Stephen Kilgour, SEND Advisor and Outreach teacher for The Foundation Stage Forum and Tapestry
There is a lot of complex data in schools and trusts so I sympathise with those who are looking for information which is easy to understand and interpret. However, ease of use shouldn’t be the only pre-requisite for an assessment tool. We need monitoring systems that recognise the individuality of each child.
As a SEND education adviser and former deputy head of Cherry Garden, a school for children with complex learning differences, I’ve been trying to develop more progressive, child-centred approaches to assessment for some time. Our assessment systems should be like our learning environments - inclusive, responsive and adaptable.
There are some important things to consider if we’re to create child-centred processes that provide tangible benefits to everyone involved.
A continual process
Assessment is not just a tick-box exercise at the end of term or school year. It’s an ongoing process which starts when we first meet a child. Particularly in the earliest stages of education, we should seek to learn as much as we can about a child so that we can adjust our provision accordingly. What interests them? What makes them feel safe, happy and comfortable? And what makes them feel scared or unhappy?
For a child who has an identified Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) these initial assessments are particularly important for developing a clear understanding of the individual. It’s also crucial if a child comes from a different cultural background to the majority of their peers. In both these cases, children may not fit neatly into our typically narrow view of what teaching and learning needs to look like.
Family involvement
Child-centred assessment builds on this and recognises, and respects, the knowledge that parents and carers have about their child, and involves them. These discussions can help us to better understand the differences in every family – and crucially use this information to inform our provision so that we can create a sense of belonging for every child.
Establishing high quality communication channels early on gives us the best chance of creating genuine family partnerships. For children who have learning differences or disabilities, the likelihood is that they will be engaging with a range of professionals. It can be challenging to ensure that everyone is on the same page, so clear communication across the board is imperative for child-centred assessment.
Keep talking
Conversations and dialogue are also the key to moving away from a data-centric approach to assessment – particularly for children who have learning differences. Systems need to be in place whereby we can quickly identify if a child is struggling to access our provision or curriculum. Once this has been established we need to make appropriate adjustments so that every child has the best possible chance of making progress.
When we introduced a more child-centred approach to assessment at Cherry Garden School, we didn’t stop talking about children’s progress. We talked less about tracking scores but much more about each child’s learning and what needed to be tweaked to ensure they continued to make progress.
Child-centred assessment means less data, but as senior leaders we need to understand that this is about educators knowing more about their children. We need to trust their professional judgement, as well as drawing on the expertise of our peers, our children’s families, and other professionals who may be involved in supporting a child.
What is important is that our focus remains on the quality of our provision, and how responsive it is in meeting the needs of all children – if our provision is supportive and enabling, then children will progress and flourish.
The CST Blog welcomes perspectives from a diverse range of guest contributors. The opinions expressed in blogs are the views of the author(s), and should not be read as CST guidance or CST’s position.
