Assessment, Progress and Reporting

All students within Herne Bay High School benefit from a minimum of a five-year journey with us, with many of our students choosing to stay on at school for another two years to study post-16 courses within, what OFSTED in June 2022 have assessed is an ‘outstanding’ 6th form, with these students then progressing onto universities or apprenticeships or into the world of work.  

As such, our students’ educational journey, is split into three phases:  

• Years 7, 8 & 9 - Key Stage 3 (our Lower School) 
• Years 10 & 11 - Key Stage 4 (our Upper School)  
• 6th form 

In our Lower School we use these CATS results to establish the expected progress that our students should be able to achieve. As such three times a year, in November, February and June, Lower School students will sit assessments and following each of these assessment windows parents/carers will receive a ‘Progress Report’.  

These Progress Reports will indicate what percentage mark their child achieved in each of their assessments and, for each of the subjects that their child studies, whether their child’s progress is:  

• in line with what is expected of them – in such cases the student will be given a Progress Indicator of a ‘P’ for that subject 
• is above that which is expected of a student with a similar CATS starting point, if this is the case the student will be given a Progress Indicator of a ‘P+’ 
• is below where they should be, if this is the case the student will be given a Progress Indicator of a ‘P-‘ 

EXAMPLE 

Please see the illustration below for a possible outcome of this: 

Mrs Brown has twins (Jane and John) in Year 8 at Herne Bay High School, and both Jane and John sat their CATS in Year 7. 

• The children’s CATS results indicate that Jane, as long as she works very hard and maintains an excellent approach to her studies, is likely to outperform John in physics and maths, whereas John is deemed likely to outperform Jane in English.  
• Mrs Brown recognises that CATS are only an indicator of likely progress, and as such she recognises that either of her two children can achieve fantastically high results with hard work and dedication. 
• Both Jane and John sit their November assessments and the results are as follows: 

So to explain: 

• Physics 
  • Jane achieved 67% in her physics exam, this is in line with her expected progress and hence the fact that she receives a ‘P’ for physics.  
  • John achieved 59% for his physics exam, this is 8% less than Jane’s result, but he has been allocated a ‘P+’ Progress Indicator - this is because John’s CATS results indicate that he has outperformed other similar students in this physics’ assessment. 
• Maths
  • Jane’s 63% for maths is better than John’s 56% maths result, however she has received a Progress Indicator of a ‘P-‘ and John has received a ‘P+’. This is because Jane has achieved a maths result that is below that of students with a similar aptitude for maths as identified by her CATS results, whereas John has outperformed similar ability students to himself. 
• English 
  • Jane has received a Progress Indicator of a ‘P+’, having achieved 62% in her English assessment, whereas John achieved 71% in his English assessment and has been given a ‘P’ Progress Indicator.  This is because Jane’s English mark is higher than students with a similar CATS predictor for English, whereas John’s English percentage mark is in line with other students with a similar English CATS predictor.  

For some of our subjects, their curriculum does not have assessment at punctuated points and their assessment framework is ongoing and developmental. Also, for some subjects an assessment, test or exam is not a suitable method to ascertain if a student is doing well in this subject as they are made up of various interconnected parts which are harder to measure. Subjects such as Art and PE are examples of these. Therefore, depending on these subjects’ curriculum, some subjects will give a “P” indicator but instead of this referring to progress, it will refer to the students holistic’ progress in their journey on this subject. Due to the nature of these subjects, we understand that there is holistic judgement to be made on areas such as resilience, character, problem solving and teamwork that are important for a student to be successful. There also may be more fluctuation in how well they are progressing depending on what they are doing. For example, in PE a student may excel at gymnastics but may not have an aptitude for other sports due to certain physical characteristics or experiences. Likewise, for example in Art, they would consider their reflection. evaluation and visual risk, alongside the development of their artwork. All these Foundation subjects will give a dedication indicator of ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Inconsistent’ and ‘Poor.  

Reading 

At Herne Bay High School, we use Accelerated Reader, a programme that allows us to track student’s progress in Reading. Students are set targets using the results from the Star Reading Test, taken four times a year. It measures reading speed, comprehension, recall and understanding of vocabulary. Using this data, the programme sets an achievable reading target for every student, which is renewed every two terms (three times a year). 

