Key Stage 1 and 2 assessment appeals

Processes for appealing key stage 1 and 2 assessments

Moderation processes - Key Stage (KS) 1 and 2 assessment appeals

Moderation of key stage 1 teacher assessment of reading, writing and mathematics and key stage 2 teacher assessment of writing is a statutory requirement carried out on behalf of the government’s Standards and Testing Agency to establish the accuracy of teacher judgements.

The moderator’s role is to review the evidence and engage teachers in a professional dialogue to establish their understanding and application of national curriculum assessment standards.

In instances when the moderator’s judgement of an overall teacher assessment judgement differs from that of the school, these procedures apply:

Appeals process for KS1 and KS2

In instances when the moderators' judgement of an overall teacher assessment standard differs from that of the school the following procedures apply.

Key Stage 1 and 2 assessment appeals stages

Key Stage 1 and 2 assessment appeals

Stage 1 - resolution during the moderation visit

Stage 1 - resolution during the moderation visit

During the moderation, the moderators will inform the school representative of their judgement relating to the award of the standard for an individual pupil’s overall teacher assessment outcome.  The moderators’ judgement will be supported by a detailed explanation.

If the school representative accepts the moderators’ judgement, the standard awarded for that pupil will be changed to the standard determined by the moderator.

If there are concerns about the evidence or judgements at that standard, the moderators will expand the sample - all overall teacher assessments made by the school at the same standard will be made available to the moderators for further sampling.

If further samples at that standard are found to reflect standards at variance with the moderators’ judgements, the school will be required to reconsider its assessments at the standard in question.

The Lead Moderator will notify the Head Teacher of the moderators’ judgement and any further actions the school needs to take.

The Lead Moderator will add to the form the agreed further actions to be taken and indicate that the school agrees with the judgements. The Head Teacher and Lead Moderator will both sign the form.

If further actions are required, the Lead Moderator will inform the Moderation Manager.

Stage 2 - appeal

If the school disagrees with the moderators’ judgement, the Lead Moderator will indicate this on the form and the Head Teacher and Lead Moderator will both sign the form.

The Lead Moderator will inform the Moderation Manager.

The Head Teacher should then contact the Moderation Manager (email: liz.lawrence@bdsip.co.uk) to arrange an appointment for the teachers involved to attend the stage 2 appeal moderation. 

The Stage 2 appeal date is set for the afternoon of 29 June.

On that date, the Moderation Manager will arrange for another team of moderators to review the overall teacher assessment sample at the disputed standard. No further evidence may be presented; only evidence provided during the original moderation can be considered. These moderators will not discuss the evidence with the first team of moderators, to enable an independent judgement to be made.

If the second team of moderators support the school’s judgement relating to the overall teacher assessment sample at the disputed standard, this judgement will act as endorsement of the school’s judgement for overall teacher assessment at that particular standard.

If the second team of moderators support the original moderators’ judgement relating to the overall teacher assessment sample at the disputed standard, the Head Teacher will be informed of this decision.

If the Head Teacher agrees with the outcome of the Stage 2 Appeal, no further action need be taken.

Stage 3 - external appeal

If the school does not accept the outcome of the Stage 2 Appeal, the process will move to a Stage 3 appeal which is set for the morning of 30 June.

The Head Teacher should contact the Moderation Manager no later than 8.30am on 30 June so that an appointment can be provided. 

At this stage of appeal, the overall teacher assessment sample at the disputed standard will be reviewed at a formal appeal panel. This panel will include the Moderation Managers and/or moderators from a neighbouring LA. (In the case of Barking and Dagenham we are partnered with Waltham Forest). The Moderation Manager will inform the school of the panel’s judgement and will provide written verification of that judgement for the school. 

Stage 4

In the final instance, there may be escalation to STA. This must include details of the appeal.

The above applies to judgements made during the external moderation visit and as part of the re-moderation process.