Reporting and Parents Evening Policies

Reporting and Parents Evening Policy-Full School 

Last reviewed: 1/12/19

To be reviewed: 31/8/2020

This policy is undergoing major review and a new policy will be implemented in due course

1. Introduction

At Cranleigh Abu Dhabi we are committed to providing the highest quality of education. A high standard of report writing is expected. Reports are formal documents which are an exercise of our accountability to parents and we are judged on them. The aim is to give up-to-date and accurate information about academic progress on throughout the year.

2. Reporting Cycle

Interim Reports from Y1 consist of an attainment grade/descriptor and an effort grade/descriptor for each subject. There is also a personalised comment written by the tutor or form teacher for all years. A graphical tracker is included for the asterisked reports for Prep and Senior.

End of Year Reports consist of attainment grades/descriptors, effort grades/descriptors, personalised comments by each teacher and a personalised comment written by the tutor. Each subject report includes a brief summary of the work covered during the year. Exam reports include exam percentages in the body of the report in addition to the above information.

3. Report Grades

September 2017 saw a change to our grading system across the whole school. This was due to the change to GCSE being phased in, which will ultimately see all letter grades replaced with numerical grades. The IB system has used numerical grades for many years, and it is expected that the same will be applied to A levels at some stage in the future.

Attainment grades for those studying at Common Entrance level and above reflect what a pupil would typically go on to get in the actual exam based on recent work.

E.g. a Year 7 pupil gets a “5” for a set of Interims. This means that his or her work since the last grades is typical of a pupil heading for a higher end C grade at Common Entrance. This is not a prediction as such because it is based only on a small snapshot of work.

Notes

In Years 1 to 4, grades link to the expected level as linked to the National Curriculum of England and Wales.

In Years 5 to 8, grades link to what might be achieved at Common Entrance (11+ or 13+ as applicable) based solely on the work during the period to which the grades refer (usually half a term).

In the Senior School, grades link to what might be achieved at (I)GCSE based solely on the work in the preceding period. (I)GCSE grades are due to change to numbers in the near future and, at that stage, we will change our grading system to match it.

Academic Progress during the year is shown on a tracking graph (asterisked reports). There is a uniform numerical scale behind the above attainment grades, which runs from Pre-Prep through to the Senior School. The graph shows clearly whether a pupil is above or below the minimum expected standard and the degree of progress since the last report. See Tracking Policy for more information on this.

The Publishing of Reports

Interims and Reports are published on the ISAMS Parents’ Portal. No report is to printed or emailed to a parent without permission from the relevant Head of School. 

Reporting and Parents Evening Policy-Pre-Prep School

Last reviewed: 20/11/19

To be reviewed: 31/8/2020

Pre-Prep Reporting Cycle

Subject grades are based on the objectives and skills attained, as detailed on the VLE here:              FS2      Year 1      Year 2

The full report at the end of the year has the following, for each subject:

• A brief summary of work covered.
• A written report summarising the year’s strengths, weaknesses and targets for next year.
• An attainment grade for the work covered since the last grades, depending on the year group as above.
• An effort grade for the work covered since the last grades, depending on the year group as above.

Reporting and Parents Evening Policy-Prep School

Last reviewed: 10/10/18

To be reviewed: 31/8/2020

This policy is undergoing major review and a new policy will be implemented in due course

Prep School Reporting Cycle

Tracker

* A tracker is released with asterisked reports and interims. Trackers have data and charts to show average effort, average attainment and progress

Details - Term 1

Meet the Tutor Evening (start of term)

This is for tutors to meet parents of tutees and to establish themselves as the first point of contact regarding academic, co-curricular and pastoral matters.

Interims (just before half-term)

Interims consist of an effort grade and an attainment grade for each subject. The tutor writes a highly personalised comment covering academic and co-curricular matters.

Parents’ Evening (second half of term)

Parents meet each teacher for a progress report and discussion of the way forward. Use the Interim grades as a basis for the discussion.

