What is the Teacher Assessment Framework for KS1?

Teacher assessment frameworks at the end of key stage 1 are for teachers to make statutory teacher assessment judgements for pupils at the end of year 2.

A school’s assessment policy forms the basis of a teacher’s judgements about what pupils know and can do. This will provide the evidence needed for teachers to make statutory judgements against the TA frameworks. These judgements are designed only to report an outcome to the Department for Education (DfE) at the end of the key stage.

Teacher assessment in primary schools is statutory and helps teachers and parents to understand what a pupil can do in relation to national expectations.  However, obviously pupils will have a wider range of knowledge and skills than those covered by statutory assessment. This may be evident through other forms of assessment that take place at school, which should also be reported to parents.

What should teachers assess in KS1?

• TA frameworks in English reading, English writing, mathematics and science – for pupils who have completed the KS1 programmes of study and are working at the standard of national curriculum assessments
• pre-key stage standards in English reading, English writing and mathematics – for pupils who are working below the standard of national curriculum assessments and are engaged in subject-specific study, or who have not completed the relevant programme of study
• the engagement model if a pupil is working below the standard of national curriculum assessments and is not yet engaged in subject-specific study

What are the KS1 Teacher Assessment Frameworks?

The Teacher Assessment Frameworks are used to help teachers assess children’s levels of knowledge and understanding at the end of key stage 1.

The frameworks contain a variety ‘pupil can’ statements to help teachers assess and collect evidence for. For reading, writing and maths, the frameworks contain 3 standards:

• working towards the expected standard
• working at the expected standard
• working at greater depth

For science, the KS1 science framework contains one standard: working at the expected standard.

A pupil who has completed the programme of study will be judged as either ‘working at the expected standard’ or ‘has not met the expected standard’.

What are the pupil can statements for KS1?

The pupil can statements are performance indicators and give a snapshot of a pupil’s attainment at the end of the key stage. Each statement describes what a pupil working at that standard should be able to do. Teachers should follow the specific guidance for each framework to reach their judgements about whether a pupil has met a standard.

Qualifiers are used in some statements to indicate the extent to which pupils demonstrate the required knowledge or skill. Where qualifiers are used, they have consistent meaning:

• ‘most’ indicates that the statement is generally met with only occasional errors
• ‘many’ indicates that the statement is met frequently but not yet consistently
• ‘some’ indicates that the knowledge or skill is starting to be acquired and is demonstrated correctly on occasion but is not yet consistent or frequent

Examples are also used in some of the statements to clarify the knowledge or skill required. These do not dictate the evidence required but show how that statement might be met.

Teachers should have a variety of evidence, which should come from day-to-day work in the classroom. The type of evidence may vary for different schools, classes and pupils. A pupil’s workbook will often have all the evidence a teacher needs but evidence might come from additional sources such as projects, classroom tests and assessments. The form of evidence supporting a teacher’s judgement is entirely up to the teacher, providing it meets the requirements of the frameworks.