Maximising Progress - Ensuring the Attainment of Pupils With SEN - Part 1 2004

7/28/2019 Maximising Progress - Ensuring the Attainment of Pupils With SEN - Part 1 2004

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Guidance

Curriculum and

Standards

Guidance for

SENCOs, school

strategy managers

and inclusion

managers

Status: Recommended

Date of issue: 11-2004

Ref: DfES 1040-2004 G

Part1:Using

data

targe

tsetting

and

targetgettin

g

Maximising progress:

ensuring the attainment

of pupils with SEN

Promoting inclusion and tackling underperformance


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Disclaimer

The Department for Education and SkilIs wishes to makeclear that the Department and its agents accept noresponsibility for the actual content of any materialssuggested as information sources in this document,whether these are in the form of printed publications oron a website.

In these materials icons, logos, software products andwebsites are used for contextual and practical reasons.Their use should not be interpreted as an endorsementof particular companies or their products.

The websites referred to in these materials existed at the

time of going to print. Tutors should check all websitereferences carefully to see if they have changed andsubstitute other references where appropriate.


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Part 1:

Using data target setting

and target getting

Promoting inclusion and tackling underperformance


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Maximising progress: ensuring theattainment of pupils with SEN

The materials and how you might use themThese materials are designed to maximise the attainment of the growing number of

pupils with special education needs and disability within mainstream secondary

schools who are working within national expectations but currently under-attaining.

However, the guidance will also help you to reflect on the progress of all pupils in

your school are identified as having SEN. The materials are intended to help

SENCOs align their work with other learning and teaching initiatives from the

Strategy aimed at raising attainment for all pupils across the school. They aim to

ensure that SENCOs are fully conversant with the Strategys approaches to learning

and teaching as part of whole-school improvement.

The SENCO is in a key position to identify the barriers to progress and challenges

faced by identified pupils and to guide the work of departments in addressing

these. Overall, the guidance consists of a file containing three booklets, a CD-ROM

and a key messages leaflet based on the following.

Part 1: Using data: target setting and target getting

Part 2: Approaches to learning and teaching in the mainstream classroom

Part 3: Managing the learning process for pupils with SEN

How touse these materials

Although these are guidance materials you may wish to adapt them for training

purposes or as PowerPoint slides or handouts for CPD. Tasks and reflection boxes

can also be adapted to create activities for training purposes. Some of the key

aspects of the three parts of the guidance will be available on the CD-ROM

accompanying the final pack of materials.

You might choose to work with the materials in the following ways.

Within the LEA

The three booklets could provide material for the equivalent of a whole days

training for SENCOs. This could be jointly delivered within LEAs by SEN

advisers, consultants or Strategy managers. This would ensure consistency of

messages about approaches to learning and teaching and raising attainment

across the school.

All or part of the materials can be used with governors who have responsibility

for pupils with SEN. Governors may be in a better position to consider

underperformance, value for money and the need for higher expectations for all

pupils with SEN.

1 l Key Stage 3 National Strategy l Maximising progress: ensuring the attainment of pupils with SEN Crown copyright 2004

DfES 1040-2004 G


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Alternatively, the LEA SEN adviser and consultants may choose to use the

material to support a group of school SENCOs across a number of meetings.

ASTs (advanced skills teachers) might also be involved. This would allow

colleagues to establish and follow up the activities between sessions in their

own schools and would provide powerful opportunities to share good practice.

Within a school cluster

The materials might be used by SENCOs and inclusion managers to support aseries of separate twilight sessions for a cluster of schools where subject

leaders, SENCOs and inclusion managers are focusing on underperforming

pupils, for example, a LIG collaborative.

Within your school

The materials could contribute to a whole-school INSET day where inclusion

issues, targeting intervention or raising the attainment of particular groups of

pupils are a major feature. SENCOs might share in using the materials, together

with the school strategy manager and/or inclusion manager, to provide training

for their colleagues across the school community. Each booklet would provide

material for a session lasting approximately 75 minutes so that the materialscould be used to provide three separate twilight sessions.

The materials could be used by the SENCO with a SEN faculty or department

as part of auditing, action planning and CPD.

NB:Although the materials are designed for SENCOs in mainstream secondary

schools, you may wish to invite and involve key staff from local special schools

and LEA services who will have a specific contribution to make to discussion. This

would work particularly well when schools or units are working together to integrate

pupils or where there is specific expertise to share.


DfES 1040-2004 G


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Part 1: Using data target settingand target getting

ContentsIntroduction 3

1 Using data 12

2 Target setting 16

3 Target getting 25

Introduction and rationale

The materials are intended to:

update SENCOs with key messages from recent materials produced by

the Strategy;

enable SENCOs to enhance rates of progress made by pupils with SEN

through:

aligning support that is provided in subject departments;

monitoring and tracking the progression of pupils with SEN to ensure

sufficient challenge and appropriate support;

focusing particularly on monitoring the progress across the key stages of all

those pupils on the SEN register who are working within national

expectations and who enter Key Stage 3 at levels 3 and 4 in core subjects.

SENCOs and subject leaders are key players in maximising the learning and

attainment opportunities for pupils with SEN now included within mainstream

secondary schools. The Strategy has been working to raise standards and to

ensure better progress for all pupils in the first three years of secondary school.

