Documenting children's early learning

Focus and context

Assessment FOR Learning

Assessment AS Learning

Assessment OF Learning

• Our classroom assessment involves high quality interactions, based on thoughtful questions, careful listening and reflective responses.
• Our pupils, staff and parents are clear about what is to be learned and what success would be like.
• Our pupils and staff are given feedback about the quality of their work and how to make it better.
• Our pupils and staff are fully involved in deciding next steps in their learning and identifying who can help.
• Our pupils and staff practise self and peer assessment.
• Our pupils and staff help to set their own learning goals.
• Our pupils and staff identify and reflect on their own evidence of learning.
• Staff use a range of evidence from day-to-day activities to check on pupils’ progress.
• Staff talk and work together to share standards in and across school.
• Staff use assessment information to monitor their establishment’s provision and progress, and to plan for improvement.

Pre-school (early level), Cross-curricular/disciplinary (The work of the group was concerned with enhancing assessment practice across all curriculum areas.)

Curriculum for Excellence themes

Successful learners are able to:

• think creatively and independently
• learn independently and as part of a group
• make reasoned evaluations
• link and apply different kinds of learning in new situations.

Confident individuals are able to:

• relate to others and manage themselves
• be self-aware
• develop and communicate their own beliefs and view of the world
• assess risk and take informed decisions
• achieve success in different areas of activity.

Responsible citizens are able to:

• make informed choices and decisions.

Effective contributors are able to:

• communicate in different ways and in different settings
• work in partnership and in teams
• take the initiative and lead
• apply critical thinking in new contexts
• create and develop
• solve problems.

Other links to Curriculm for Excellence

Principles for curriculum design: coherence, relevance

Contexts for learning: the ethos and life of the school

Published June 2009