Reporting and Feedback

At Desborough, assessments to develop learning take place in every lesson, and reshape learning and teaching as it provides regular and meaningful feedback both to the teacher and the student. This can be through various methods such as discussion, written work, and self/peer assessment or through testing. Teachers provide students with meaningful comments, which include clear targets for improvement which the pupil can act upon and also celebrate areas of strength or achievement.

Assessments used to measure progress fulfil a number of purposes, and prepare students for exams that they will sit in Key Stages 4 and 5. These are used to enable both teachers and students to identify next steps for learning.

During the academic year, we will communicate students’ progress in term 2,4 and 6.

Reading a Progress Report
We have included under each key stage below, details of the features found on a progress report. We hope this provides you with the information you need to have meaningful conversations at home about targets, progress and attitude.

Following a progress report, significant work will take place during tutor time, where students will be encouraged to take ownership of their learning journey by: reviewing their reports, reflecting on their performance, and responding by setting clear targets and planning their next steps to make progress.

If you would like to make contact with the school regarding a student’s report, please contact us at: [email protected] and your query will be directed to the most appropriate member of staff.

Key Stage 3

In an academic year you will receive three reports updating you on the progress your son is making across all subjects. You will also have an opportunity to discuss your son’s progress at a Parents’ Evening.

In Year 7 only, we also send home a ‘settling in review’ in the first term, in this review we will present our aspirational target setting process and distribute each student’s individually tailored report.

Our reports are an important tool in keeping you and your child informed of the progress being made at school. We believe that success is achieved when teachers and parents work in collaboration with students, reports are one tool we use to support this.

At KS3 the report will state whether your child is on track, below or above expected progress in each of his subjects, this is mapped against your child’s end of KS4 aspirational target. His learning behaviours will be portrayed via a letter A, B, C or D and this links to a set of behaviours. Each set of behaviours has a complimentary list of actions which can guide conversation and support your child to improve their learning behaviours.

Key Stage 4

All GCSE subjects are now graded 9-1, with ‘4’ considered a standard pass and ‘5’ considered a strong pass. Grades ‘7’, ‘8’ and ‘9’ are equivalent to the former A and A* grades.

Target Grade: your son’s target grade is a minimum expected grade which is based on the performance of the top 20% of students nationally, who have similar prior attainment. These can change each year as more ‘similar’ students complete their GCSEs.

Behaviour score/year group average: This shows the total number of behaviour points your son has achieved during the academic year so far, correct at the time the report was produced. For a more detailed breakdown of how points have been awarded, please see Class Charts. A year group average has also been included to help with your conversations at home.
Attendance: This is your son’s overall attendance figure, correct at the time the report was produced; you can find further details of any absences on Class Charts. If any attendance queries remain, please get in touch with our Attendance Officer, Mrs White, via the school office or at [email protected]

Working at grade (WAG): an indication of your son’s current performance and attainment in a subject, based on recent classwork, homework and assessments.

Effort: There is a strong relationship between effort and attainment and we have high expectations of our students in becoming independent, proactive learners. Your son’s general effort in lessons is awarded a number from 1 to 4. The criteria for the awarding of each number are detailed below:

1. Excellent

In lessons the student:

always has a positive and committed attitude to learning
demonstrates resilience and approaches learning with a growth mindset
is always engaged and always on task
participates fully in class discussions
works very well both collaboratively and independently
is proactive in seeking to improve his learning and make progress
takes initiative when responding to feedback on how to improve

2. Good

In lessons the student:

generally, has a positive and committed attitude to learning
usually demonstrates resilience and often approaches learning with a growth mindset
is nearly always fully engaged and never off task
participates constructively in class discussions
works well both collaboratively and independently
seeks to improve his learning and make progress
readily responds to feedback on how to improve

3. Insufficient

In lessons the student:

sometimes has a positive attitude to learning
sometimes lacks commitment and resilience
is sometimes off task
demonstrates limited participation in class discussions
sometimes does not work cooperatively with others
will improve work only when prompted by the teacher
shows some interest in making progress