This is seen as essential in:

providing a smooth transition and bridging from the pedagogical approaches at

Key Stage 2 and maximising learning and achievements made;

ensuring access for all pupils to a broad and balanced curriculum; ensuring that pupils are prepared for, and have the best possible chance of

achieving, good grades at the end of Key Stage 4.

Some groups of pupils are making considerably less progress than others.

The Strategy sets out to ensure that Strategy messages reach all teachers and

school managers to ensure the meaningful inclusion of all underperforming and

low-attaining groups of pupils, including those with SEN.


Introduction and rationale DfES 1040-2004 G


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The need to enhance the progress of pupils with SEN

Expectations of the success that pupils with SEN can have, remain at the heart

of the matter. Many of those in mainstream schools could do better, provided

that the curriculum, teaching and other support were better adapted to their

needs and greater rigour was applied to setting and pursuing targets for

achievement. Until more is expected from the lowest-attaining pupils,improvement in provision for pupils with SEN and in the standards they reach will

continue to be slow.

SEN and disability: towards inclusive schools Ofsted 2004

Analysis of the 2003 results shows us that far fewer pupils with SEN (with and

without statements) make one level of progress than their peers. Some worrying

statistics emerge. Among 2003 pupils, the national figures for pupils attaining level

5+ were: English 69%; mathematics 71%; science 68%, but

Only 10% of pupils with statements reach the expected level (5+) in English atKey Stage 3; 13% in mathematics and 16% in science.

Of pupils at School Action and School Action Plus, 27% reach the expected

level in English.

Approximately a third fewer pupils with statements of SEN who enter

secondary school at level 4 make one level of progress in English and

mathematics compared with their peers. In science this drops to 50%.

In science over a quarter of pupils with SEN statements who enter secondary

school at level 5 do not achieve level 5+ at the end of Key Stage 3.

A fifth of non-statemented pupils with SEN who enter Key Stage 3 with level 5

do not maintain progress to achieve a level 5 in science at the end of the key

stage.

In science only 50% of all pupils with statements make one level of progress.

Few schools evaluate their provision for pupils with SEN systematically so that

they can establish how effective the provision is and whether it represents value

for money. The availability and use of data on outcomes for pupils with SEN

continue to be limited.





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Task 1

Helping pupils maximise learning

All pupils, including those with SEN, respond to a positive learning environment

where there are high expectations through:

a belief in what may be possible;

a view of ability as flexible, not fixed.

Inclusion and pupils with SEN

The inclusion framework .... contributed to a gradually and unevenly growing

appreciation in mainstream schools about the potential benefits of the inclusion

of pupils with SEN.


Inclusion in the Strategy:

is not synonymous with pupils with SEN or disability;

is about valuing diversity and showing respect for all individuals;

refers to all groups of underperforming pupils;

promotes equity and entitlement rather than just equal opportunity;

is a collective whole-school responsibility;

requires effective tracking and monitoring of the progress of all pupils (and use

of that information to inform learning and teaching and plan appropriate

intervention);

goes beyond social inclusion to including all pupils by holding them into thelearning occurring in the lesson;

requires individual teachers to think carefully about lesson design to ensure that

barriers to learning are removed.

Inclusion concerns all groups of pupils who may be underperforming because their

personalised learning needs are not being met. Schools have been asked to

specify the interventions they have planned to help targeted pupils bridge their

learning gaps. Audits carried out by subject leaders or monitoring by senior

managers or subject leaders should identify and define these groups of pupils.

Defining inclusion

What does educational inclusion mean to you? Working with a colleague, come

up with a definition of inclusion. Find another pair and share your definition.

Negotiate or rewrite a shared definition.

The Strategy uses a definition of inclusion that encompasses pupils with SEN within

a broader context of the inclusion of all pupils. It aligns with Ofsteds view:




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An educationally inclusive school is one in which the teaching and learning,

achievements, attitudes and well-being of every young person matter.

... the most effective schools do not take educational inclusion for granted. They

constantly monitor and evaluate the progress each pupil makes They take

practical steps in the classroom and beyond to meet pupils needs effectively

and they promote tolerance and understanding in a diverse society.

Evaluating educational inclusion, Guidance for inspectors and schools

Ofsted (2000)

Legislation (Education Act 1996) and guidance (SEN Code of Practice 2001 and

Inclusive Schooling for Children with SEN 2001) with regard to pupils with SEN are

commonly referred to as the inclusion framework and have now been in place for

two years.

The 2001 SEN Code put a greater emphasis on learning outcomes for pupils than

on the statutory procedures and paperwork. It set out five principles that:

children with SEN should have their needs met;

their needs will normally be met in mainstream schools;

the views of children should be sought and taken into account;

parents have a vital role to play in supporting their childrens education;

children with SEN should be offered full access to a broad, balanced and

relevant curriculum in the Foundation Stage and in later years.

This was reiterated in the National Curriculum 2000 inclusion statement which set a

national requirement for all teachers.

