Age Related Expectations
What are age-related expectations?
Age-related expectations in literacy, maths and other subjects are set in the national curriculum programme of study and attainment by the Department for Education (DfE). The national curriculum states what children should have learnt or be able to do by the end of the key stage.
The average child for that age and stage of their development should be able to meet these expectations.
The expectations are usually expressed as 'pupil can' statements.
How can children meet the age-related expectations?
The Department for Education (DfE) outlines what a child should learn or be able to do by the end of each key stage. This consists of a list of skills and knowledge for each core area of the curriculum (literacy, maths, science etc.). Children need to have a solid grasp and understanding of these skills and knowledge in order to reach the age-related expectations. The SATs have been designed to test these key areas.
In subjects where there are no SATs and teacher assessment is required, the DfE provides a list of objectives that children have to achieve in order to meet the age-related expectations.
What are age-related expectations used for?
Age-related expectations communicate how a child is learning and progressing regarding their age. Essentially, the expectations compare children to the national standard and assess whether they're on track with the rest of the children in the country.
Age-related expectations are used to communicate to parents whether their child is achieving the national average or not.
- Identify areas for support: Teachers use AREs to identify areas where students need help.
- Standardise learning: AREs ensure that students are achieving at a similar level, regardless of their location.
- Measure progress: AREs are used to measure a student's progress and indicate what end of year outcomes they are likely to achieve.
Age-related expectations in literacy and maths are measured in the KS1 SATs, which take place at the end of year 2 (these are optional to schools), and the KS2 SATs, which take place at the end of year 6. At Toddington St George's we have chosen to opt out of the KS1 SATs.
Assessment at Toddington St George's?
At Toddington St George's teacher use a range of assessments to determine whether children have met the age-related expectations for core subjects and foundation subjects.
Core subjects
At the end of each term we also use Rising Stars Progress in Reading Assessment (PIRA), Progress in Maths Assessment (PUMA) and Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Assessment (GAPS) national standardised assessments to support our assessment judgements. These form one piece of evidence which teachers use to secure progress and attainment judgements.
Foundation subjects
At Toddington St George's, over the course of the school year, children will tick off each of the learning objectives. However, there is some wiggle room if a child doesn't meet a couple of the objectives but is confident with the rest. A teacher may deem them as meeting the expectations in their assessment.
It is helpful for our children to be aware of the objectives they should be hitting. At Toddington St George's our teachers give children their own assessment sheet or checklist which features the expectations for their age group and allow children to mark the objectives off as they progress.