4. Unacceptable

In lessons the student:

is too frequently lacking commitment to his learning
demonstrates little resilience and sometimes his mindset is negative
is often off-task and disengaged
participates too little in discussions
too frequently does not work cooperatively with others
shows little interest in making progress
is reluctant to respond to feedback and improve work

Key Stage 5

At Key Stage 5 grades revert to A*-U. To work out how many UCAS points (a university entry tariff used by some universities) a grade is worth, please visit: https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator

In an academic year, you will receive three progress reports updating you on the progress your son/daughter is making across all subjects. You will also have two opportunities to discuss progress at a Parents’ Evening.

Target Grade: This is a minimum expected grade based on average GCSE performance. To achieve this grade, students need to match the performance of students in the top 25% nationally.

Behaviour score/year group average: This shows the total number of behaviour points your son/daughter has achieved during the academic year so far, correct at the time the report was produced. For a more detailed breakdown of how points have been awarded, please see Class Charts. A year group average has also been included to help with your conversations at home.

Attendance: This is your son/daughter’s overall attendance figure, correct at the time the report was produced; you can find further details of any absences on Class Charts. If any attendance queries remain, please get in touch with our Attendance Officer, Mrs White, via the school office or at [email protected]

*Please note that guest students, studying with us in the consortium, will not have attendance or behaviour data recorded on their Progress Report.

Working at grade (WAG): an indication of a student’s current performance and attainment in a subject, based on recent classwork, homework and assessments.

Effort: There is a strong relationship between effort and attainment and we have high expectations of our students in becoming independent, proactive learners. Your son/daughter’s general effort in lessons is awarded a number from 1 to 4. The criteria for the awarding of each number are detailed below:

1. Excellent

In lessons the student:

always has a positive and committed attitude to learning
demonstrates resilience and approaches learning with a growth mindset
is always engaged and always on task
participates fully in class discussions
works very well both collaboratively and independently
is proactive in seeking to improve his learning and make progress
takes initiative when responding to feedback on how to improve

2. Good

In lessons the student:

generally, has a positive and committed attitude to learning
usually demonstrates resilience and often approaches learning with a growth mindset
is nearly always fully engaged and never off task
participates constructively in class discussions
works well both collaboratively and independently
seeks to improve his learning and make progress
readily responds to feedback on how to improve

3. Insufficient

In lessons the student:

sometimes has a positive attitude to learning
sometimes lacks commitment and resilience
is sometimes off task
demonstrates limited participation in class discussions
sometimes does not work cooperatively with others
will improve work only when prompted by the teacher
shows some interest in making progress

4. Unacceptable

In lessons the student:

is too frequently lacking commitment to his learning
demonstrates little resilience and sometimes his mindset is negative
is often off-task and disengaged
participates too little in discussions
too frequently does not work cooperatively with others
shows little interest in making progress
is reluctant to respond to feedback and improve work

Vocational COurses

Your son/daughter may be studying vocational courses alongside their GCSEs or A-Levels. There are a number of different types of vocational courses on offer at Desborough, each having their own grading system. We have outlined below the grading systems used on these courses.

BTEC Award (Level 2)

D*2 Level 2 Distinction *
D2 Level 2 Distinction
M2 Level 2 Merit
P2 Level 2 Pass
P1 Level 1 Pass

VCert (Level 2)

D*2 Level 2 Distinction *
D2 Level 2 Distinction
M2 Level 2 Merit
P2 Level 2 Pass

BTEC National Extended Certificate (Level 3)

D *Level 3 Distinction
D Level 3 Distinction
M Level 3 Merit
P Level 3 Pass

For vocational courses we ask teachers to fine grade their WAGs and PGs based on very clear and simple criteria, where each grade is split into three parts. This then allows us to track attainment, predict performance and offer additional support, which is more closely tailored to the needs and progress of the student.

Fine grading

1 Mastered
2 Secure
3 Developing

Reporting and Feedback

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