Here are examples of effective assessment practice from two Southwark schools. After you have read the summaries, click on the blue links for more details. Two more examples have now been added - see bottom right-hand panel.

1. St. Peter's (Walworth) Primary School

All the staff at St. Peter's (Walworth) have worked together to develop their current approach to Assessment for the 2004/05 school year. This includes:

• A folder of assessed work for every child which goes with them through the school.
• Termly meetings with parents to discuss target setting.
• Shared analysis of pupil data.

Helen Dacey, Headteacher, also stresses that this approach has been strengthened by their well-established CPD programme of classroom monitoring and regular moderation of pupils' work, both of which all teachers are actively involved in: "Monitoring and moderation are time-consuming but essential for all staff; in our view it needs to be a part ot everyone's normal routine."

2. Sacred Heart R.C. Secondary School

Sarah Bonar, KS3 Co-ordinator, outlines how pupil results are used each year by the KS3 English, Maths and Science departments in order to monitor progress, identify underachievement and raise standards. This is underpinned by frequent discussions with each Head of Department and regular communications with parents, particularly those of underachieving pupils.

• June - KS3 Co-ordinator (KS3Co) meets with each Head of Department (HoD) to discuss Y7 results, based on their prior attainment. Pupils who have not made good progress are identified and HoD investigates to find out the reasons why this happened.
• July - If a Y7 pupil has underachieved in 2 or more subjects, a letter is sent to the parents informing them of the school's initial concerns and offering guidance as to how they can support their child during the summer holidays.
• September - KS3Co meets with HoDs to check that appropriate provision has been made for pupils who are Underachieving / SEN / G&T, and that this is highlighted in teachers' planning for all targeted pupils in Y7, Y8 & Y9. HoDs monitor planning on a regular basis.
• June - After the Spring Term exams have been analysed, if any Y8 pupils are still found to be underachieving, parents are sent a letter (by post) informing them of this, and an invitation to send their child to Summer School, where there is a practical focus on Science, Literacy and Numeracy.
• April - Parents of underachieving Y9 pupils are sent specific guidance on how they can support their children's final preparations for the KS3 SATS.

3. St. John's (Walworth) Primary have developed a successful approach for improving the quality of their pupils' Writing.

4. St. Jude's C.E. Primary used their end-of-year Maths attainment data to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to determine which types of additional support their pupils would need in September.

Please contact June Hall on 0207 525 5055 or email june.hall@southwark.gov.uk if you would like to share your school's assessment practice. We are especially interested in approaches which support Assessment for Learning.