A recent Ofsted report Special educational needs and disability: towards inclusive

schools 2004 sought to assess the extent to which the vision of inclusion is

becoming a reality in schools. It also sought to make recommendations to support

the governments recent published strategy for SEN Removing Barriers to

achievement (DfES 2004) which has taken further the principles enunciated in the

previous legislation.

Inclusive teaching

A minority of mainstream schools meet special needs very well and others arebecoming better at doing so. High expectations, effective whole-school planning

seen through by committed managers, close attention on the part of skilled

teachers and support staff and rigorous evaluation remain the keys to effective

practice.





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The broader definition of inclusion within the Strategy has, at its heart, the criteria

set by QCA that established a statutory obligation for all teachers in National

Curriculum 2000 with three principles of inclusion:

setting suitable learning challenges;

responding to pupils diverse learning needs;

overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for

individuals and groups of pupils.

In terms of the Strategy, these are addressed through three major elements of

lesson design that teachers need to balance in order to ensure real inclusion in

learning for all pupils.

Promoting effective learning opportunities for all pupils

How these elements might be translated into action in the classroom is

summarised on the following chart.



Setting ...

Responding ...Overcoming ...

Learning objectives

Teaching stylesAccess

Inclusio


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effective use of additional adults

guided group work matched to learning needs

using well-matched resources

using response partners for oral rehearsal and thinking

out loud

Key elements of inclusive teaching Can be achieved through:

Learning objectives

Establishing learning objectives and

learning outcomes that help pupilsknow what they have to do to

succeed and how to do it

Reflecting objectives in the plenary

Teaching styles

Selecting an appropriate pedagogy

and strategies for the lesson

Using assessment for learning to

establish starting points for pupils,build on their prior learning and

experiences and to ensure progression

Access

Organising classes and groupings

Targeting additional intervention to

support learning

Establishing good communication

systems that inform all teachers of

specialist resources

maintaining high expectations

planning and teaching key objectives from Key Stage 3

Frameworks and QCA schemes of work

sharing objectives and learning outcomes with pupils

promoting self-assessment for learning

setting challenging and achievable targets

using varied teaching strategies to address and

accommodate pupils different learning styles

using a teaching sequence to scaffold the learning

promoting independent learning

modelling specific subject skills and reading, writing,speaking and listening explicitly

targeting questions (then waiting for answers, prompting)

engaging and motivating pupils through interesting tasks

well-paced teaching

encouraging reflection

guided teaching within a small group focusing on

specific pupil targets

Key elements of inclusion: raising pupils performance

Inclusive teachers:

Plan lessons carefully so that all pupils:

are able to participate;

access the key learning at their own level;

take some new learning away with them.


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Task 2 Inclusive lessons

Try to observe a lesson as part of your monitoring of the teaching of pupils with

SEN in your school. If possible, choose a lesson without additional support.

(The section in part 2 on effective use of additional adults will focus on observing

the role of teaching assistants.) Use the chart above to consider how the teacher

includes the pupils with SEN in the lesson. Focus particularly on the following

questions.

Are clear expectations set?

Are pupils clear about what is to be learned and what they are expected to

achieve?

How actively engaged are pupils in the learning?

What strategies does the teacher use to ensure this?

How are pupils with SEN seated and grouped for specific purposes?

How successfully are questions pitched for these pupils?

How are objectives and learning outcomes followed up in the final plenary?

Are the pupils with SEN clear about their targets and next steps in their

learning?

Reflection

How well included do you feel the pupils with SEN were during this lesson?

What additional strategies are required? How might you support the teacher in

developing more inclusive teaching strategies?

Ensuring progress

Taking all the steps needed to enable pupils with SEN to participate fully in the

life of the school and achieve their potential remains a significant challenge for

many schools. Expectations of achievement are often not well enough defined

and pitched high enough. Progress in learning remains slower than it should be

for a significant number of pupils.


The role of the Key Stage 3 Strategy

A major focus of work in English, mathematics, science and ICT for 2004/5 is to

target the learning and teaching of pupils who may make less than the expected

progress during the key stage. Colleagues in the core subjects have focused

training upon increasing pupils rates of progress across the key stage and

particularly upon more pupils get from level 3 to level 5.



See How to get more

pupils from Level 3 to 5

and Increasing rates of

progress in English,

mathematics, science

and ICT website

references

(www.standards.dfes.

gov.uk)


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Task 3 Increasing pupils rates of progress

Ask your school strategy manager or subject leaders about the impact of the

2004/5 training Increasing pupils rates of progress (autumn 2004) in your school.

Try to get hold of the key message leaflets for English, mathematics and science

which summarise the main messages. It will also be helpful to see key messages

from the related training materials on How to get more pupils from level 3 to

level 5 Part 1 (summer 2004 and Part 2 (spring 2005).

Reflection

How do you track and monitor the rates of progress of pupils with SEN?

What are your systems for doing this?

How do they fit within whole systems at your school?

How does your work as SENCO align with the work of departments in

identifying those pupils whose rates of progress are causing concern?

How do you ensure that targeted intervention offered is appropriate to the

learning needs of pupils with SEN and effective in ensuring the intended

progress?

While there may be very good reasons why many pupils with SEN do not make

progress at the same rate expected of their peers, there is an expectation that the

majority of those pupils on your school SEN records entering the key stage with

levels 3 or 4 in core subjects should make at least one level of progress across the

three years of Key Stage 3.

