Year 7 Reports

Key Stage 3 Reporting

The Government requires all schools to develop an assessment system that no longer uses the National Curriculum Levels 1-8. The Cam Academy Trust has developed a new system comprising Levels 1-10 in our secondary schools. These new levels are called ‘CAT Levels’.

In consultation with other Trust schools and after seeking views from the Student Council, we have developed a coherent and exciting assessment system for our school. At Cambourne Village College we believe that assessment should be used as a means to enhance learning so that the student is able to receive feedback that informs them of how well they are currently doing and also informs them of what they could do in order to reach an even greater level of attainment. The very best place for a student to receive and respond to feedback is in the classroom.

Changes to our assessment system have provided us with an excellent opportunity to develop a clear and succinct reporting system that will focus on progress. All students will make progress over time as their academic skills develop and thus, we see an increase in their attainment over time. Moving our focus away from numeric attainment  levels allows our reporting system to focus on the fundamental information a student will want to know at the end of each term – “How well am I doing and what progress am I making?

Banding

We have developed a banding system that considers the ability of each student in each subject. We expect students in all bands to make the same amount of ‘good progress’ each term. If a student makes good progress, they remain within their allocated band. We have placed students into Base Bands using data from:

• Key Stage 2 tests
• Internal Year 7 baseline scores upon entry at Cambourne VC
• Past internal assessment scores (Year’s 8 and 9 only)
• Using statistical predictions of likely GCSE attainment from Fischer Family Trust 

Assemblies have been held with each year group to explain the new banding system and to emphasise the fact that students should not feel limited by their band. We will be encouraging students to go beyond their allocated band and to try to reach even greater levels of attainment.

Below is a table to show the final CAT Level we expect a student making good progress in each band to achieve at the end of Year 9 and also what GCSE grade we might expect them to get at the end of Year 11.  However, it is important to note that GCSEs are currently being reformed in terms of their content and grading system, and so these grades can only be indicative until we have more experience of the new systems. Current GCSE grades have been included in the table for your reference. 

CAT Band	End of Year 9 CAT Level/s	Likely GCSE Grades (Old scale)	Likely GCSE Grades (New scale)
Exceptional	9 or 10	A-A*	7-9
Advanced	8	B-A	6-7
Secure	7	C-B	5-6
Developing	6	D-C	4
Emerging	4 or 5	E-D	3-4

Reports

Term 1 and 2 reports will state which CAT Band a student has been allocated to in each subject.   A statement relating to progress in each subject will be given in each report.

Key Stage 3 Base CAT Bands	Explanation
Exceptional	Pupils placed in this band performed at a level well above the expected national standard.
Advanced	Pupils placed in this band performed at a level above the expected national standard.
Secure	Pupils placed in this band performed at a level consistent with the expected national standard.
Developing	Pupils placed in this band performed at a level below the expected national standard.
Emerging	Pupils placed in this band performed at a level well below the expected national standard.

 

Progress Statements	Explanation
Excellent Progress	The student is making excellent progress. They are either working at a level at the top of their band or they are now working at a level above their original band.
Good Progress	The student is making good progress and is working at a level consistent with their original band allocation.
Limited Progress	The student is not making the progress we would expect and is in danger of dropping to a lower band.
Cause for Concern	The student has not made the progress we would expect and is now working at a level below their original band.

For example:
Name: A. Student
Form: 7A

Subject	Base CAT Band	Current CAT Band	Progress
Maths	Secure	Secure	Excellent
English	Developing	Secure	Excellent
Geography	Developing	Developing	Good
Science	Developing	Emerging	Cause for Concern

Where progress is a ‘Cause for Concern’, teachers will be in contact with parents to discuss the issue and the intervention measures that are to be put in place in order to support the student so that he or she  can improve their progress quickly.

As well as reporting the above CAT Band and progress information, we will also report on your child’s:

• Classwork
• Organisation
• Homework
• Behaviour

Further Information and Enquiries

Further information about the College approach to assessment can be found by following this link: http://www.cambournevc.org/Policies and clicking on ‘Assessment Policy’.