Any teachers out there

[Allansmum]

Hi there

Does anyone understand foundation stage profile and p levels. I understand the other levels, level 1,level 2. Even the a b c bit. But am stuck with the foundation stage and p levels.

Can anyone help me work out if my son made good progress last year or not. School say really good progress but im not sure.

At the end of Year R he was doing really well in maths. The foundation stage profile thing scored him a 7. According to the bottom of the sheet, 6 is average. So a 7 was really good. End of year 1, hes now p6. So was really good progress made? If he was above average end of year R, wouldnt he at least be on level 1?

 

Got an AR coming up, and im trying to work out if progress has been made.

 

Thanks for any help

[Kathryn]

I'm not a teacher, but until someone with direct experience comes along, you might find useful information here:

 

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/97799

 

K x

[Sally44]

Obviously 6 is less than 7. So he has been assessed at a lower level after having completed a further academic year if his achievement went from P7 to P6. If his level had remained at P7 that would have been no progress.

 

What is typical progress. Well there are expected levels for the end of certain academic timeframes. I'm sure others will post what they are specifically.

 

What I would suggest you think about before the Annual Review, and even speak to professionals before that review is this:-

 

Is he making progress in other areas and just not in maths?

Does he have a spiky profile across subjects and also within subjects?

 

Ask his teacher about those results. There are lists of skills that the child has to demonstrate to achieve each level. Ask his teacher about the assessment results that produced a P7 and a P6 result. For example you may find that a skill they thought he had was rote learnt or memorised and they have now established that he cannot manipulate that information or apply it.

 

Does he have a diagnosis and what level of SEN is he on at the moment?

[Allansmum]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

He has a diagnosis of autism. I dont understand what you mean by what level of sen.

 

The 7 is from the eyfs profile thing. Not p levels. Senco say its a different thing to the p levels, and that she can assure me that really good progress is being made. I'm not to sure.

 

Typical progress within p levels according to our senco is half a p level a year.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Allansmum

[Kazzen161]

Looking at some SEN info I have, it seems P levels go up to 8 then it goes onto Level 1c.

It also says that an increase of 2 P levels per year is expected.

 

This has some useful info on EYFS and P levels:

http://www2.halton.gov.uk/pdfs/educationandlearning/sen/pscaleshandout

Edited September 24, 2010 by Kazzen161

[Sally44]

Sorry, I misunderstood that different assessment criteria were being used.

And I don't know about the Early Years assessments. My son's school used P scales in reception year.

 

But, they should be able to give you details of what skills he demonstrated to achieve those levels under both assessment criteria.

 

Adequate Progress is difficult to define. How long is a piece of string. What is adequate for one pupil maybe acelerated for another etc. This is an area I am involved in at the moment with my own son.

 

When a child is not making the same progress as their peers you need the school and professionals to look at why that is happening and 'autism' is not a good enough reason in itself. Your child could have a SPLD such as dyslexia or dyscalculia as well as autism. And autism is one word and many things, with each child being different.

 

What I have done with my son (and I don't know if this helps as an example), is that I have asked that standardised assessments are carried out by the Educational Psychologist and the SALT. This will give you a base line of what level they are working at and what are their areas of strength and weakness. The P scales may also highlight areas of strength and weakness, but are not as good as standardised assessments.

 

So, in one assessment my son's percentiles ranged from 2 for understanding verbal instructions to 92 for pattern recognition and spatial awareness. He scored just below average and average for other areas assessed.

 

What those results tell you are that he needs his work differentiating carefully so that it both interests and stretches him, yet is accessible to him. Oral teaching or verbal instructions are going to be very difficult for him to understand. Demonstrating learning by speaking, reading, writing is also difficult because his command on English is very poor. So other means of teaching and recording learning need to be used.

 

I had similar results from the speech therapist. Standard Scores ranging from 2-15. A level 3 is severe and 8 is average. So again he is way ahead of his peers in some areas and probably the worst in the class at others.

 

There is also a link between difficulties with language and difficulties with learning. If you don't understand your native tongue very well you are bound to have difficulties with language based learning and concepts.

 

I am at a stage where my son's school keep trying to teach him in a way that he cannot access. It is very frustrating, but hopefully we will make some progress soon as it looks like I am going to an educational tribunal again!!

 

So you need professionals to assess all areas using standardised assessments.

You need them to identify his strengths and weaknesses and then teach to his strengths whilst supporting his weaknesses.

 

How do you feel your son learns? How do you feel he struggles?

 

I am sure that my son is a top down learner. That means he needs to see the finished product or goal and then work backwards or take it apart to learn how it works. If he starts from nothing and is expected to 'think about' something there is just no actual memories for him to draw upon. But if he has already 'seen' something, like how to make an electricial circuit, then he will know exactly what it is, what he needs to do it, and can complete it himself. BUT most lessons start from the bottom and work up step by step. That kind of learning means nothing for my son and he tends to just switch off because it is all blah, blah, blah to him. Does that make sense.

 

Children that have a diagnosis of 'autism' or 'autistic spectrum disorder' also have a higher incidence of learning difficulties. Again, this appears to be the link between language acquisition and learning. Those with AS tend to have better language aquisition and therefore tend to do better academically.

 

My question about where he is in the SEN process meant whether he is on SA+ or whether he has a Statement and also what kind of school is he at ie. mainstream or special school.