Currently, there is inconsistency nationally in the ways in which schools and LEAs

define pupils as having SEN. There are wide variations in the numbers of pupils

recorded by school SENCOs as those at School Action and School Action Plus.

This can be identified through data analysis. Many of these pupils, though by no

means all, fall within the lowest-attaining groups.

SEN provision is about additional or different intervention and the use of individual

education plans (IEPs) is only one method by which the school can plan and record

the actions taken. They are not statutory and will not be necessary if school

systems plan to track and monitor the individual progress of all pupils.

A recent Ofsted report suggests that, if all pupils were included in the classroomand curriculum targets were set for them, then IEPs would not be needed for most

pupils with learning difficulties. This would be a result of successful inclusive

teaching that is designed to incorporate and meet a range of learning needs within

the mainstream classroom. It would also cut down duplication and unnecessary

paperwork.

Where pupils have IEPs, targets are often generic and related to personal

development, social or behaviour needs which are not always directly linked to

learning attainment or to sufficient external challenge. A key part of the process of

maximising attainment for pupils with SEN is the essential dialogue between

SENCOs, subject leaders and teachers so that objectives become meaningfullyfocused on cross-curricular or subject-specific learning linked to pupils needs.




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In the most effective inclusive schools, expectations are high for all pupils. Staff see

little tension between meeting their targets to raise standards generally and in

including pupils with SEN and lower-attaining pupils generally. They are keen to

improve the provision they make for all low or below average attainers. They can

clearly see that the considerations and planning required to ensure successful

inclusive teaching equally benefit the learning and teaching of other pupils.




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DfES data School A

2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003

cohort English maths science average value VA

size level level level points added cover

5+ 5+ 5+ 5+

235 94% 94% 97% 40.6 101.3 97%

1 Using data

Effective use of data

The SENCO, along with other subject leaders, has a key role to play in judgingstandards of pupil performance in order to raise expectations and bring about

improvement. Schools and LEAs have a range of pupil performance data available.

Effective analysis of this data can have a direct impact in the classroom on learning

and teaching. An awareness and use of a range of available attainment and

progress data builds a rounded picture of performance and establishes links

between attainment and curriculum targets.

What pupil performance data is available?

DfES data

The DfES produces sets of data that include results at level 5+, the cohort size,

year targets for each subject, difference across subjects and changes in each

subject across years.

Average point scores are calculated using the autumn package points system to

equate each level to a number of points. This data does not take account of the

context of the school.

Progress data

The 2007 national targets are based on 100% of pupils who attained level 4+

gaining one level of progress, that is level 5+ at Key Stage 3, and 40% of pupilswho attained a level 3 at Key Stage 2 gaining a level 5+ at Key Stage 3. This is

commonly referred to as conversion data. This analysis uses pupil-matched data to

show the percentage of pupils progressing from level 3 or 4 in a subject at Key

Stage 2 to a Key Stage 3 level 5+ in the same subject.


Unit 1: Using data DfES 1040-2004 G


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Current national performance patterns include pupils not making even one level of

progress in Key Stage 3. Some LEAs have an agreement with schools that all

pupils will be expected to make at least one level of progress. For some, this

expectation may be at least 1.25 or 1.3 levels of progress across the key stage.

Other LEAs work with point score figures.

The Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT)

The Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT) is a powerful tool for in-depth analysis and for

setting school targets. It enables schools to make the most of the attainment data

they hold about each pupil. Using software like PAT can make a significant

difference to the efficiency and effectiveness of a schools approach to tackling

underperformance. It does much of the routine administrative work involved in data

processing and target setting, leaving school leaders and teachers to think about

the implications for learning and teaching.

PAT draws from the huge national pupil database which includes all the PLASC

characteristics. It is possible to enter your own categories of data into PAT for

different pupil groups at your school, for example, pupils who have attended

additional Year 9 booster lessons or those in Year 7 who have Reading Challenge

mentors. Similarly, you could add the names of pupils with SEN. This will need

regular updating by your schools data manager but will enable you to interrogate

and cut the data in different ways.

From January 2004, PLASC included collection of SEN data for the first time, using

the four broad areas of need set out in the SEN Code of Practice, subdivided into

the twelve categories used by Ofsted.

Progress data School A

% level 5+ Difference from

best subject

English 94 3

235 mathematics 94 3

pupils science 97 0

Conversion level 3 to 5+ Conversion level 4 to 5+

Pupils with % Group Pupils with % Group

Key Stage 2 level 3 (1 to 7) Key Stage 2 level 4 (1 to 7)

level 3 to 5+ level 4 to 5+

4 0 7 78 89.7 2

6 33.3 3 96 93.8 2

0 73 91.8 1


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Task 4 Data analysis

Use the pupil performance data used by subject leaders in your school and

check the extent of underperformance of pupils in Year 9 who entered your

school with a level 3 or 4 at Key Stage 2.

Depending on what you have found out, formulate an action plan to analyse thecurrent pupil cohorts, starting with the current Year 9, and identify individuals

with SEN who are at risk of not making ONE level of progress. Identify their

individual and particular barriers to learning.

