Tracking of Child

For effective education and continuity of teaching and learning, tracking of children in the short, medium and long term is an important part of teaching within the school. Below is an outline of the tracking process, strategies and the documentation involved in the tracking of pupils.

Procedures at Abuja Preparatory School

A file is kept in a filing cabinet in the Headmaster’s Personal Assistant’s office on every child at the school. In this file the following documents are kept

The Headmaster’s PA must ensure that the following occurs:

Teachers are responsible for:

Early Years and Foundation Stage

The following processes are employed in the Early Years and Foundation Stage:

a)Initial screening

An initial screening is made of all pupils when the admitted to an Early Years and Foundation Stage class. This screening encompasses the child’s emotional, social and physical development as well as their developmental level in term of language and independence. While time restraints limit the accuracy of the test, it serves as a good baseline evaluation.

b)Beginning of  Academic Year Hand-over

At the beginning of every year, after class lists have been formulated, the teachers withdraw the pupils’ files from the Headmaster’s PA and discuss each child with the previous teacher. Children, who need to be closely watched (in terms of remediation and extension), are discussed and strategies to assist the new teacher are suggested.

c)Observation schedules

Teachers are expected to carry out daily observations on every child. These are written on to a standard observation schedule. These are handing in to the Head of department

d)Weekly Observation Meetings

The Head of Department of her delegate has a meeting every week with the teachers and the observation schedules are discussed. Children with difficulties are discussed and remediation is taken. Pupils showing aptitude are also discussed and placed on Individual Education Plans (IEP)

e)Parent Meetings

While dates and times are scheduled for parent meetings, where there are areas of serious concern parents are called to a meeting. These meetings usually consist of the Headmaster, the Head of Department and the Teacher. Joint action to remediate the problem is taken.

f)Reports

Reports indicating the child’s developmental progress are written at the end of every term. These are sent home to the parents.

g)School readiness evaluation for Year One

All Reception pupils are subjected to a school readiness evaluation which serves as a baseline test for entry into Year One.

a)Year One Screening

At the beginning of the academic Year pupils who were in the school Reception class will be discussed. However those who have recently been enrolled will be subjected to a school readiness screening.

Year Two pupils will write an entrance test which will indicate where they are in terms of their cognitive ability. The teachers will use these tests as a baseline. Further aptitude tests will be given to the pupils. These are: –

b)Beginning of  Academic Year Hand-over

At the beginning of every year, after class lists have been formulated, the teachers withdraw the pupils’ files from the Headmaster’s PA and discuss each child with the previous teacher. Children, who need to be closely watched (in terms of remediation and extension), are discussed and strategies to assist the new teacher are suggested.

c)Continuous Assessment

It is incumbent to upon every teacher to keep a record of the child’s continuous progress throughout the year.  This is in the form of observations, summative assessment scores and any other relevant data which may indicate the pupils development.

d)Reading records

Reading records are an integral part of tracking a pupil’s progress. Progress through the reading scheme indicates their level of fluency and comprehension.

e)Differentiated grouping

In every class and in most learning area pupils are grouped according their aptitude and ability in a specific learning area. Teachers generally cater for each group at their particular level. Pupils move in and out of these groups depending on the ability to cope with the demands. Teachers closely track the level of work presented by the individual pupil.

f)Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Differentiation implies that teachers monitor the individual child and prove and learning environment that challenges the individual. Teachers, in their daily planning, are expected to monitor every child’s responses and to make sure that they accommodate the pupil’s needs.

g)Teacher meetings

In Key Stage One there are regular Key Stage Meetings where children are discussed and strategies are employed to deal with the pupils needs. The general progress of all children is monitored.

h)Measurement against skills outcomes

The expected skills for each defined outcome are measured against the pupils’ performance. This information is very important when teachers write reports or when parents discuss their children’s progress with the teacher.

i)Individual Education Plan(IEP)

An Individual Education plan is used not only for under-performing pupils but also for pupils who need to be extended.

a)Base line tests

All pupils will be given the following tests during the first two weeks after the start of the new academic year.

A child’s aptitude in Mathematics is determined by the CIE progress tests that were written during the course of the previous year.  New children to the school will be required to write this test to determine their level of understanding.

b)Beginning of  Academic Year Hand-over

At the beginning of every year, after class lists have been formulated, the teachers withdraw the pupils’ files from the Headmaster’s PA and discuss each child with the previous teacher. Children, who need to be closely watched (in terms of remediation and extension), are discussed and strategies to assist the new teacher are suggested.

c)Reading Records

Reading records are an integral part of tracking a pupil’s progress. Progress through the reading scheme indicates their level of fluency and comprehension.

d)Continuous Assessment

It is incumbent to upon every teacher to keep a record of the child’s continuous progress throughout the year.  This is in the form of observations, summative assessment scores and any other relevant data which may indicate the pupils development.

e)End of Term Control Tests

At the end of every term formal summative control tests are written in all classes from Year 3 to Year 6. These tests examine the skills and knowledge that has been covered during the course of the Term. While these tests are important they only form part of the continuous assessment programme. The control tests are also used for formative assessment. Mark schedules are examined and pupils who are not performing up to expectation are discussed and strategies are developed.

f)Cambridge End of Year Tests

The school has had access to the Cambridge International Education website and has used progress tests at the end of the last academic year. Once we have received accreditation we will continue to write the end of year progress tests but will enrol our pupils for the external Cambridge Checkpoint examination. Our results in both the progress tests will be mapped against those of other international schools. This will give us an indication of where we are internationally. Again this information will be able to guide and track our pupils progress.

A guidance advisory team has been established to identify pupils with specific learning difficulties and strategize for dealing with these difficulties and track the pupils’ progress. This Team is ‘think tank’ and an advisory body. The procedures are as follows: –

A Promotion / Retention Policy has been approved by the School Board. Pupils are only retained if, in the opinion of the Senior Management Team there is a good chance that the pupil benefiting from being retained.