Assessment

Understanding each pupil’s starting point, recognising progress and identifying what comes next. 

At Herons Dale, assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. It helps us understand what each pupil knows, understands and can do, recognise the progress they are making and identify appropriate next steps. 

As a specialist school, we recognise that progress does not always follow a straight line and that small steps can represent significant achievements. Our assessment approach therefore starts with the individual pupil, their strengths, needs, starting points and aspirations. 

Assessment is not simply about measuring learning. Assessment helps us to shape learning. 

Assessing the whole child 

Our pupils have a wide range of strengths and needs and may be working at very different developmental and academic levels. 

We therefore consider progress across the whole child, including: 

• communication and interaction; 
• cognition and learning; 
• social, emotional and mental health; 
• sensory and physical development; 
• curriculum knowledge and skills; 
• engagement and readiness to learn; and 
• independence and the ability to apply learning in different situations. 

This enables us to recognise progress that is meaningful for each pupil while maintaining high expectations for what they can achieve. 

Personalised Learning Plans 

Every pupil has a Personalised Learning Plan (PLP). 

PLPs provide an important link between pupils’ Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) outcomes, their individual priorities and the learning that takes place in school. 

Teachers identify meaningful and achievable targets which support pupils to make progress towards longer-term outcomes. These targets are taught and assessed throughout the term and are reviewed regularly. 

When assessing PLP targets, we consider not only whether a pupil has demonstrated a skill, but also how independently they are able to demonstrate it in a variety of contexts. 

Our assessment continuum is: 

Did Not Engage → Attended To → Explore → Prompt → Unaided → Mastered 

This helps us recognise the important journey from first encountering or engaging with a skill through to using it independently, consistently and confidently. 

Curriculum assessment 

There is no single assessment pathway that is appropriate for every pupil at Herons Dale. 

Assessment reflects pupils’ developmental levels, curriculum pathways and individual starting points. 

For some pupils, assessment may be closely linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage and the development of foundational skills. 

For others, progress is assessed against appropriate curriculum objectives and progression frameworks, including the Pre-Key Stage Standards where these are relevant. 

Our pupils may have very different strengths across different areas of learning. A pupil may, for example, demonstrate skills at one level in reading and at another in mathematics, communication or personal development. 

Assessment therefore helps teachers to identify the most appropriate next step for the individual pupil, rather than expecting every pupil to progress through learning in exactly the same way or at the same rate. 

Recording progress through Earwig 

We use the Earwig platform to support the recording and assessment of pupils’ learning. 

Teachers gather evidence as part of everyday teaching and learning. This may include photographs, observations, examples of pupils’ work, practical activities, communication and examples of pupils applying their learning in different situations. 

Evidence is considered alongside teachers’ professional knowledge of the pupil. 

Curriculum objectives can be assessed using our Entering, Developing and Secure approach in the Earwig platform, enabling teachers to recognise when pupils are beginning to encounter new learning, developing their understanding and increasingly demonstrating secure knowledge or skills. 

For PLP targets, our independence-based assessment continuum enables us to capture the smaller steps of progress that are particularly important for many of our pupils. 

Making sure our assessments are accurate 

Assessment is an ongoing process and is not based on a single activity or piece of work. 

Teachers continually assess pupils through observation, questioning, interaction, practical activities and pupils’ responses during learning. 

Assessment judgements are supported through internal and external moderation, where staff review evidence and discuss pupils’ learning together. This helps us develop a consistent understanding of expectations across the school. 

Teachers and leaders also review assessment information through Pupil Progress Meetings. 

These discussions consider: 

• the progress pupils are making; 
• strengths and areas of development; 
• progress towards PLP and EHCP outcomes; 
• pupils who may require additional support or challenge; 
• patterns within assessment information; and 
• appropriate next steps for teaching and learning. 

Assessment information is therefore used actively rather than simply collected. 

From assessment to action 

The most important purpose of assessment is to help us decide what happens next. 

Assessment may lead us to adapt teaching, communication approaches or resources; provide further opportunities to practise and generalise a skill; introduce additional support or intervention; increase challenge; review a PLP target; or consider whether a pupil is ready for greater independence. 

This creates a continuous cycle in which assessment informs teaching and teaching provides new opportunities for pupils to demonstrate progress. 

Recognising progress 

Progress at Herons Dale can take many forms. 

For one pupil, progress might mean learning a new mathematical concept. For another, it might mean communicating a choice independently, tolerating a new sensory experience, regulating their emotions with less adult support, writing independently or applying a previously learned skill in a new environment. 

All of these achievements matter. 

Our assessment approach enables us to recognise these small but significant steps while ensuring that pupils continue to experience appropriate challenge and a broad and ambitious curriculum. 

Working with families 

Families know their children extremely well and are important partners in understanding their progress. 

Assessment information contributes to discussions with parents and carers about pupils’ achievements, priorities and next steps and supports the wider review of progress towards EHCP outcomes. 

Through this partnership, we aim to develop a shared understanding of each pupil’s strengths, progress and future priorities. 

Find out more 

Further detail about assessment at Herons Dale can be found in our Assessment Policy 2026–28. 

Our curriculum pages also explain how our different curriculum pathways enable pupils to access learning that is appropriate to their strengths, needs and developmental starting points. 

 

Herons Dale’s approach to assessment is explained in the two attachments below.