Reporting And Assessment
The school also uses departmental subject assessments and early in S1pupils will sit Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs). The results of CATs will give the school a clear picture of each child's potential across all subjects, and will assist us as we set both Base (minimum) and Upper (challenging) targets for students as they enter the Senior Phase.
Assessment of pupils in S1 at Whitburn is very much part of the learning situation and the information gained from any assessment is used to help the teacher understand the pupil's needs, as well as to give feedback to the learner. Continuous, formative assessment is therefore very much a key part of the assessment process, supplemented by summative end-of-unit or end of year examinations.
At Whitburn Academy we are committed to closely tracking and monitoring each pupil's academic progress. To that end, the school is fully committed to continuously developing its approaches to Assessment is For Learning (AiFL), which focuses on sharing Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for each lesson with pupils, encouraging self- and peer-assessment, and with staff giving pupils written and oral feedback on a very regular basis. It is vital that pupils understand clearly what they have learned, what stage of development they are at in a particular subject, where they need to go, and how they should go about reaching their goals.
In S1, S2 and S3 parents will receive a Settling-In Review in December, October and November respectively. S1, S2 and S3 Reports follow in May, January and February respectively. Monitoring intensifies in S4, S5 and S6 with three Reviews and a Report during the academic year.
As part of our tracking and monitoring, we are developing our approaches to Assertive Mentoring in school. This is a system which uses frequent data collection via Reviews to establish if pupils are on target across all Curriculum Areas. Following each Review our Assertive Mentoring Coordinator (Ms Fowler), and her tracking and monitoring team, meet with pupils who are off track in order to set goals for the next Review. You as parent/carers will be kept fully informed of any successes and achievements, as well as how you can support your child in improving their performance. We may also ask you to attend meetings regarding progress from time to time.
The school is equally committed to assessing the development of each child's skills, as well as their academic progress. We evaluate pupils' use of - and improvement in - a range of skills from the moment they enter the Academy. Staff are regularly asked to comment on and to record pupils' skills progress, and the skills picture we build up is shared with parents during the session.
If you wish to consult staff about your child's progress, behaviour, attitude or any other matter, you are most welcome to contact the school at any time.