Do the same for pupils in Year 7 and Year 8.

You may want to work with subject leaders or Key Stage 3 coordinators on this

task or ask them to provide you with a list of those pupils at risk. Work together

to coordinate support and intervention and to monitor these pupils closely.

Write down three points for action to improve the management of data in relation

to pupils with SEN. What assistance, within school, from the LEA or fromexternal experts is required to support this task?

Maximising progress for pupils with SEN, as for all other pupils, requires a clear

picture of individual learning strengths, weaknesses and levels of independence. In

addition to using data, schools use a variety of means to build up this picture,

including information from an analysis of scripts, work sampling, day-to-day

marking, classroom observation and pupil self-assessment as well as national and

standardised tests of different kinds.

The point of gathering all this information is to identify clearly the next steps inlearning for pupils. The key to moving pupils forward and assuring maximum

progress is to build on strengths so that they do not stand still and to target

weaknesses so that gaps in knowledge, skills and understanding are prevented

from becoming serious obstacles to progress with the resulting loss of self-esteem

and confidence.

School management teams, including SENCOs and subject leaders, must together

establish:

what information most helps teachers track their pupils progress;

how best to collect and analyse that information;

how to use the analysis to evaluate and adjust teaching and lesson design to

meet individual needs.


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Task 5 Features of effective monitoring and tracking

How well do you feel that the systems in your school do the following?

Pupils progress is closely monitored and tracked across time and subjects.

Initial assessment of pupils underperformance is early, rapid and accurate.

Pupils are actively involved in setting their own targets.

Data collected is shared with pupils and all staff involved in teaching the pupils.

Pupil achievement is bench-marked against local and national data.

Resulting information informs both lesson design and planned intervention on

a regular basis.

Parents are informed and involved in order to support pupils achievements.

As a school, what are your strongest features? Where do you think there is room

for improvement? Try to discuss this with your Strategy manager or with

colleagues at senior management meetings, or governors linked to SEN.

Reflection

Reflect on your own system for tracking pupil progress within each year of Key

Stage 3 and what information is currently available.

What could be done to improve the management and use of data within your

school?

Fischer Family Trust data

This is a more sophisticated model where an estimate or prediction is made of the

expected Key Stage 3 or 4 result for individual pupils. It takes account of pupils prior

attainment in both test and teacher assessment for all three Key Stage 2 subjects.

Gender and school contextual indicators are used as part of the calculation.



FFT data School A

Actual

pupils matched level overall5+ level

20012 236 230 95 7.0

20023 235 229 96 7.0

Value-added Percentile rank Pupil groups

level overall level overall boys girls

5+ level 5+ level L M U L M U

2% 0.18 36 15 8 20 87 6 13 962% 0.19 70 89 4 26 82 16 101


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2 Target setting

Target setting helps teachers to:

review the range of evidence about a pupils learning;

consider the next steps related to the curriculum and a pupils individual

learning needs;

understand the place of curricular targets;

explore the process of layering targets;

involve pupils in setting and reviewing their targets.

Collecting evidence of learning

Effective schools have good systems in place for regularly monitoring pupils

progress against whole-school targets. These normally relate to the tracking of an

individual pupils progress against individual learning targets within subjects (see

page 16). Subject leaders then analyse the data and inform teachers of issues to

be addressed within the curriculum. For example, the use of PAT can provide

evidence of areas of strength and weakness in test questions at a cohort and

individual level. Such information can be used to ensure that specific teaching is

planned for within schemes of work. Effective schools also monitor progress

against whole-school targets for attendance, behaviour and punctuality.

The purposes of target setting

Target setting has the greatest impact when it focuses on precise curriculum

objectives for individuals and when it forms part of a whole-school improvement

process.

Setting targets for pupils with SEN Ofsted 2004

Mainstream schools are required to set performance targets for all pupils, including

those with SEN. Those that have developed expertise in tracking pupils progress

and in analysing school data will wish to include information about the progress

made by all pupils as part of their whole-school systems. In some schools there is

confusion about the relationship between IEPs and curriculum targets and in worst-case scenarios this can result in two or more sets of targets. Inclusive schools set

individual learning targets for all groups of pupils or individuals. Where this is the

case pupils with SEN will not usually require separate IEP targets. This is because

of the processes involved in target setting which:

use sources of information, including attainment data, to focus plans on raising

standards of pupil attainment;

ensure that a pupils prior attainment and achievement is built upon throughout

the key stage;

identify and focus teaching on areas of underperformance;

actively support improved learning outcomes for pupils with SEN.


Unit 2: Target setting DfES 1040-2004 G


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Setting curricular targets: moving fromnumeric to curricular targets

A curricular target expresses in words, supported by data, a specific aspect of the

curriculum as a focus for improvement. Targets can be identified from a range of

sources of evidence as an area of weakness in pupils learning and may be focused

by numeric outcomes. Effective and SMART curricular targets are those that definethe next steps for pupils within the context of a particular skill and subject.

