Exhibition:                  Bett 2015, 21 – 24 Jan 2015 – ExCeL, London

Exhibitor:                    Capita SIMS

Stand:                           B260

*** PRESS RELEASE    PRESS RELEASE ***

78% of schools either unprepared or have not finalised plansfor the replacement to the national curriculum levels

A recent survey from Capita SIMS has revealed that the vast majority of schools are either unprepared (25 per cent) or have started preparations, but not finalised plans for replacing the national curriculum levels (53 per cent).

Schools have been free to set their own assessment systems since the Department for Education removed the need to assess using the familiar levels system from this September.

Schools also revealed that their biggest concern (53 per cent) with regards to the change was related to how they measure progress and set valid targets for pupils, post-levels.

Capita SIMS has revealed the results of its survey in the run-up to Bett 2015 as many schools will be attending the show to find ways to accurately monitor individuals and groups of students.

Capita SIMS (stand B260) will be showcasing its own ‘no levels’ solution at Bett 2015. SIMS Assessment will allow those schools opting to follow alternatives to national curriculum levels to record achievement and track pupil progress against the new national curriculum programmes of study effectively.

SIMS Assessment will display the learning goals – or knowledge descriptors – for all core and foundation subjects, such as whether a student can discuss different types of poetry in English or has learnt to spell common exception words.

They show teachers whether each student is emerging, developing, secure or has mastered a skill in a simple traffic light display. This allows schools to spot if a child is progressing or not, no matter what assessment system they follow.

“We wanted to take the uncertainty out of the move away from national curriculum levels for teachers,” says Phil Neal, managing director of Capita SIMS. “Our survey showed that more than half of schools (54 per cent) were recording assessment information in their management information system and so it is the logical place to continue to do so if schools move away from levels.

“What’s more, by using SIMS, schools do not have to enter student names or other information to start tracking as it is already available. It is our goal that SIMS will adapt to any school’s needs regardless of what assessment system they use.”

Other findings of the survey include:

• 28 per cent of respondents were planning to keep the existing system of levels, 21 per cent were poised to introduce a new system to monitor attainment and 28 per cent had yet to make a final decision.
• Of those introducing an alternative to the levels system, 50 per cent expect to do so by September 2015; 23 per cent by September 2016.
• 88 per cent of secondary school respondents were either confident or very confident that they understand the new Progress 8 measures.
• 56 per cent of secondary school respondents had made changes to the curriculum as a result of the Progress 8 measures; 44 per cent had yet to do so.

The removal of coursework remains the main concern (45 per cent) following changes to GCSE assessment.

Further developments are planned for the spring. Visitors are invited to stand B260 where they are able to discuss how they can use SIMS Assessment to effectively record achievement and review progress of individuals and groups of students to inform lesson planning and support intervention strategies across the school.

The survey was completed by 126 respondents from June through to September 2014.

ENDS

Ref: CAP1443

Press contact:

To arrange interviews, for further information or images, please contact,

Olga Hadjilambri, Catherine Lane PR, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY.

Tel: 020 8351 2542. Email: olga@catherinelane.com

About Capita SIMS:

Capita SIMS is the leading supplier of information systems to the education sector, providing a range of software and services to schools and local authorities to help raise standards and reduce administration. Capita’s SIMS is the most popular management information system for schools and is used every day by more than 22,000 educational establishments in the UK.

Website: www.capita-sims.co.uk

Twitter: @CapitaSIMS