To achieve their target, students must read a book within their reading range for 20 minutes every day (Monday to Friday), and quiz on every book they finish within 24 hours. Students that engage with this fully will achieve 100% of their target every two terms.  

• The student is on track to reach 100% of their target by the end of term. They have been reading for 20 minutes every day and quizzing on their books when they have finished them. They are making good progress in their reading and will be given a ‘P’ indicator 
• The student is on track to reach above 100% of their target by the end of term. They have been reading for more than 20 minutes every day and quizzing on their books when they have finished them. They are making excellent progress in their reading and will be given a ‘P+’ indicator. 
• The student is not on track to reach 100% of their target by the end of term. They have either not been reading for 20 minutes every day or not quizzing on their books when they have finished them. They are making below expected progress in their reading and will begiven a ‘P-‘ indicator. 

To conclude. after each assessment, students will have the opportunity to review how they are doing and will look at areas within each subject area that they know, can remember, and can do, whilst also considering areas that need improving. This is a really important aspect of the learning process as students can identify what and how to make progress.  

In year 10 sit three assessments as in the lower school: in November, February/March and June. Students will be given a percentage where an assessment has taken place. The first report will contain information including their MEG for each subject, as well as a Progress indicator. As the students have only just started the course, even though they may have studied the subject lower down the school, then the progress indicator at this stage represents whether at this stage in the teacher professional opinion they are likely: 

• to achieve their MEG - a student will be given a progress indicator of a ‘P’ 
• to exceed their MEG - a students will be given a progress indicator of a ‘P+’ 
• not reach their MEG – a student will be given a progress indicator is a ‘P-‘  

As the students are at an early stage in their 2-year journey of this stage then we understand that some sections of the course may not have been covered and that there is time for students to create links, process which may come later in their journey to make connections to prior learning. Or sections/topics that they may be more familiar with, and this may then increase the likelihood of them performing well and possibly achieving or exceeding their MEG. A such, similar information will be provided in report 2 in March. 

In the final assessment in year 10 which occurs in June, students will sit exams for applicable subjects. Some of the exams will take place in the exam hall, usually the sports hall (or similar) to start to give students experience of the settings, regulations, and rules for formal externally assessed exams. Further information can be found here.  

Year 11 

In year 11 students sit mock examinations in November and pre-public examinations (PPE’s) in February / March. Most courses will complete delivery of the required content by February so in these mock exams, students they may not sit a full past paper. These mock examinations provide students with a mock grade (if applicable) and a predicted grade based on this assessment. Using this predicted grade, a progress grade is generated if a student is: 

• in line with their MEG, the student will be given a Progress Indicator of a ‘P’  
• is above their MEG, the student will be given a Progress Indicator of a ‘P+’ 
• is below their MEG, the student will be given a Progress Indicator of a ‘P-‘ 

Students take another round of assessments, their pre-public examinations (PPE’s), in February / March are more likely to sit a fuller suite of papers to give them a more accurate sense of what the full examination will be like. However, each subject area decides on their best assessment model for each cohort. Students will be issued another report of a similar nature of the first one as described above. The predicted grade given to students at this time is one that most likely reflets what they will achieve. 

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview on aspects that are the interconnected parts of being a learner. Whilst we maintain high expectations of academic aspiration, we also greatly value a student’s personal development as we provide them with opportunities to develop into good citizens. Our values of kindness, respect and dedication are ones which we feel are important not only in school but also in life. This report focusses on these values as they are used to support our Personal Development Programmes. Each student’s mentor selects a comment in three key areas:

1. Attendance & punctuality – these are significant factors that directly link not only progress and achievement but also to a student’s wellbeing. It is essential that all students maintain the minimum attendance requirement of 95% and above. There may be incidences in which a student has higher than the attendance range yet given a lower indicator. In these incidences, this may be due to their punctuality to school and / or lessons.  
2. School values & ethos – our core school values and rules are built upon the foundations of kindness, respect, and dedication. We believe that if students understand, develop, and demonstrate these values, they will have a greater chance to make good choices that will enable them to be successful. Further information can be found on our website here: Values and Ethos - Herne Bay High School 
3. PSHEE (Personal, social, health, economic education) – this statutory subject is now delivered every week in morning mentor times. Every student’s mentor sees them daily and they are the best placed person to deliver this subject as they get to know each young person. We place a high importance on PSHEE as it helps children and young people to stay healthy, safe, and prepared for life – and work – in modern Britain.