STA Year 2 Update
The following update has been provided by the Standards and Testing Agency with regards to administering the phonics screening check to incoming year 2 pupils.
Information: administering the phonics screening check to incoming year 2 pupils
Cancellation of the phonics screening check in June 2020 means incoming year 2 pupils did not take the check in year 1. This means that under the existing arrangements, all year 2 pupils would have been required to take the statutory check in June 2021.
Our current proposal, subject to the necessary legislation being made, is that (for 2020/21 only) schools will administer a past version of the check to year 2 pupils during the second half of the 2020 autumn term. Year 2 pupils who meet the expected standard in the autumn check will not be required to complete any further statutory assessments in phonics. Year 2 pupils who do not meet the expected standard in the autumn check will be expected to take the statutory check in June 2021.
Our proposal is that:
· schools will have flexibility to decide when they administer the check within the second half of the 2020 autumn term
· schools can choose which version of the check they use from the past materials already published on GOV.UK
· schools will be required to report their year 2 pupils' check scores to their local authority and local authorities will then submit this data to the DfE (this will mirror the existing data collection process, in order to minimise change for schools and local authorities, and will take place in December 2020 and January 2021)
· the data will only be used to determine which year 2 pupils have not met the expected standard in phonics and are expected to take the statutory check in June 2021 (alongside year 1 pupils)
· the data from the autumn 2020 check will not be added to Analyse School Performance, but schools should use the assessment outcomes to help inform their own teaching and support to pupils
Incoming year 3 pupils, who were due to take the statutory check in June 2020 are not required to take the autumn check. Schools are expected to maintain a programme of support for these pupils, which should be informed by formative assessment.
Further guidance will be published in September 2020.
Information: implementation of the engagement model
The engagement model is the new assessment (replacing P scales 1 to 4) for pupils working below the standard of national curriculum assessments and not engaged in subject-specific study. We published the engagement model guidance in March 2020 and intended that it would become statutory from September 2020.
Following the disruption caused by coronavirus, we recognise that some schools may not have had the opportunity to engage with the guidance and training opportunities, and as a result may be less prepared to implement the engagement model. Therefore, the 2020/21 academic year will be a transitionary year (subject to the necessary legislation being made) where schools will have the time to prepare for, and start embedding, the engagement model by:
· identifying the relevant cohort of pupils
· using the engagement areas to observe and assess the level of engagement for individual pupils
· evaluating the curriculum
We will also use a flexible approach for the submission of teacher assessment outcomes at the end of key stages 1 and 2. Schools that have used the engagement model will be able to report against it, and schools that need more time to implement this change will continue to have the option to assess against P scales 1 to 4, for one final year.
We expect the engagement model to become statutory from September 2021.
Information about engagement model training events can be requested by contacting the lead in your region. Further guidance on the transitionary year will be published in September 2020.
Information: EYFS reforms
The government's response to the EYFS reforms consultation confirmed that the EYFS reforms early adopter year will be going ahead for primary and infant schools that choose to participate. All schools that had previously signed up to become early adopters were contacted on 6 July 2020 to confirm participation.
Schools that do not choose to be early adopters of the EYFS reforms, along with all other early years providers, must continue to follow the current 2017 EYFS framework in the 2020/21 academic year.
For further information on the EYFS early adopter year, please email EYFSReforms.EarlyAdopters@education.gov.uk. For general enquiries about the EYFS, please contact the DfE on 0370 000 2288 or at www.gov.uk/contact-dfe.
Reminder: reception baseline assessment early adopter year
The statutory introduction of the reception baseline assessment (RBA) has been postponed until September 2021. Instead, schools have the flexibility to opt into the RBA early adopter year in 2020/21. Details of how to register were emailed to schools on 25 June 2020.
For further information, please contact the RBA helpline on 0330 088 4171 or via email at receptionbaseline@nfer.ac.uk.
