Question about UW

[Guest]

Just a quick question about Understanding the World DM 40-60 months. Am I right in thinking there are only one or two statements for each aspect? Most of the children in our Yr R classes are emerging 40-60 months and I'm not sure how to show progress throughout the year with so few statements. Should I use the 30-60 months statements (although the learning journeys from their pre-school settings show they have achieved most of these) or should we start looking at the ELGs (which I thought were an end of year assessment)?

[AnonyMouse_7120]

Have you just been given a general band for all of UtW as I know most of ours that went into school were quite high with what is now the world and design and making (which isn't even in it now) but may have had a long way to go in ICT, or vice versa, or have they actually been assessed too to high by previous setting, when our staff moved the children still with us from old to new eyfs they just put them onto new tracker from where they were on old, which was actually to high in some of the revised areas so had to redo them, so this may have happened generally....with DM,s on old transition sheets being easier to meet than the DM,s they're being assessed against now and possibly not even in same area.....does that make sense ?

[Guest ChunkyMan]

I'd be looking at 30-50, 40-60 and ELG's. The profile is an end of year assessment not the ELG's. If they are working within the ELG's then they are working within the ELg's.

[AnonyMouse_3307]

I think the question is how securely do they demonstrate the skills across the 30 - 50/40 - 60 band independently and consistently. They may have demonstrated the skills in nursery but you want to see how they continue to demonstrate them as embedded skills, applied in a wide range of different contexts. You would also need to link acoss to other areas such as language and communication to see if their language skills are being judged at the same expectations as the language skills desribed in UW.

 

The reason for the dotted lines separating the age bands is to show that they are fluid and not fixed. It is also not a race to the finish and although some more able children will be attaining the ELGs well before the end of the academic year, others will plateau a bit whilst they consolidate their skills, knowledge and understanding.

 

Cx

[AnonyMouse_38881]

This is interesting!!

Our tracking and grids etc went to reception ( I work in the school nursery), but they then baseline as a 'blank canvas', so without having any regard for what our records and evidence show. In fact, I am fairly certain they don't even look at our stuff.

This is bothering me as we collect all the evidence to back up our assessments and the teacher I work with is amazingly through, so I am currently questioning why we spend so much time and energy on it all for no one to take any notice of it. We are led to believe Reception baseline has to be just what they see and evidence themselves, and from what I can see they have baselined too low in most things. Cynically I wonder if this is to show fab progress by the end of reception.

We have also found, like mouse63, that transeferring the children still with us was not as easy as expected!

[AnonyMouse_7120]

That makes me cynical to then madmum.

[AnonyMouse_3307]

so I am currently questioning why we spend so much time and energy on it all for no one to take any notice of it.

when I hear this, my response is generally that ultimately you don't do it for someone else, you do it for your children at that point in time so you can teach them accurately. Someone next may or may not use your summative assessment but it doesn't mean your time has been wasted if children got what they needed when they needed whilst your responsibilty.

 

Cx

[AnonyMouse_38881]

That's exactly how we look at it Catma! At (more or less!) any point we know exactly where each child is and where the gaps are, as well as what needs to be done next! Our Head is always impressed at how well we know each and every child so it is worthwhile and the time and hard work isn't wasted!

[Guest]

We really value the information we receive from pre-schools. Although we do our own obs/assessments it gives us a really good starting point. I always make a point of visiting the children before they start school and talking to their key workers (despite having 25 settings this time around!)

Thank you too Catma - that is very helpful. Although I appreciate the DM bands are fluid, we are under pressure in school to demonstrate progress throughout the year but your answer will give me some good ammunition!