November 2018

On 3rd June 2019, the DfE publicly released the test materials from this year’s Key Stage 1 National Tests.

The test papers and mark schemes for all subjects can be found here:

On 30th May 2019 the DfE published data on the number of children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan or statement of special educational needs.

Summary

• As of January 2019, 354,000 children have EHC plans maintained by local authorities.
• The number of EHC plans has increased by 11% from 2018 to 2019.  34,2000 young people had EHC plans in 2018.
• Children aged 11-15 account for the largest percentage of young people with EHC plans (36%).
  

On 28th May 2019, the DfE publicly released the test materials from this year’s Key Stage 2 National Tests.

The test papers and mark schemes for all subjects can be found here:

On 14th May, the DfE published the new Ofsted framework which will apply from September 2019.  This framework sets out Ofsted's inspection principles and summarises the main judgements that inspectors make.

Summary of how the new framework will affect assessment

School's use of assessment

• To avoid the misuse or overuse of assessments, inspectors will evaluate how assessment is used in the school to support the teaching of the curriculum but not substantially increase teachers' workloads.
• Inspectors will look at whether schools' collections of attainment or progress data are proportionate , represent an efficient use of school resources, and are sustainable for staff.
• Schools using more than two or three data collection points a year should have clear reasoning for what interpretations and actions are informed by the frequency of collection.
• If a school's assessment system for data collection is disproportionate, ineffective or unsustainable for staff, inspectors will reflect this in their reporting.