The arrangements for the 2013 SATs have for the first time changed the coding for pupils who are at early stages of learning EAL and are therefore working below Level 1. In previous years these pupils were entered as 'EAL' but for 2013 a new 'NOTSEN' category has been introduced. The document also re-iterates that 'P scales must not be used to assess children with EAL at any age, unless they have additional special educational needs.'
The new Assessment and reporting arrangements Key Stage 2 2013 (DfE), contains the following guidance
10.2 Children working below level 1 of the National Curriculum
The use of P scales is statutory for children with SEN who are working below level 1 of the National Curriculum. In this context, SEN is defined in the Education Act 1996 as all those on the school’s Special Needs Register.
Schools will need to use P scales to record and report the achievements of children with SEN in English, mathematics and science. The P scales must not be used to assess children with EAL at any age, unless they have additional special educational needs.
Children working towards level 1 of the National Curriculum who do not have a special educational need should be reported to STA as ‘NOTSEN’. This includes children who are working towards level 1 solely because they have English as an additional language. ‘NOTSEN’ is not a P scale, but a code to explain why a child working towards level 1 does not have P scales reported. ‘NOTSEN’ replaces the code ‘EAL’ that was used in previous years.
The guidance also maks clear that the discounting of the results of pupils learning EAL who have arrived within the previous two years will remain
11.5 Discounting children’s results from performance tables
A small number of children may be discounted from calculation of a school’s performance measures before publication of the performance tables. These will be children who have recently arrived from overseas with little or no English. To be eligible, a child must meet all three of the following criteria:
- they were admitted to an English school for the first time during the 2011/12 or 2012/13 school year;
- they arrived from overseas before their admission; and
- their first language is not English. Dialects of English such as Patois or Krio will not be accepted as a language other than English.
During the annual performance tables checking exercise schools can apply to remove children from the ‘number of eligible pupils’ figure that is used for calculation of performance measures. This exercise is expected to run in early September. If a request is accepted, the child will be excluded from calculation of all measures. Omissions will not be granted for an individual subject.
The first autumn release of 2012 data that is published on RAISEonline will not take account of any amendments that have been submitted by schools. Amendments will be included on RAISEonline as and when the data is validated.
The guidance also confirms that EAL learners should be registered for the new style level 3-5 tests and clarifies the arrangements schools should be making to ascertain early stage EAL learners levels in mathematics using language support staff.
5.5 Children with English as an additional language
Children with English as an additional language (EAL) should be registered for the level 3-5 National Curriculum tests.
English tests
If children cannot communicate in English then they will be working below the level of the English tests and should not take them, (see section 5.2).
Mathematics tests
To establish the child’s level for mathematics, teachers and language-support staff should work together to translate National Curriculum work into the child’s preferred language.
If a child is working at the level of the mathematics tests, the school should administer the tests using the access arrangements summarised in section 7.
Children working below the level of the mathematics tests should not take them, (see section 5.2).
The new-style English SATs which will be taken by all Year 6 pupils in English schools from May 2013 and will include the level 3-5 tests in: English reading; English grammar, punctuation and spelling (new for 2013); and Mathematics.
