The CIEA is offering flexible support to all Local Authorities to help them to establish and embed good assessment practice. Each Local Authority that is working closely with the CIEA has been helped to devise its own tailored programme that reflects local needs and local circumstances, choosing from a range of accredited products and services listed below

Chartered Educational Assessor (CEA)

The role of the CEA is to support schools to develop consistent and reliable whole school assessment practice across all subject areas.

 

Some authorities have opted to put a number of officers and senior assessment leaders in schools through this accredited training programme, attracting discounted rates of up to 40%. Details of the CEA programme leading to the professional designation can be found here:

For details of how to apply for discounted rates call our dedicated training helpline on 0845 6722123 or email training@ciea.org.uk

Accreditation

Other authorities have looked to gain accreditation for reliable and consistent local assessment practice that has already been carried out. This may have come about through developing systems or processes designed to support assessment for learning (AfL), or for establishing and embedding effective Assessing Pupils' Performance (APP) procedures either within a school or across an authority.

Your local authority could receive accreditation through CIEA individual or school and college membership grades, details can be found here.

Once you have joined, you can upgrade your membership status here.

Yet other authorities are looking to accredit their lead assessors in each school, in line with the recommendations of the expert group on assessment's recommendation that "All schools should have a lead assessor, with the longer term aspiration that by 2020, all schools should have access to an accredited Chartered Assessor."

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Simply establishing good assessment practice in a school or across an authority may not be enough, To deliver real and lasting change it must be embedded and sustainable.

The CIEA offers structured, outcome based CPD opportunities to ensure that you and your colleagues' skills in good assessment practice are maintained at the highest possible level. This structured and formalised process helps users to understand their own strengths and areas for development within assessment, using a skills gap analysis tool.

They show an understanding of how to develop their skills, using data from the tool and the CIEA's Professional Framework.

Finally they develop a support programme using the CIEA compendia.

The full CPD programme can be accessed here.

Gathering Data

To help schools effectively, many authorities have encouraged schools to use the National Strategies/CIEA quality standards tool that sets out clearly a progression route to establishing and embedding AfL and APP in a school or across an authority.

Many schools already use the self evaluation tables in Annexe A of the AfL Strategy document, published by the DCSF, to evaluate progress in the leadership and management of the whole school development of AfL and the impact this is having on day to day teaching, learning and progress. These are used formatively to inform school improvement planning, and teachers' professional development.

These quality standards are designed to help schools to step back and review, periodically, their progress in developing AfL with APP. They provide a summary profile of strengths and areas for further development.

The Quality Standards exemplification is intended to support the self evaluation process and help secure consistency of judgments across schools nationally. There are primary and secondary versions of the exemplification with minor differences in language to ensure that the wording is appropriate to the phase context.

The Quality standards tool can be found here.

Lead and Domain Assessor training and accreditation

As the number of schools and 14-19 partnerships offering lines of learning within the new Diploma grows, so authorities are encouraging their practitioners to take part in Lead and Domain Assessor training.

These two courses support localised assessment arrangements seen as integral to the success of delivering this applied learning qualification. are complimentary and can be delivered simultaneously. They are appropriate for all lines of learning and all awarding bodies. The course encourages consortia to develop effective quality assurance procedures across the delivery and assessment of each line of learning. Accreditation is available for Lead Assessors up to Fellow status, if the evidence they provide fulfils the criteria. For Domain Assessors, Member status is available, again if the portfolio submitted fulfils the expected criteria.

Qualifications

The expert group on assessment made the following recommendation to the Secretary of State, which was accepted in full: "The assessment capacity of the teaching profession should be increased further." in line with government aims to make teaching a masters' levels profession. To support this development, the CIEA has partnered with a number of higher Education Institutions (HEI) to develop a Master's degree in educational assessment.

Details of these courses can be found here.

These qualifications will be supplemented by new courses which will become available in the autumn term:

A Master's degree from Middlesex University, using a work based learning (WBL) route for employers and those working in the public and private sectors.

A PhD or EdD with one or more of our partner HEI in educational assessment for those working within education

Individual units in assessment are also available from the CIEA, at post graduate award, certificate or diploma level. The qualifications will be awarded by our partner awarding body, Edexcel and comprise a professional development qualification in assessment.

Benefits

The benefits that accrue to Local Authorities and their schools in whichever context are as follows:

• Improving consistency in assessment practice and reducing variability - a key concern of OFSTED
• Developing and delivering a national standard of capability in good assessment practice - fulfilling the proposals made by DCSF and enshrined in the 2009 education act
• Supporting the move towards personalisation in education and the localisation of reform as enshrined in the 2009 education act
• Improving internal assessment in schools - fulfilling the requirements of the reforms of qualifications and tests such as teacher assessment arrangements as part of Key Stage 2 or internal quality assurance arrangements forming part of the Diploma.
• More consistent approach among subjects - supporting schools to establish and embed AfL/APP processes

 

Should you wish to discuss any, a combination or all of these different programmes, do not hesitate to call our dedicated training helpline on 0845 6722123 or email training@ciea.org.uk.