Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders

trying to evaluate, prior to each unit and post each unit of work, to see how children haveprogressed.’ (primary teacher)In another Pathfinder forms are completed annually to record what has been covered.‘It’s ongoing really …. because most of the work is mainly oral, but at the end of the unit, thechildren have a smiley face sheet [with] which they can self-evaluate. At the end of KS2 inY6, before they go on to secondary school, pupils do a smiley face sheet to say what they’velearnt and what they’ve enjoyed and that’s taken with them to secondary school’. (primaryteacher)Case study: exemplar of good practice of recording evidence of progression forlearningOne Pathfinder had developed the use of profile cards with child friendly ‘I can’ statements,‘What we’ve learnt this term’, ‘What we need to work on’ and information on how to progressfrom one level to another. Children received a certificate at the end and stood up in praiseassembly. Another had developed pupil’s self-assessment sheets to record progress atdifferent levels in Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Awareness. ‘… we do it in aninformal way by the class teacher, but also (there is) something that’s been developed by thelocal authority, which is very simple …this particular one is just a single page, it’s only beendeveloped at level 1 so far, but it just enables the children to give a tick, if they feel they’veachieved an objective. It’s a kind of self-assessment, but then it says, ‘My Witness’, as asecond column. They must have a friend maybe who evaluated it with them or it could be ateacher, so it could be self-evaluation, it could also have an adult feeding into it.. As I said, I’mtrialling this at the moment, I’ll be adding Level 2 and Level 3, as they are developed.’ (primaryteacher)Very little mention was made of the use of NC levels, although in some cases there wasevidence of some development in this area:‘That again is something I think that the local authority are just … beginning to bring in. ……they’re identifying the different levels now, and I know talking to our Year 3/4 staff, they wereon some recent training with that and looking at that; … that’s really helpful, because itactually helps us to identify specifically what we’re looking for and what skills we’re lookingfor children to be able to acquire by the end of particular year groups. So, at the moment, it’sreally a sort of ad hoc, … informal monitoring that we’ve been doing in school and …84