Curricular targets:

express in words a specific focus for improvement;

are derived from detailed analysis of pupil attainment;

detail specific groups of pupils who need more effective provision in a certain area;

are matched to year groups and classes to ensure progression towards

planned improvement;

are addressed through teaching objectives in teaching plans;

are supplemented by targets addressing the needs of particular groups orindividuals;

are intended to be time-limited and checked regularly to ascertain progress;

are recognised as achievements once pupils have mastered them and then

replaced them with the next steps.

Curricular targets can be for a whole class, a group of pupils, an individual pupil. They

may be long-term (a term or year), medium-term (a few weeks), short-term (a few

lessons).

They may be informed by data and can be expressed as numeric targets, for

example: In science 75% of pupils are to achieve level 5 or above.

or as a more qualitative outcome:

90% of pupils are to be able to select and justify the appropriate software for

presenting information by the end of Key Stage 3.

All numeric targets need to be translated into curricular targets to ensure that

teachers focus on and address identified aspects and pupils are clear what they

need to do to improve.

A cycle for setting curricular targets related to pupils learningneeds

SENCOs need to understand the processes by which teachers set targets and the

relationship to assessment for learning. In order to set curricular targets that are

matched to the curriculum and pupils learning needs, teachers need to establish:

what pupils can do (what are the available sources of evidence?);

what pupils need to learn to do;

what are pupils' next steps towards achieving this;

how this information will inform the teachers planning and teaching;

whether additional resources will be needed;

how they will teach and communicate targets meaningfully to pupils;

how they will mark, monitor and assess a pupils progress towards the target.



See AfL pack (DfES0043-2004 G) for more

examples and further

subject exemplification.


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Layering targets

Layering targets helps provide the steps between achieving numeric targets and

curricular targets that establish personal targets, i.e. the next steps in learning, for the

pupils. It can also help to ensure that targets are understood and owned by the pupils

themselves. Subject teachers and subject leaders will know their curriculum content

well; the SENCO will know the learning needs of pupils with SEN well. It is therefore

vital that a regular dialogue regarding the setting of appropriate targets is sustained.

Working from a numeric target to personal targets in Year 7 science

Numerical target

To meet LEA and school targets, performance of pupils in science needs

to improve from 65% to 75% at level 5 through the improvement of investigative

skills by J uly 2006.

Curricular target for Key Stage (fromFrameworks, QCA SoWs looking at priority

for cohort)

The enquiry skills of all pupils are improved

Curricular target Year 7

Pupils can use the science departments planning posters to plan

their own investigations

Curricular target (medium-term plan or unit of work)

In an investigation, pupils are able to identify the key variables that they can

and cannot control

Individual or group target

In my next investigation I will identify which variables can be changed

and which cannot

Personal pupil target

I will plan the next investigation on my own and be able to tell my teacher:

what I think will happen;

what variable will change;

what variables I will keep the same;

what variables I will measure.

Note that layered targets include pupils in two ways; they can meet needs ofindividual pupils and indicate where they need to be next, while ensuring that all

pupils are held into the pace of learning to meet the overall lesson objectives.



Case study


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Setting personal pupil targets

As seen in the case study for science, targets need to be written in terms of actions

that are meaningful to pupils and in language that is comprehensible to them. Pupils

should be involved at this stage so that they have some ownership of their own targets.

Example of a personal target in Year 7 English

The pupils in a Year 7 class are working on a unit from the scheme of work focused

on non-fiction texts. Writing, in particular boys' writing, has been identified as a

particular school-wide concern. The class are working on persuasive texts and the

focus of the lesson is:

use standard English consistently in formal situations and in writing

English Framework objective S17 (Curricular target)

The curricular target has been translated into a personal learning target in a set of

actions in language that will be meaningful to the pupil. It also begins to define

what Sam will need to do to achieve it and helps to get him to define the way in

which actions may be realised in different learning contexts. In discussion with the

learning support assistant (LSA), the pupil with SEN has the following personal

target put into a grid to stick into his book. The LSA has filled in the following

actions for Sam and will discuss with him what he might put in the other spaces.

The teacher has annotated her lesson plans to ensure that she models and refers

to these during her teaching and when setting criteria for assessing the final piece

of writing to persuade.



Case study

Also see the examples

given in IPRoP for

English in Session 4

(DfES 0465-2004 G).

Sams writing target: use standard English consistently when writing formally to persuade

Actions:

What I need to do in subject lessons in my group/ on my ownwith my helper

I need to be clear about

the audience and purpose

for each writing task.

I will draft the writing,

making sure that I use

standard English.

I will redraft my writing and

use my help sheet to check

that my use of verb tensesis correct.

Personal pupil targets for Sam


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Task 7 Devising personal targets

Think of two pupils with SEN you know well (one with and one without a

statement). For one or two of the curriculum examples given on page 19,

devise a meaningful personal target appropriate for the pupils you have in mind.

How similar are the personal targets to the group targets?

What additional factors did you need to consider?

Are the actions clear for the pupil?

To what extent are you able to relate the targets you have devised to thestatemented pupils record or IEP?

Reflection

Given the pupils personal targets, reflect on the following questions.

What are the implications of this practice for short-term planning?

What will you need to do to ensure that pupils are held into subject lessons? How will you relate the targets to the areas identified on the pupils statement?

How will you monitor movement towards targets across other subjects?

