Whilst a strength of the Rising Stars Progression Framework is that it provides full coverage of the National Curriculum, this does mean that it creates a large number of statements for pupils to be assessed against. Some schools feel that they would like to change their use of the framework to create a better fit with how children are assessed in their school. Classroom Monitor is designed to be a flexible system so there are a number of ways that you can approach this.
Emphasising the NAHT KPIs
The NAHT Assessment Framework identifies some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each stage of learning. These KPIs are already identified within the Rising Stars Progression Framework markbooks in blue.
For schools who are looking to further emphasise the NAHT KPIs within their use of the Rising Stars Framework there are two options:
- De-weight the non-KPIs: This means that you can still see all of the objectives in the Rising Stars framework and use them to track forwards and backwards through the skills to ensure progression. However, removing the weighting for the non-KPIs can mean that although teachers can still choose to assess against them, they won’t count towards a pupil’s overall score for tracking purposes.
- Remove the non-KPIs: It is possible to change the framework so that only the KPIs are available to record assessment against. Although this reduces the number of statements that a teacher needs to assess against, it is important to remember that the KPIs do not give full coverage of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study and you will have to ensure curriculum coverage via other means.
If you would like us to action either of these options then please raise a support ticket.
Customising the Framework
The Curriculum Customisation Tool allows you to completely customise the framework including: editing, deleting and adding objectives; changing the weighting of objectives; changing the organisation of the framework or changing the way that it is scored. The curriculum customisation tool page will tell you more about what you can achieve. This tool is available to all schools on a subscription basis but may already be included in your package so please get in touch to find out more.
Adding your own framework
If you want to add your own curriculum from scratch, then this can also be achieved via the customisation tool. However, if you have already been using the Rising Stars Progression Framework, you may want to considered customising this as a first option as it will be an easier task and you will be able to retain some continuity of data.
If you feel that you would like to discuss any of this in more detail, then please get in touch with us by raising a support ticket.
Speeding up the recording of assessment
If you actually like the level of thoroughness of the Rising Star Progression Framework, there are ways to record assessment more efficiently that you may want to implement in school before making any large changes to your framework. Many teachers find that the Classroom Monitor app for tablets/iPads reduces their workload as it brings the assessment process into the classroom and the new markbook offers many ways to speed up assessment. Please follow the highlighted links to find out more.