Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Government Guidance

External moderation is conducted by Local Authorities (LA) on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education. LAs are required to externally moderate at least 25% of schools every year. 

External moderation is statutory. It gives confidence that schools’ Teacher Assessment judgements are accurate and consistent with national standards, as specified in each Teacher Assessment Frameworks (TAF) and exemplification materials. It also ensures the system is fair to all pupils.

Schools selected for Key Stage 1 moderation have a sample of their English reading, English writing and mathematics outcomes moderated by LAs. 

Schools selected for Key Stage 2 moderation have a sample of their English writing outcomes moderated by LAs. This is to validate judgements and ensure they are consistent with national standards.

External moderation is a collaborative process between the LA’s moderators and the school. It offers the opportunity to discuss judgements on pupils’ performance against the requirements of the TA frameworks.
Statutory moderation processes and protocols reflect the statutory guidance outlined within the Assessment and Reporting Arrangements and Teacher Assessment Guidance documents for each key stage. Schools must familiarise themselves with all key documents published by the Standards and Testing Agency.

Laura Bailey has been commissioned by the LA to take on the role of Moderation Manager for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 this academic year.
 

More information can be found here.

Administration of KS Tests: Test Guides & Access Arrangements

On the links below you can access materials and guidance from the Standards and Testing Agency.

• Key stage 1 tests: test administration guidance (TAG) 
• Key stage 1 tests: how to use access arrangements 
• Key stage 2 tests: test administration guidance (TAG) 
• Key stage 2 tests: access arrangements 

Charging Policy for Academies and Free Schools

There is no charge for LA maintained schools. 

Academies and free schools should continue to fund external moderation through their general annual grant funding allocation, as in previous years.

In the event of selection charges will apply for academies, free schools and participating Independent Schools. Schools will be invoiced after the moderation visit has taken place. The charging structure for 2022-2023 is outlined in the moderation guidance documentation shared with all Waltham Forest schools. More information can be found here.

There is no additional charge for re-moderation or appeals.

Moderation Key Dates

Key Stage 1 

• 30 March 2023 - Deadline for schools to notify moderation manager of KS1 blackout dates
• 12 May 2023 - Schools to be notified of moderation selection, on or as close to 12 May as possible (Schools will be notified of the date, time and name/s of moderators w/c 15 May 2023)
• 17 May 2023 (11am - 12pm) - Operational online briefing for schools selected for moderation 
• 5 - 27 June 2023 - KS1 Moderation Window
• 27 June 2023 - Final TA deadline for KS1

Key Stage 2

• 30 March 2023 - Deadline for schools to notify moderation manager of KS2 blackout dates
• 12 May 2023 - Schools to be notified of moderation selection, on or as close to 12 May as possible (Schools will be notified of the date, time and name/s of moderators w/c 15 May 2023)
• 17 May 2023 (1pm - 2pm) - Operational online briefing for schools selected for moderation 
• 5 - 30 June 2023 - KS2 Moderation Window
• 30 June 2023 - Final TA deadline for KS2

Moderation Video

Below you can watch a video kindly reproduced with permission from Chingford CofE Primary School, which provides an example of a moderation session for teacher assessment of writing at Key Stage 2.

The video session is designed to be very thorough to try to include a full range of discussion and evidence. As a guide 10 - 15 minutes is an average time for discussion of one case. The onus is on the teacher to present the range of evidence that supports his or her judgments. One moderator uses the criteria provided by STA to record where evidence has been provided and the other facilitates the discussion.