Children in Early Years at Simon Balle All-through school attain highly. The proportion of children who achieve a ‘good level of development’ (which means reaching expected levels in the first five areas of learning shown with a * below) has been consistently in line or above the national average. This figure was 71.7% in 2019; no 2020 data is available due to Covid-19. Simon Balle has high expectations of all children, and provision is matched to children’s needs. The table below also shows the percentage of children reaching expected (age-related) and exceeding (above age-related) levels in comparison with the national average for each area of learning.
Areas of learning | Simon Balle 2019 | National 2019 | Simon Balle 2018 | |||
Expected | Exceeding | Expected | Exceeding | Expected | Exceeding | |
Communication and language * | 83.3% | 25.0% | 82.4% | 15.3% | 86.7% | 23.3% |
Physical development * | 85.0% | 17.0% | 87.3% | 13.1% | 88.3% | 25.0% |
Personal, social and emotional development * | 90.0% | 13.3% | 85.2% | 10.4% | 93.3% | 18.3% |
Literacy * | 73.3% | 21.7% | 73.3% | 10.3% | 80.0% | 16.7% |
Mathematics * | 75.0% | 10.0% | 78.3% | 12.8% | 83.3% | 16.7% |
Understanding the world | 93.3% | 18.3% | 83.9% | 8.5% | 91.7% | 8.3% |
Expressive arts and design | 86.7% | 8.3% | 87.1% | 12.4% | 93.3% | 20.0% |
All students are expected and supported to make at least good progress through the Early Years. From careful observations of children during their child-initiated learning when they begin with us, as well as strong partnerships established between home and school, children are set personalised and meaningful targets in all areas of learning. As the year progresses, achievements are celebrated on Tapestry (our online system for tracking progress) and next steps are always followed through. Progress in 2019 sustained the strong progress achieved every year at Simon Balle, as shown below:
Areas of learning | Percentage of children making good progress |
Percentage of children making accelerated progress |
Communication and language | 98% | 52% |
Physical development | 95% | 27% |
Personal, social and emotional development | 95% | 40% |
Literacy | 97% | 52% |
Mathematics | 95% | 32% |
Understanding the world | 100% | 42% |
Expressive arts and design | 98% | 40% |