Information About PLRs

The purpose of the Pupil Learning Record (PLR)

The purpose of the Pupil Learning Record (PLR) is to prompt discussion about learning and progress between parent/carer and child and between tutor/teacher and child.

How your child’s target grade is set

School performance in England and Wales is judged against criteria set using KS2 SATs information provided by Primary Schools. This is known as Baseline Data. A GCSE target grade is generated from your child’s KS2 SATs results in English and Mathematics. When League Tables are published annually, following public examinations, this is the data which is used to rank schools nationally. A similar methodology is used for judging school performance at A Level, with the target grade being generated from each student’s performance at GCSE. These grades appear on the PLR in the column headed GCSE (GCE) Target Grade.

Why your child’s target grade may be raised

At Kingsmead School we do not believe that a child’s performance is ‘fixed’ by this data. We strongly believe that our students can not only meet the target grade generated from Baseline Data but have the potential to surpass it. This is known as Value Added. For this reason you may see your child’s target grade rise during the course of their school career. For example, if, at the start of Year 10, your child has already reached the target grade generated by their Baseline Data, we shall raise the bar and set them a higher target to ensure that they continue to pursue excellence and achieve ‘beyond expectation’. We shall never lower your child’s target grade.

How is my child’s performance tracked?

In order to ensure that your child’s progress is tracked throughout his / her time at Kingsmead School we have created a series of Flight Paths. These identify, for each student, what expected progress looks like at key points throughout their academic career at Kingsmead.

EXAMPLE OF A SECTION OF A FLIGHT PATH