Interims (just before the end of term)

Exam Report (just before the end of term)

The Exam Report has a percentage, grade and very short comment for each subject. The exam position may be referred to in general terms (e.g. towards the top of the set or year) but is not quoted as a number.

Details - Term 2

Interims (just before half-term)

Parents’ Evening (second half of term)

Interims (just before the end of term)

Details - Term 3

Interims (just before half-term)

Full Reports (just before the end of term)

Full reports have, for each subject:

• A very brief summary of work covered.
• A written report summarising the year’s strengths, weaknesses and targets for next year.
• A written comment about the Term 3 (end of year) exam performance.
• An attainment grade for the work covered since the last grades (as for interims).
• An effort grade for the work covered since the last grades (as for interims).
• The exam percentage and grade.

The exam position may be referred to in general terms (e.g. towards the top of the set or year).

Attainment Grades (Interims and Reports)

These grades refer solely to the work since the last set of grades (so the preceding half term).

The grade given is the grade that a pupil at that age and level would typically go on to get at 11+ or Common Entrance based on their recent work. This is not a prediction (because it is based on a snapshot of work) and it is certainly not the grade a pupil would be expected to get if they sat these exams the next day.

Effort Grades (Interims and Reports)

In order that effort grades are applied consistently, it is important that the following criteria are observed. Effort is again based on the pupil’s efforts since the last reporting cycle. Effort grades are subjective. Good record keeping will help teachers bring more objectivity to this grade.

Reporting and Parents Evening Policy-Senior School Supplement

Last reviewed: 16/10/18 

To be reviewed: 31/8/2020

Senior School Reporting Cycle

Senior School Assessment Points - what is recorded in terms of the data?

Details

Meet the Tutor Evening (start of term)

This is for tutors to meet parents of tutees and to establish themselves as the first point of contact regarding academic, co-curricular and pastoral matters.

Parents’ Evenings

Parents meet each teacher for a progress report and discussion of the way forward.

Interims

Interims consist of an effort grade and an attainment grade for each subject. The tutor writes a personalised comment covering academic and co-curricular matters.

Trackers

Trackers have data and charts to show average effort, average attainment and progress trends

Full Reports

Full reports have, for each subject:

• A very brief summary of work covered during the year
• A written report summarising the year’s strengths and areas for improvement
• A written comment about the end of year exam performance
• An end of year exam grade
• An effort grade for the work covered since the last grades (as for interims)

The exam position may be referred to in general terms (e.g. towards the top of the set or year).

In addition there is a tutor's report and a housemaster's report.

Full reports form the basis of a transcript where the school is asked to provide one.

Attainment Grades

Years 9, 10 and 11

These grades refer solely to the work since the last set of grades (so the preceding half term) unless otherwise detailed above.

The grade given is the grade that a pupil at that age and level would typically go on to get at (I)GCSE in due course based on the recent work. This is not a prediction (because it is based on a snapshot of work) and it is certainly not the grade a pupil would be expected to get if they sat the (I)GCSE exam the next day.

Example

A pupil in Year 10 has covered a difficult topic since the last set of grades, and has done a number of assessments based on (I)GCSE standard exam questions. She has averaged a "6" in these.

The teacher knows that pupils getting this sort of score on this topic at this stage are generally "7" grade pupils overall come the actual (I)GCSE, and so should give a "7" grade for the Interims.

A "6" grade would not be correct, and nor would the grade the pupil might get if she sat her (I)GCSE the next day (which might be a "3" or a "2", for example).

Interim grades are subtly different to a prediction, because they are based on one chunk of work – a snapshot. A pupil who had scored a lot of "7" grades for Interims might have a poor half term and get a "4" for that work. This does not mean the pupil is predicted a "4". On the strength of all the "7" grades preceding it, an "7" grade is still looking like the likely exam outcome in due course. It just means that his or her most recent work looks more like a future "4" grade pupil’s, for whatever reason.

Years 12 and 13

Precisely as above, but for A level.