How will you share these targets with other staff, so that they may inform their

planning where appropriate?

Aligning curricular targets with statements

The quality of targets set for pupils with statements of SEN can be very variable.Where there is little evidence of any external challenge to the pupil, the accuracy

and reliability of the monitoring is likely to be less clear. This emphasises the

importance of connecting the work of the SENCO and subject teachers in

meaningful target setting for pupils with SEN. It is vital that monitoring the progress

of these pupils meshes with other elements of whole-school systems for:

analysing data;

setting and reviewing targets with pupils;

assessment within the classroom which identifies clear next steps;

methods of communication to share and report information on progress made.



Task 6 Taking responsibility for working on personal targets

Can you help Sam complete this sheet with some actions in other subjects?


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Work scrutiny Class/test/ Plenary task Lesson observations

homework analysis

Key Stage 2 test Question analysis Starters and introductory Information from

analysis activities, e.g. show me primary records

Key Stage 3 test Oral review task in Pupil questionnaire Evidence from teaching

analysis/PAT class assistant/learning

mentor/academic tutor

IEP targets Information from any Information from teachers Subject leader (HoD)

targeted intervention from class guided group or Key Stage 3 subject

sessions coordinator

Self- or peer- Specialist staff from Subject teacher TA/LST

assessment LEA service

SENCO

Task 8

Reflection

Think about the process illustrated in terms of your own school. What evidence

could you access to identify what might be needed at each point in the process?

Who would you consult at each stage?

Who would be responsible for each stage? Who is responsible for communicating targets to all staff concerned with the

pupil and parents?

How would this work?

Target setting who is responsible?

Use the cards provided below (with additions of your own if you wish) to explore

some of the questions in the Reflection box in terms of your own school.



(Photocopy and cut up the table to make sorting cards for this task. You may wish to use the blank boxes to add cardswith other information, or have more than one copy of each card.)


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The relationship of curricular targets, statements and IndividualEducational Plans (IEPs)

In the best practice, individual education plans were incorporated well into

whole-school systems of assessment and target setting.

Special educational needs in the mainstream Ofsted 2003

Schools should have systems for overall planning and target setting for all pupils as

part of monitoring and tracking the progress of every pupil over the key stage. IEPs

cannot be considered in isolation. They are but one means of planning and

recording the additional or different provision made for a pupil and of recording and

tracking individual progress. Where a pupil has a statement of SEN, such records

can be used to inform discussions at an annual review. All teachers need to

discuss progress, set and review targets for all pupils so that IEPs, or targets for

pupils with SEN, should be simply a subset of what happens as part of a whole-

school process for all pupils. This is an essential element of real inclusion. Themanagement (and efficacy) of setting and monitoring IEP targets will be enhanced if

it is an integral part of the schools overall system. In inclusive schools, ICT systems

often facilitate the monitoring of progress by giving all staff access to updated

information on the progress of individual pupils at all times.

As far as possible, the IEP targets should build on the curriculum the pupil is

following alongside their peer group and make use of strategies, activities, material,

and methods of assessment for learning that are readily available to teachers. The

plan should be implemented largely in an inclusive classroom environment. The aim

of any additional targeted intervention offered to pupils outside this should be to

contribute towards greater access to learning for individual pupils back in the

subject classroom.

In many classes there will be a group of pupils who share similar learning needs

and some targets may be common to all in this group. The subject teacher will

then focus learning objectives and learning outcomes for this group within the

normal planning. However, assessment as to whether targets have been met, will

need to be made at an individual level.

The teacher may organise particular support for this group through some guided

teaching; spending time within the lesson teaching with this group while other

pupils work on group or individual tasks. The possibilities for guided work are

greatly enhanced when there is additional support in the classroom.

The school may also organise group intervention for targeted pupils with particular

needs in common, outside the classroom. This may involve teaching in an

appropriate setting within the extended school day or include short-term periods of

withdrawal for targeted work.



See Unit 9 ofPedagogy

and Practice: Teaching

and Learning in

Secondary Schools(DfES 0432-2004 G)


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Task 9

See the Intervention

audit (DfES 0121/2003)and Intervention toolkit

Intervention planning

Collect a copy of your school intervention plan from the Key Stage 3 Strategy

manager. How does this fit with the bigger picture of the range of interventions in

the school and deployment of available personnel to support various groups of

pupils, for example SEN, EMA, learning mentors?

Does the plan identify the pupils?

Are pupils with SEN included in the plan? (If not, what other support systems

are in place for these pupils?)

Reflection

What is your role, as SENCO, within whole-school provision?

Who are the pupils for whom you actively manage support?

What is the range of ways in which this is provided?




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Task 10

3 Target getting

It is important that targeted intervention is carefully monitored to ensure that pupils

are appropriately helped to make, sustain and transfer learning to where it is

needed in order to make gains within subject classrooms. The Key Stage 3Strategy has a range of intervention programmes that have already been

introduced to schools. There is also a wide range of commercial and locally devised

intervention programmes used by schools. It is essential for the SENCO, senior

managers and governors to evaluate stringently the effectiveness of these in terms

of value for money and learning gains for pupils.

