Reporting to Parents

At Smithdon High School, we recognise that in order for students to make the most of their time at high school there must be strong links and good communication between the school and parents. We will provide you with regular information on your child's progress throughout the year, through reports issued twice yearly.

We also hold annual parents’ evenings, to enable direct discussions between you and your child’s teachers, to support your child and allow you to ask their teachers specific questions regarding their progress. In all Years, we hold an additional tutor evenings to provide extra support. These are scheduled when it is most needed e.g. for settling in to school for Year 7 or preparing for leaving school in Year 11. The dates for all parents’ evenings, assessment weeks and reporting sessions can be found on our school calendar.

Reports

At every reporting session, an overview document for your child will be posted on the Parent portal called MyChildAtSchool or MCAS. Your child will be given an Attitude to Learning grade (AtL) for every subject using the following descriptors:

 

ATL 1	A highly motivated and ambitious student who consistently seeks advice, acts upon it and wants to be the best they can be. They will set themselves challenging goals and are surpassing Smithdon’s minimum expectations.
ATL 2	A student who is seeking to do well and is making sustained progress. They are achieving Smithdon’s minimum expectations and know what they need to do to improve further.
ATL 3	A student who understands what they need to do to improve and is capable of making improvement but is lacking the desire or motivation to make the change. Currently, this student is not achieving Smithdon’s minimum expectations.
ATL 4	A student who is significantly below Smithdon’s expectations. This student sees little value in setting personal goals and challenges.  They are unwilling to accept the help and support offered to realise their goals.  This is a serious concern which needs to be addressed.

At Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

You will also be given a percentage attainment grade for each subject following formal assessment weeks. This attainment percentage is used by teachers to identify gaps in knowledge which need to be addressed. In Years 7-9 there is one assessment each year Regular, less formal, health checks are carried out between these formal assessments to keep track of progress.

At Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11)

In Year 10, students will complete one set of pre-public examinations, and in Year 11 they will complete two further sets of exams, to prepare them for GCSE’s. These are initially reported as a percentage grade in Year 10 and by Year 11 all assessment results are reported as a GCSE current, working grade - judged on the GCSE Grading 9-1 or Cambridge Nationals Level 1 or Level 2 Pass, Merit or Distinction. In addition, students will receive a predicted grade for each subject based on the expected level of progress that students will make by their GCSE exam.

Target Grades

Throughout Year 11, the current working grades are issued alongside a target grade.

We are required to set a target grade for every student in each subject from. We do not use these targets in KS3. For those taking GCSE exams in 2025 and 2026, these target minimum grades (TMG) are based on teacher knowledge or student potential, considering both attainment and progress seen in class. These grades are a guide to students' minimum potential.

Students taking GCSE exams in 2027 will have target grades based on the national KS2 tests that each student takes at the end of primary school. The target grades are determined by using the Fischer Family Trust data* and is a minimum grade that your child should be aiming for in that subject.

Because we want every child to excel, our targets are in line with the highest performing students nationwide (FFT 25). It is important that targets are not viewed as a ceiling to progress. At Smithdon High School, students regularly overachieve.

 

* Fischer Family Trust (FFT)

FFT provides data and analysis to all schools and LAs in England and Wales. FFT estimates are used by teachers to inform the setting of ambitious and aspirational targets for students. FFT analyses pupil results and pupil progress to provide school leaders with insightful data to support school improvement and self-evaluation. FFT Education Ltd is an independent, non-profit company which was established in 2001 and has links to the Fischer Family Trust. FFT25 sets targets on students achieving amongst the top 25% of students in the country in their year group.