Setting and Streaming – Our Approach

Our approach to setting and streaming at KS3 is designed to ensure that students are taught in groups that support their progress, while allowing us to respond to changes in attainment and progress over time. Decisions are based on a range of reliable assessment information and are reviewed regularly.

Year 7 – Tutor Group Teaching

As in previous years, Year 7 students will initially be taught in their Tutor Groups. Tutor Groups have been carefully constructed using a combination of academic and pastoral information, including KS2 SATs data, to create balanced groups and support students as they settle into life at WSE.

We have the flexibility to introduce setting in Maths during Year 7. Students' progress in Maths during Term 1 will be reviewed during Term 2, alongside other relevant information. It is highly likely that Maths sets will be introduced from Term 3 (January), with further changes to sets considered following the mid-year and end-of-year assessments.

Parents and carers will be informed of any changes to Maths teaching groups nearer the time.

Year 8 – Setting in Core and Selected Subjects

In Year 8, students are taught subject specific sets for English, Maths, Science, PE and Languages, allowing students to work with a wider range of their peers beyond their Tutor Group. This enables students to spend more time learning alongside others working at a similar level, allowing teachers to provide appropriately targeted challenge, support and teaching.

Students can move between groups during the year where the assessment evidence indicates that this would support their progress. Set changes will normally be considered following the mid-year and end-of-year assessments, once the assessment information has been carefully reviewed.

Other lessons remain as mixed teaching groups for now.

Year 9 – Setting and Streaming

In Year 9, students continue to be taught in sets in the subjects where setting was established in Year 8. These groups are primarily based on attainment and progress data from Year 8 in the relevant subjects.

Year 9 also introduces streaming in additional subjects. Streamed groups are created using a broader range of assessment information, including KS2 SATs, Year 7 CATs and Year 8 assessment data across a range of subjects. This provides a broader picture of students' attainment and learning needs when placing students into these groups.

The aim is to ensure that students increasingly learn alongside peers with broadly similar levels of attainment, allowing teachers to provide appropriate challenge, targeted support and teaching that responds to students' needs. This is particularly important as students begin to prepare for their GCSE subject choices.

As with setting, streamed groups are not fixed. Students can move between sets or streams where the evidence indicates that a change would better support their progress. Changes will normally be considered following mid-year and end-of-year assessments, once the available assessment information has been reviewed.

Our Key Principles

Across KS3, our approach is based on four principles:

• Evidence-informed: decisions are based on a range of academic and assessment information rather than a single data point.
• Responsive: teaching groups can change as students' attainment and progress develop.
• Appropriate challenge and support: grouping enables teachers to respond more precisely to students' learning needs.
• No group is permanent: students are regularly reviewed and can move groups when the evidence indicates that this is appropriate.

Our approach to setting and streaming at KS4 is designed to ensure that students are taught in groups that support their progress, while allowing us to respond to changes in attainment and progress over time. Decisions are based on a range of reliable assessment information and are reviewed regularly.

Year 10 - Setting and Mixed Ability Teaching

Please see the table below for our approach to teaching groups in Year 10.   The set groups for September are carefully selected based primarily on attainment and progress data from Year 9 in those subjects.  This means that Year 10 students will spend more time learning alongside students of a similar ability.  This in turn will lead to more targeted support from teachers which will help students as they work through towards their GCSEs.  A student can move sets during the year. This would take place following Mid-year and End-of-year assessments and once the assessment data has been reviewed.   

Year 11 Sets

Our ethos remains the same as in Year 10 - to ensure that ‘the right student, is in front of the right teacher’ for their academic need. Work is undertaken with subject leaders to understand mock performance, how your child has worked throughout the year and any other educational needs which your child may have. This ensures that teachers can tailor lessons to specifically target gaps in student knowledge and address misconceptions. Teachers will provide the correct challenge to help students meet their next target grade. Please be aware that the set groups are not fixed for the entire year. The set Groups will be reviewed after both sets of Year 11 mock exams and that may lead to changes taking place. Again, this is to ensure that ‘the right student is in front of the right teacher in each phase of the academic year. 

Our Key Principles

Across KS4 our approach is based on four principles:

• Evidence-informed: decisions are based on a range of academic and assessment information rather than a single data point.
• Responsive: teaching groups can change as students' attainment and progress develop.
• Appropriate challenge and support: grouping enables teachers to respond more precisely to students' learning needs.
• No group is permanent: students are regularly reviewed and can move groups when the evidence indicates that this is appropriate.