Adapting assessments, enhancing SATs prep and a journey to improve classroom efficiency.
Alex Oselton, November 2024
An ambitious rural school – meet Thurleigh primary school.
Thurleigh Primary School is one of two rural federated schools located in Bedford Borough, each serving approximately 85 students across mixed-age classes.
While these mixed-age setups present unique challenges, they also offer opportunities for collaboration and deeper relationships between students and teachers over multiple years. As a school, Thurleigh prides itself on fostering independent learning and resilience in its students, following practices grounded in research by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
Time-consuming assessments across mixed-aged classes
When Elastik was first introduced to Thurleigh primary school, Headteacher George Cole, had already identified a significant challenge in their assessment process.
Teachers were spending extensive amounts of time printing, marking, and analysing assessments for multiple year groups. This time-consuming process was further complicated by the need to adapt assessments to fit the learning needs of children from different year groups within the same classroom.
George was first introduced to the Elastik platform during a Bedford Borough Council meeting. Impressed by its potential to streamline assessments and improve student outcomes, he and his team quickly engaged in both online and face-to-face training sessions to integrate the platform into their daily routines. The schoolteachers began using White Rose-inspired assessments through Elastik. These assessments provided immediate positive results, especially in Maths, allowing teachers to better track progress and tailor their teaching accordingly.
George remarks that one of the platform’s greatest strengths, is its ability to set assessments that were instantly marked. This reduced the manual workload significantly and allowed teachers to focus on more impactful activities like planning lessons and delivering targeted interventions.
Before long, teacher efficiency and targeted learning were experiencing changes.
Since integrating Elastik, Thurleigh primary school has seen a substantial improvement in teacher workload.
Tasks that previously required hours of preparation and manual work were now automated, freeing up valuable time for more in-depth lesson planning and individual support for students. Teachers especially appreciated the ability to receive instantaneous data, which made the process of identifying and addressing learning gaps far more efficient.
George states the most significant difference in classroom teaching has been the ability to set tailored assessments for different year groups within the same classroom.
By instantly identifying gaps in students’ knowledge, teachers could quickly adapt their lesson plans to address those gaps, making the learning experience more personalised.
The platform also provides resources that teachers can use to fill knowledge gaps, whether as part of an intervention, pre-teaching activity, or as a plenary.
In fact, George pointed out that Elastik’s gap review feature allows for regular reassessment to ensure that students are truly closing the gaps in their understanding. This dynamic approach has proven highly effective in a mixed-age classroom setting, where flexibility and adaptability are key.
How have students found the introduction of Elastik.
Both teachers and students have embraced the platform, with students particularly enjoying the digital assessments. They found the assessments engaging and viewed them as a challenge rather than a chore. Teachers, on the other hand, were quick to see the impact Elastik had on their workflow.
With the time saved on manual tasks, they were able to enhance their teaching and make learning more engaging for the students.
What’s next? Future SATs exams and ongoing improvements.
While it’s still early to determine the full impact of Elastik on Thurleigh’s SATs results, George and his team are confident that by focusing on the younger year groups and ensuring consistent progress, there will be a noticeable improvement in future outcomes. The platform’s ability to track and ‘fill’ knowledge gaps is expected to enhance students’ mathematics knowledge and skills, which should lead to higher attainment in the key stage 2 SATs.
A more efficient, data-driven approach to teaching.
Thurleigh Primary School’s experience with Elastik has been overwhelmingly positive. By streamlining assessments and providing actionable data, the platform has not only reduced teacher workload but also enhanced classroom learning.
With ongoing refinements, such as the incorporation of White Rose-inspired assessments, Thurleigh is poised to continue benefiting from Elastik in the years to come. The platform has proven to be a vital tool in helping Thurleigh deliver better outcomes for its students, particularly in the areas of SATs preparation and targeted interventions.