The information on these pages may be subject to change due to the Department of Education's Consultation on Draft Education (Pupil Records and Reporting) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.
Consultation on Draft Education (Pupil Records and Reporting) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009
Assessment and Reporting at Foundation Stage
It is important to view learning, teaching and assessment as a continuous cycle, where assessment is not the end point but should feed back into the process to help to improve learning. Since the purpose of teaching and the main purpose of assessment are to help children to learn, teaching and assessment need to be planned together as complementary aspects of the one activity. In turn, the information obtained from assessments should be used to inform the planning process.
During Years 1 and 2 on-going assessment will be based mainly on teacher observation which will inform the learning programme for each child. Observations are a natural and essential part of good practice for teachers and classroom assistants. Well-planned, regular and skilful observations help teachers gain information about children's progress over time which ensures that all children's needs are being met.
Schools will be required to assess and report annually on each pupil's progress in:
- Cross-Curricular Skills;
- Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities; and
- Areas of Learning.
For more information on reporting see the InCAS Assessments and the Annual Report section.
The assessment arrangements for the Northern Ireland Curriculum embrace the principles of Assessment for Learning.
The Education (Pupil Records and Reporting) (Transitional) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007