Where pupils have needs that are significantly different from the rest of the group,

then the IEP should be used to record and plan the features that are additional to,

or different from, the general curriculum and lesson design.

Curricular target setting

Work with a colleague to suggest ways of promoting the most effective use of

curricular targets to support pupils learning.

Follow up one or two statements, pursuing possible solutions in your own

school.


Unit 3: Target getting DfES 1040-2004 G

A curricular Potential problems? Possible solutions? With whom do you

target will be: need to discuss this?

related or aligned

to pupils particular

needs

holding pupils into

subject lessons

monitored as part

of an overall profile

of the pupil across

all subjects

shared with other

staff to inform their

plans

explicit in short-

term planning

shared with and

owned by the pupil


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Pupils need to: Adults need to:

understand the importance of the give information and guidance to

information given and of target support choices

setting in making progress

have an opportunity to articulate provide a supportive environment

their feelings as learners but also some challenge

participate in discussion learn to listen to pupils

indicate their views endeavour to incorporate these

views into planned actions

Task 11 Layering and personalising targets: a school-based task

Look at a writing sample from two or three pupils with SEN (School Action or

Action Plus) in one core subject class as part of your monitoring of progress.

Work with the teacher on the class target related to the data and curricular

planning for the subject.

Layer it appropriately for the pupils.

Devise personal targets for at least one pupil.

Try to work through the following sequence:

Numeric target for subject: X % of pupils at level Y need to attain level Z by

(date)

Curricular target for the key stage: In order to achieve this, pupils need to

improve

Curricular target for the year group (of the class containing the pupils

identified above)

Curricular target for medium-term plan or for unit of work(try to build on

the scheme of work used in the section above)

Group or pupil targets: In order to improve ... I need to

Personal targets for

Involving pupils

If we want the processes of target setting to make an impact on pupils work and

achievement then we need to help them to participate in the decision making. It is

important to develop decision making skills from an early stage, as the decisions

made can contribute toward greater ownership and independence in learning and

increase confidence. Wherever possible, pupils should be encouraged to monitor

their own progress towards their targets with support from teacher and assistants

and, as they mature, to take more responsibility as part of the ownership.

Discussions of learning targets, and what pupils might need to do as a next step,

will help the pupils to articulate their views, to know that they are listened to and

that their views are valued.




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Pupil A Pupil B Pupil C Pupil D

Name/code KS 2 now KS 2 now KS 2 now KS 2 now

Maths

Science

English

ICT

Task 12

Tracking and monitoring attainment

Reflection

How will you monitor pupils movement towards targets?

How will you make targets accessible and owned by pupils?

How will you inform all staff of targets and pupils progress towards them?

How will targets be used to inform planning?

How will you know they are being acted upon in classrooms?

Tracking pupils

Identify four pupils with SEN in Year 9, two of whom entered Key Stage 3 with a

minimum level 3 and two of whom entered with a minimum level 4 in core

subjects. Pupils may have SEN statements or continue to be identified on theschools record of those with SEN at School Action orSchool Action Plus. Enter

the following codes next to their names on the top line:

SA School Action SA+ School Action Plus S statement

Fill in the grid for the four pupils, noting their prior and current levels (teacher

assessment). Track at least two of them, observing their learning and the

teaching they receive across core subjects in the curriculum.

What additional targeted intervention might help them to achieve a one level

gain across the key stage in the national tests?

What would be the effect on pupils self-esteem to know they have madethe gain?




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What are the challenges for SENCOs and schools?

The quality of provision for low-attaining groups and its effect on achievement

and self-esteem was seldom well enough assessed


Raising the attainment of all pupils, including those with SEN, is a whole-school

responsibility. All teachers are teachers of pupils with SEN. The SENCO has a clear

role to play both as a member of the senior management team, with regard to

establishing appropriate targets for lower-attaining pupils, and in supporting subject

leaders and teachers with appropriate strategies and resources to help pupils with

SEN maximise progress in learning. Effective two-way communication is key. The

learning and teaching team can do this by:

recognising and building on pupils prior attainment;

modelling high expectations: acknowledging that ability in pupils with SEN is

not fixed and that all staff should expect that pupils can make progress; identifying pupils for particular targeted support and monitoring its

effectiveness;

identifying subject-specific learning needs and discussing the most appropriate

curricular targets and intervention in line with pupils stated needs;

supporting the setting of appropriate curricular targets based on an analysis of

performance in subjects;

understanding progression in reading and writing across levels literacy skills

underpin educational achievement in many other subjects;

helping teachers to use inclusive teaching approaches that engage and

motivate pupils; tracking and securing pupils progress, particularly in relation to any additional

provision made, and ensuring added value through monitoring transfer of skills

learned back into classroom settings.




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Next steps

This booklet has set out some challenges about the use of data, target setting and

monitoring the progress of pupils with SEN in your school.

The following space is for you to consider actions you will need to take as a result

of the tasks and your reflections throughout the booklet.



THREE actions I Whom do I need to What is the time How will we know

intend to take involve? line for that we have been

implementing this? successful?


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DfES 1040-2004 G

Notes


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Ref: DfES 1040-2004 G

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Documents

Maximising Progress - Ensuring the Attainment of Pupils With SEN - Part 1 2004