Assessment & Progress at Hatfield Wick School

At Hatfield Wick School, we believe progress looks different for every child.

For some students, progress may mean developing confidence in reading, writing or numeracy. For others, it may mean arriving at school more consistently, managing anxiety, asking for help, joining a group activity, recovering after a difficult moment, or beginning to believe that school can feel safe again.

Our approach to assessment and progress in schools is personalised, holistic and rooted in CARES360: Compassion, Autonomy, Respect, Empathy and Support.

We use student progress monitoring to understand academic learning, emotional wellbeing, social development, attendance, engagement and readiness to learn. This helps us support each student from their individual starting point.

Assessment at Hatfield Wick School is not designed to increase pressure or create anxiety. It is used to notice progress, identify next steps and help students experience success in ways that build confidence, motivation and independence.

Our Approach to Educational Assessment

Assessment at Hatfield Wick School takes place within a specialist therapeutic learning environment.

This means we look at the whole child, not just test scores or isolated pieces of work. Many of our students have experienced barriers to learning, disrupted education, anxiety, emotional dysregulation or low confidence. Educational assessment must therefore be sensitive, flexible and meaningful.

Teachers use ongoing formative assessment, classroom observations, individual learning targets, student voice and carefully adapted tasks to understand what each student knows, understands and can do.

This is assessment for learning. Staff use assessment throughout the day to inform teaching, adapt support and guide next steps.

Where appropriate, assessments are broken into smaller, manageable steps. This helps reduce overwhelm and allows students to show what they can do without unnecessary pressure.

Students may demonstrate learning through writing, discussion, practical activities, visual work, digital evidence, supported tasks or teacher observation. This reflects our CARES360 commitment to respecting each student’s learning profile and removing avoidable barriers to success.

Our specialist school assessment approach is designed to build confidence rather than expose difficulty.

Monitoring Academic Progress

Academic progress is monitored carefully across the curriculum, with particular attention to literacy, numeracy and core subject development.

Our pupil progress assessment approach helps staff understand what each student has achieved, what remains difficult and what support is needed next.

Students are supported to work towards curriculum milestones that reflect their age, stage, prior learning and individual needs. Some students may be working below age-related expectations when they join us. Others may have gaps in learning because of anxiety, disrupted attendance, previous placement breakdown or periods away from education.

We track individual achievement over time using a range of evidence. This may include completed work, teacher assessment, reading and numeracy progress, intervention outcomes, curriculum milestones, engagement in lessons and review meetings.

Measuring student progress is not just about comparing one child with another. It is about understanding each student’s starting point and recognising the steps they are taking over time.

This approach reflects best practice in progress monitoring in education, particularly for students with SEND and SEMH needs.

We are ambitious for every student, but ambition must be intelligent and personalised. At Hatfield Wick School, high expectations are matched with the right support, the right pace and the right level of emotional safety.

SEND Assessment and SEMH Assessment

For students with SEND and SEMH needs, progress cannot be measured through academic outcomes alone.

Our SEND assessment and SEMH assessment processes consider emotional regulation, social development, communication, behaviour support, attendance, engagement and wellbeing.

Through CARES360, staff monitor how students are managing across the school day. This includes how they arrive, how they settle, how they respond to transitions, how they engage with adults and peers, how they access learning and how they recover after moments of difficulty.

This allows staff to notice patterns early and respond supportively before difficulties escalate.

SEND progress tracking and SEMH progress monitoring may include evidence of a student:

entering school more calmly; remaining in learning for longer; using a regulation strategy; accepting help from an adult; joining a group task; communicating feelings more safely; returning to learning after a break; managing a transition with reduced support; developing confidence in a subject; improving attendance or engagement.

These steps matter. For many students, they are the foundation for long-term academic and personal success.

Our therapeutic education assessment approach recognises that emotional wellbeing in education is closely linked to learning, attendance and confidence.

Where appropriate, progress is reviewed through a multi-disciplinary approach involving education staff, therapeutic staff, families, local authorities and external professionals. This helps ensure that support is joined-up, responsive and meaningful.

Personalised Learning Assessment and Targets

Every student at Hatfield Wick School has personalised targets that reflect their individual strengths, needs and next steps.

Our personalised learning assessment approach helps staff identify what each student needs academically, socially and emotionally.

For students with an Education, Health and Care Plan, targets are linked to EHCP outcomes wherever appropriate. These targets help staff focus support on the areas that matter most, including communication, independence, emotional regulation, academic skills, social development and preparation for future pathways.

Personalised education plans help ensure that learning and support are clearly planned, reviewed and adapted over time.

Student voice is an important part of this process. CARES360 places Autonomy and Respect at the heart of learning, so students are encouraged to understand their own progress, recognise their strengths and take an active role in shaping their next steps.

Parents and carers are also key partners. They help us understand what progress looks like beyond school and what support is most effective.

We celebrate small steps of progress because, in specialist education, small steps are often significant achievements. A student completing a short task, trying something new, asking for support, staying regulated or reflecting honestly on a difficult moment may all represent meaningful development.

This supports holistic student development, helping students grow academically, emotionally, socially and personally.

Alternative Provision Assessment

Some students join Hatfield Wick School following disrupted education, emotionally based school avoidance, exclusion risk or previous placement breakdown.

For these students, alternative provision assessment must look beyond attainment alone.

We assess readiness to learn, engagement, confidence, attendance, emotional regulation, relationships, academic gaps and future pathways. This helps us design provision that is realistic, supportive and ambitious.

The purpose is not to label students by what they cannot do. It is to identify what support they need to move forward.

Reporting Progress to Families

Families need clear, honest and jargon-free information about how their child is doing.

Hatfield Wick School provides SEND school progress reports that consider academic development, emotional wellbeing, engagement, attendance, social development and individual targets.

We keep parents and carers informed through regular communication, review meetings, written reports and collaborative goal-setting.

Our CARES360 approach means communication with families should be compassionate, respectful and practical. We want parents and carers to feel informed, involved and confident that their child is being carefully supported.

By working together, we can build a shared understanding of progress and help every student take positive steps forward.

Supporting Neurodivergent Student Support

Neurodivergent student support is built into our assessment approach.

Students may need adapted methods of communication, flexible ways to show understanding, sensory-aware assessment conditions, movement breaks, reduced language load or additional processing time.

Our assessment model respects these differences from the outset. This allows students to demonstrate learning in ways that are accessible, meaningful and fair.

FAQs

How does Hatfield Wick School approach assessment and progress in schools?

We use a personalised approach to assessment and progress in schools. This means academic, emotional, social and personal progress are all considered from each student’s individual starting point.

What is pupil progress assessment?

Pupil progress assessment is the process of understanding what a student has learned, what progress they are making and what support they need next. At Hatfield Wick School, this includes academic progress, emotional regulation, attendance, engagement and social development.

How do you use SEND progress tracking?

SEND progress tracking helps staff monitor progress against individual needs, EHCP outcomes, personalised targets and wider development. It allows us to adapt support when needed.

What is SEMH progress monitoring?

SEMH progress monitoring looks at areas such as emotional regulation, relationships, confidence, behaviour support, attendance and engagement. These areas are essential for many students to access learning successfully.