Key Stage 3
Students will sit two standardised Data Collection assessments over the course of the academic year. These assessments will take place in class and will cover recent curriculum content and content from previous years.
The scores will be reported to parents as a percentage and will help to inform teacher’s planning and setting.
Students will also be assessed frequently by teachers using end of topic tests and a range of formative assessment strategies in class such as Mini Whiteboards and Digital Voting.
Parents and Carers can track student progress by looking at our Knowledge and Skills trackers that are available to view on My Child at School. Students are rated Red (R), Amber (A) or Green (G) for specific knowledge or skills that they have been taught.
| G | Levers are used to transmit a rotational force. |
| G | Extension of an elastic object is directly proportional to the force applied. |
| G | Describe the factors that affect the force of friction. |
| A | Calculate the rotational force of a lever. |
| G | Use the streamline practical to identify which object should move through the water quicker. |
| G | Calculate weight using mass and gravity. |
| A | Apply the speed equation. |
| G | Distance travelled by objects moving in a straight line can be represented by a distance-time graph. |
| A | Weight is affected by both mass and gravity. |
After each standardised Data Collection Assessment, parents and carers will receive a report on My Child at School which highlights student performance in specific units of study, as well as indicate the percentage achieved in the data collection assessment.
Parents will also be able to see how much students have progressed from their Key Stage 2 starting point. Gold indicates students are making better than expected progress, silver indicates students are making expected progress and bronze students are making below expected progress.
February 2027 Report: John Smith 9A
Attainment Summary
Unit Rating (Green, Amber or Red)
| G | Green - good understanding of knowledge and skills | A | Amber - partial or incomplete understanding of knowledge and skills | R | Red - poor or no understanding of knowledge and skills |
*Blank indicates that teaching and assessment of the unit is incomplete.
Progress Rating (Gold, Silver or Bronze)
| G | Better than expected progress | S | Expected progress | B | Below expected progress |
| Subject: | Art | Teacher: | Mrs Jones |
| Unit 1 - Cave art | G | Unit 2 - Native Austrailian art | G |
| Unit 3 - Medieval art 1 | A | Unit 4 - Medieval art 2 | R |
| Progress | S | DC1 assessment percentage | 56% |
Key Stage 4
For the first half of year 10, assessment is similar to that of Key Stage 3. Reporting is the same and there will be a standardised data collection assessment completed in class just after Christmas.
However, towards the end of year 10, students will sit a set of mock examination papers that we call the “Year 11 Entrance Exams”. These will be marked and results sent out to parents and carers in the form of a report containing the students results as GCSE grades alongside their target grade, On Track indicator and an effort grade.
April 2027 Report: Joe Bloggs 11S
Attainment Summary
| Subject | Target Grade | November Grade | April Grade | On Track | Effort | Teacher |
| English Language | 6 | 5 | 6 | O | 5 | Mr Smith |
| English Literature | 6 | 4 | 5 | B | 4 | Mr Smith |
| Maths | 5 | 6 | 7 | A | 3 | Miss Brown |
| Science Combined | 77 | 66 | 77 | O | 5 | Mrs Young |
Banding and Setting at Aspire
Key Stage 3
At Aspire, students are streamed (set) based on their Key Stage 2 data when they first arrive in Year 7. This applies to English, Maths, Science, French and the Humanities subjects. All other subjects are taught in mixed ability.
Year 7 sets are reviewed after CATS testing and baseline testing a few weeks after they have started.
Any subsequent set changes at Key Stage 3 will be made after each Data Collection assessment, with careful consideration taken with every decision. Performance in one assessment will not necessarily result in a set change.
Students are placed in parallel bands at Key Stage 3. Historically, we used x band (for higher achieving students) and y (band for lower achieving students) but these have been abolished.
To remove any stigma attached to set numbers, classes at Key Stage 3 are named after Blackpool landmarks such as 7WIN (after the Winter Gardens). These names are allocated at random and have replaced the traditional 7x1 or 7y3.
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4, students are also set based on robust assessment data.