Accreditation for the award of the Basic Skills Quality Mark
Suffolk LA works in partnership with the Alliance for Life Long Learning in order to assess schools for the award of the Basic Skills Quality mark. In Suffolk assessment for the award occurs in two parts:
- Scrutiny of relevant documentation
- A lisit to the school by a Suffolk LA Assessor.
The first stage of preparing for accreditation is to complete the relevant audit document for your phase. Links to these documents are given below:
When you are ready for Assessment contact the Basic Skills Quality Mark Coordinator for the county who will ask you to send them key document and will arrange an assessor for you school. The assessor will then contact the school after they have reviewed your audit document and key documents to arrange the assessment visit. After the assessment visit the assessor will provide you with written feedback and make either recommendations for further work or a recommendation to the Basic Skills agency for award of the quality mark.
Scrutiny of relevant documentation
In order to make the school visit as effective and focused as possible it will be necessary to submit key documents for scrutiny by the assessor prior to the school visit. The focus for the documentation sent in advance will be the first three elements of the quality mark:
Element 1: A whole school strategy and planning to improve performance in basic skills.
Element 2: An Analysis of the assessment of pupil performance in basic skills.
Element 3: Target setting for the improvement of the school’s performance in basic skills.
Element 10: An effective procedure for monitoring planning and assessing improvement in performance in basic skills
In order to evidence these elements you should consider submitting the relevant sections of the following documents where they are appropriate for your setting:
- SEF
- Whole School planning - specific planning for literacy, numeracy and intervention with target pupils
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Evidence of pupil tracking and the analysis of formative and summative assessment data
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Examples of specific planning for a pupil that is underattaining - this may be in the form of a sequence of IEP documents illustrating the 'story' for that pupil.
Further information on possible sources of evidence can be found in the relevant Quality Mark guidance booklet for your phase.
It will also be useful to submit the audit document relevant to your setting to provide the assessor with an overview of the evidence you have available for each element of the quality mark.
School Visit
The school visit is likely to take about three hours and will have an agenda similar to that given below:
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30 minutes:
Looking at key documentation related to the ten areas of assessment.
40 minutes:
Meetings with staff responsible for key aspects of the award.
20 minutes:
Meetings with stakeholders such as children, parents or governors
30 minutes:
Learning walk of the school to see resources
30 minutes:
Lesson observation to see the range of teaching strategies used.
30 minutes:
Feedback to the Headteacher on the assessment visit. |
The agenda listed above is an illustration of the sort of activities that are likely to be undertaken during the school visit. The actual agenda for the meeting will be agreed by the assessor prior to the visit.
Assessment for the award of the Basic Skills Quality Mark by a Suffolk LA assessor will be charged at 1 day of advisor time at the appropriate rate for your school.
Paul’s Road Centre, Paul’s Road
Ipswich, IP2 0AN
01473 583512
shawn.peart@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk
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