[senco-forum] Monitoring pupil progress

  Hi Linda

  This is a longer reply than the one sent before - and it is also for Richard.

  You didn't say primary or secondary but I thought I'd reply anyway.  I wasn't going to post this on the Forum because I think I've got a very non-PC line on this.  I am fed up with people who don't have my level of workload telling me I should do more when I don't see that it improves what I deliver to pupils.  I do not believe in doing anything with or to kids which I don't have to and that includes doing tests they must 'fail' in order to prove something or other.

  If you haven't got a mass of paperwork you can pull out, you are probably doing what I do and monitoring using progress in other lessons.  My school is just developing a whole school monitoring system which uses IT (small secondary schoool) and I am going to use that.  Up to now, I've had to ask individual teachers and look at annual reports which say if pupils are 'on track' to achieve their target grades at the end of the Key Stage.

  I do evaluare 1-to-1 support.  I might do a test once in a while but I am much more likely to talk to the TA delivering that support about what is being achieved.  I also look in their books, talk to the kids and discuss things with parents.  You can't test for 'he gets up early and wants to come to school' can you.
  I don't evaluate TA support in lessons except by looking at overall progress.  
  Sounds a bit wishy-washy, doesn't it.  No nice graphs to display showing achievement in raising reading ages etc.  But kids do improve in my school, they do achieve in lessons and they do leave with what they need to transfer to a college course of their choice.

  I have done a major review of pupils at the end of Year 9 and Year 11 using SAT scores and KS4 scores so I can prove that the vast majority of  pupils either make acceptable progress or we know the reason why not.  It was very time consuming and I only did it so that I could see if we missed anyone.  We didn't.

  Please ask again - I really don't believe that you need to have reams of data or test kids unnecessarily to make sure they achieve.

  Amanda
  Secondary SENCO
  Cornwall

linda.lake at btinternet.com wrote:
  Please has any one got any advice for me about monitoring and evaluating intervention strategies --- Ofsted looming !!!

Amanda
Secondary SENCO
Cornwall

Amanda
Secondary SENCO
Cornwall