Statutory Assessment Moderation and Support

Services For Education works on behalf of Birmingham Local Authority to deliver the statutory duties regarding primary assessment.

In addition to undertaking moderation and monitoring services, we are in a perfect position to provide support, guidance and training for primary schools to best prepare for the requirements of statutory assessment in KS1 and KS2.

Our team of experts and STA Approved moderators can provide centre-based, in-school or cross MAT moderation to ensure all schools are secure in their teacher judgements and assessment procedures.

Meet our team of experts

Denise Harris - Adviser, Services For Education

Denise has enjoyed many years working as a qualified teacher in Birmingham. She has taught across the age range in schools, in an Education Action Zone, and in a Youth Offending Unit. As a local authority primary numeracy consultant, she has supported many schools to effectively develop their maths provision, and this continues through her management of the very successful 'Every Child Counts' mathematics interventions, developed and supported by Edge Hill University, and which are proven to have a significant impact, not only on underachieving and SEND pupils, but also on teacher and teaching assistant subject and pedagogical knowledge, classroom and whole school practice.

Nowadays, Denise successfully delivers the primary statutory assessment contract for moderation and monitoring on behalf of Birmingham LA. She has been instrumental in effectively managing the changes over time to the statutory assessment processes but does not lose sight of the need for schools and teachers to make use of ongoing formative assessment strategies as part of the teaching and learning process to monitor pupil progress. In her statutory role, Denise works closely with other moderation managers both locally and nationally to ensure a consistent understanding of national guidance and related requirements. She recruits, trains, and accredits both KS1 and KS2 pool moderators and utilises her knowledge and understanding of these processes to ensure, through her training offer, that schools are equipped to fulfil their statutory duty confidently.

Kirsty Jones - Head of School Support, Services For Education Kirsty's passion for education shines through her 20 years of dedicated experience in school leadership. From mainstream to special schools, and alternative provision settings, she has worked tirelessly with both disadvantaged children and high-attaining pupils. As a Director of Post 16, Whole School Teaching and Learning Lead, Curriculum and Assessment Lead, headships, and Executive Headship, Kirsty has always strived for excellence. In her role with Shaw Education Trust, which oversees 30 academies including two Institutes of Education, Kirsty has applied her expertise in special educational needs, supporting colleagues to drive positive change. As an Executive School Improvement Advisor for a Multi Academy Trust, she has been instrumental in improving pupil outcomes, from pupil premium to SEND attainment, and everything in between. Now, as the Head of School Support Service with SFE, Kirsty leads a team focused on providing specialist education solutions for schools nationwide. Her dedication to making a difference in education doesn't stop there - she has also contributed to important research on the impact of school mobile phone policies on children's mental health. With her extensive leadership experience in diverse settings, Kirsty is a trusted mentor for new school leaders, recognizing the challenges they face. Her commitment to supporting others in the education field goes beyond her professional roles, as she volunteers with a charity to provide guidance and support to those navigating the complexities of school leadership. Kirsty's journey in education is fuelled by a deep-rooted desire to make a positive impact on the lives of students and fellow educators. Her unwavering passion for creating a better future through education is truly inspiring.

Emma Mudge - Adviser, Services For Education

Emma has over 20 years of experience working in primary education. Throughout this time, she worked as a leader in a wide variety of areas, and as Assistant Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, and Acting Head Teacher, she has been at the forefront of school leadership and improvement for a significant number of years.

Emma now works as the Educational Adviser for English and is also a member of the Safeguarding team, sharing her experience and knowledge to continually promote and improve the quality of safeguarding, the standard of teaching and learning in English, and in school improvement overall. Supporting schools with the accuracy of their KS1 and KS2 writing assessments is an important part of her role as she can use her expertise as a member for the moderation team to inform, train and support teachers and school leaders.

Emma is also part of the team which delivers the Health For Life programme (improving the healthy opportunities for primary aged children) and the NPQSL, where she proudly supports the development of our aspiring leaders in the city.

Helen Grundy - Adviser, Services For Education

Helen's journey began in 1998 when she proudly graduated with a first-class honour’s degree in English and Education Studies. Her time studying in Amsterdam at the Hogeschool Holland added a TESOL element to her degree, opening her eyes to international approaches to education.

Her teaching career in Staffordshire saw her excel in various roles, from subject leadership to SENCo and SLT. Helen's passion and dedication led her to become a Leading Maths Teacher, supporting colleagues and ultimately transitioning into consultancy and advisory roles.

Joining Services For Education in 2015 as an Education Adviser, Helen's initial focus on Maths Advising quickly expanded to include managing the highly successful Health for Life in Primary Schools programme and overseeing ECT Induction. Her expertise is also sought after for delivering parts of the nationally recognised NPQ suite of qualifications.

Helen's journey is not just a career, but a testament to her unwavering commitment to education and the betterment of schools and students.

The end of KS1 assessments will no longer be statutory from the academic year 2023 to 2024 onwards. STA guidance for those schools who wish to continue to benchmark their pupils’ performance at end of KS1 is available here:

National curriculum assessments: optional key stage 1 tests

We know that schools, whether they use the national benchmarking materials or not, will continue to make teacher assessments to inform classroom practice and to understand pupil performance. This process often includes internal moderation and external moderation i.e., across MATs/Consortia and/or citywide centre-based moderation.

This may be conducted in-centre through STA accredited moderator led, peer moderation with schools from across the city or can be purchased on an individual or group consultancy basis by completion of an optional written agreement. Look out for further details of these opportunities or contact us via hello@servicesforeducation.co.uk to discuss.

Our School Support Service is commissioned to provide the management of the Statutory Assessment Duty on behalf of Birmingham Local Authority (LA).

