competency.  This provides further data for analysis to improve our teaching of individual pupils.  This included Scottish National Standardised Assessments, which are carried out each session by pupils in P.1, P.4 & P.7.  At Kirkshaws we work hard to ensure our pupils are not put under any pressure and view these assessments like any other classwork.

We report to parents and carers formally four times each school session, through written reports and face-to-face consultations, as well as by request.