| POLICY ON ASSESSMENT, RECORDING & REPORTING | |||||||||
Introduction
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Rationale
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At Foyle View School assessment is an integral part of the educational process. Regular and ongoing assessment also underpins the process of progression throughout the pupils’ school career. Developments and regressions can be monitored and acted upon where necessary. As such it is a vital tool for diagnosis of difficulties in order to plan for effective teaching as well as a significant element of the process of evaluation. |
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Aims
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Development
Plan and Assessment Procedure
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Assess Children’s individual need: using all resources available e.g. medical records, education statements, previous class records / reports, speech, physio, occupational therapy, records and reports. Individual Education Plans: for the term/year using all resources available. (This document can be amended as the year progresses). Draw up Class and Individual Timetables: referring to school policy, departmental topic and school/national curriculum, etc |
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Statementing
Procedures
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All pupils at Foyle View require a statement of Special Educational Needs prior to placement (except in cases of emergency placement). This means that the assessment process has already determined that the child has severe learning difficulties with particular needs, which would be best, met by attending this school. It is a legal requirement that these needs are reviewed annually by the principal of the school, in consultation with the class teacher. Parents are encouraged to participate in the review procedure by attending a meeting at which the review is discussed and contributing a written comment. In addition a formal re-assessment is carried out after the age of fourteen. This includes input from parents, psychologists, teacher, therapists and any other professionals who have regular contact with the pupil. At the end of each term teachers evaluate pupil progress in relation to IEP targets. The information is collected and monitored by the head of each department and the Vice Principal with responsibilities in this area. Each class teacher maintains a Record of Achievement portfolio for each pupil in his/her class. |
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Transfer
of Information
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Each pupil is allocated a box file into which Individual Educational Programmes are kept and transferred with him or her to inform the planning of the next class teacher. This information may also be used to inform other schools if the pupil leaves Foyle View during his / her school career. |
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ASSESSMENT
PROCEDURES
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A variety of assessment procedures are used in the school. These include both diagnostic and evaluative assessment. At a diagnostic level pupils who are admitted to the TEACCH Programme are assessed using the Psycho-Educational Profile (Revised) in order to identify deficits in the following areas: Language, Sensory Responses, Relating and Affect, Play, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Hand / Eye co-ordination, Imitation Skills and Perception. Pupils in the assessment / nursery have a portage Early Education Programme completed for each of them. This informs the teacher of their development across a range of categories: Infant simulation, self-help, socialisation, cognitive, motor (gross and fine) and language. In Home Economics in the Secondary Department pupils are encouraged to use self-assessment pro-forma to increase their own awareness of progress made. This information is used both as an aid to preparing individual education programmes and as a baseline against which progress can be measured. Therapists within the school (Speech, Physio and Occupational) use their own range of assessment procedures to diagnose and monitor progress. A skills checklist is completed for each school leaver in their final term at Foyle View. |
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RECORDS
OF ACHIEVEMENT
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In the
Primary Department each teacher uses a simple format of approximately
eight pages. This includes:
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Target –
setting page which will be used with as much input from each pupil as
they are capable. (in some instances the teacher will be devising
targets and recording them with little or no understanding of the
process by the pupil). In the Secondary Department a different range of pages have been developed. These provide similar information to the primary department, but are presented in a more age appropriate format. The recording of achievement is also encouraged in a less structured way throughout the school. These include the use of wall displays in classes and on corridors as well as the use of simple awards/certificates. Photographs form a large proportion of the evidence of achievement in each portfolio. In addition each teacher is to video-record some illustration of progress and/or achievement of each pupil. This video is to be added to each year and will be stored in the box file. |
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REPORTING
TO PARENTS
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At a
formal level there are three procedures for reporting to parents about
the progress of their children.
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At an
informal level however, communication between school and home is much
more comprehensive than this. |
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Conclusion
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| The procedures outlined in this policy will continue to be used as long as they serve the needs of the pupils. They will be evaluated and modified as necessary | |||||||||