This duty includes the delivery of this service to LA maintained schools. In addition, academy and free schools who are required to comply with the guidance as set out annually by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) should confirm a contract with ourselves annually.

Independent schools may also subscribe to this service if they choose to confirm a written agreement with Services For Education, on behalf of Birmingham Local Authority, and submit KS2 data directly to DfE through the Primary Assessment Gateway.

For more information or to subscribe please contact us.

At Services For Education, we also support schools to get prepared for statutory assessment.

We can support you to review and develop whole school assessment approaches in line with best practice in Assessment for Learning.

This includes developing the knowledge and awareness of staff members to ensure they are up to date and understand the implications of essential information, guidance, support and updates regarding statutory assessments.

Our approach is to bring together curriculum design, assessment without levels and recording of pupil attainment. Click on the images below to book onto the course.

Services For Education, School Support Service, work on behalf of Birmingham Local Authority to organise, manage and deliver statutory assessment duty for KS1 and KS2.

The local authority has a responsibility to conduct moderation of teacher judgements in at least 25% of its schools and settings each year and in at least 25% of those academies and free schools that choose Birmingham as their moderation provider.

Please follow this link for further information and application process.

The School Support Service offers continuity of service and access to specialist ongoing telephone and email support, training and guidance to schools concerning processes and procedures.

We work closely with STA to fulfil our statutory obligations including assessment planning, training and accreditation of moderators.

We also work closely with the LA Data and Intelligence Team to ensure the timely and accurate submission of school data and have a working relationship with the wider assessment community through subscription and regular liaison with both local and national members of the Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment (AAIA).

Below, you will find links to some important information for statutory assessment.

General

Primary assessments: future dates
Future dates for the key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests (commonly referred to as SATs), phonics screening check, multiplication tables check and reception baseline assessment.

Education and Attainment data
This page contains key information for schools around the collection and analysis of assessment data. It includes the local authority ‘deadlines’ poster and local guidance which compliments the statutory guidance published annually by the DfE.

Notification of KS2 Local Agreement – 2023-24
Whilst the STA guidance around the process of external moderation continues to state that schools are not required to submit data to the Local Authority in advance of a moderation visit, many schools have stated a preference to provide this in order to know the children whose work will be moderated the day before the visit, so that they can be organised when the moderator arrives. STA has stated that although this is not a statutory requirement, this can happen, but only by local agreement with each head teacher.

Reporting to parents at the end of key stages 1 and 2
Government guidance for schools on writing statutory end of year reports for parents.

EYFS

2023 reception baseline assessment: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
Information for assessing and reporting the reception baseline assessment (RBA) in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook
This handbook supports EYFS practitioners in making accurate judgements about each child’s attainment. This document will be updated for 2023-24.

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Return 2022 Guide
This document will be updated for 2023-24. This document explains the purpose of the early years foundation stage profile return and how local authorities and schools should submit data for 2022.

It includes:

which schools are in the scope of the collection
which pupils are in the scope of the collection
which data needs to be submitted
a data collection timetable
data reporting formats
recording and reporting options

KS1 and KS2

KS2 September checking exercise is now open
The Department for Education opened the 2023 KS2 September checking exercise on Monday 11 September 2023. Schools can now check their data for the academic year 2022 to 2023 and, if necessary, submit requests to remove pupils and amend KS1 results, subject to specified criteria.

National curriculum assessments: optional key stage 1 tests
Guidance for headteachers, teachers and test administrators involved in administering the optional national curriculum tests for key stage 1 (KS1).

Key Stage 1 Teacher Assessment Guidance
Guidance for schools choosing to administer KS1 tests and/or participating in optional moderation of key stage 1 (KS1) teacher assessment (TA) in 2024.

2023 Key Stage 1: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
Statutory guidance for assessing and reporting the national curriculum at key stage 1 (KS1) in the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

KS1 Tests: Access Arrangements
Guidance for schools about access arrangements available for pupils participating in optional 2024 KS1 national curriculum tests (awaiting guidance – KS1 tests will be non-statutory in 2024).

2024 Key Stage 2: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
Statutory guidance for assessing and reporting the national curriculum at key stage 2 (KS2) in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Key Stage 2 Teacher Assessment Guidance
Guidance for schools and local authorities involved in the administration and moderation of statutory key stage 2 (KS2) teacher assessment (TA) in 2024.

KS2 Tests: Access Arrangements
Guidance for schools about access arrangements available for pupils participating in 2024 KS2 national curriculum tests (awaiting updated guidance).

Key Stage 2 Tests: Varying the Test Timetable
Information about how headteachers, or someone with delegated authority, can reschedule the key stage 2 tests.

Key Stage 2: Guide to registering pupils for the tests
Information for primary schools on how to submit details of pupils who are eligible for key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests (commonly called SATs) (Expecting this to be updated for 2024).

Key stage 2: submitting teacher assessment data
Instructions for headteachers and local authorities about submitting key stage 2 teacher assessment data (expecting this to be updated for 2024).

2023 scaled scores at key stage 2

Scaled score conversion tables for schools and local authorities to use for the 2023 national curriculum tests.

2023 scaled scores at key stage 1
Scaled score conversion tables for schools and local authorities to use for the 2023 national curriculum tests.

Multiplication tables check: IT guidance
This guidance is to help schools prepare to administer the optional multiplication tables check in June 2021.

Information for Parents

The engagement model: information for parents
This leaflet contains information for parents about the engagement model teacher assessment tool.

Key stage 1 and 2 national curriculum tests: information for parents
Information leaflet and videos for parents about end of key stage assessments (often referred to as SATs) for 7 and 11 year olds.

For more information contact us here or call us on 0121 366 9950.