Track With Ease is a wider curriculum* tracking tool for Key Stages 1 and 2. It has been created by teachers and school leaders at Parbold Douglas CE Academy for use by the school. Having now successfully used the tool for over a year, we are delighted to share it freely with other schools. [*We define wider curriculum to refer to any subjects outside of the spheres of English and mathematics.]

The tracking tool provides a simple, workload-friendly system for recording teacher assessment judgements, giving curriculum leaders access to instant analysis. This analysis allows leaders to identify trends in attainment at whole-school level, and at individual class level, for different pupil groups (inc. boys, girls, SEND, Pupil Premium and EAL) in all wider curriculum subjects.

The tracker is designed to be simple, straightforward and to provide curriculum leaders and teachers with quick access to useful information and analysis. The tracker can be used flexibly with any curriculum model.

Whilst purposeful, manageable assessment has an essential role to play in effective teaching practice, the design and delivery of an excellent curriculum always comes first. We firmly believe that teachers' time is best spent working alongside children and planning learning opportunities that stretch, challenge and facilitate their academic progress. However, many of the 'assessment' tools designed to support practitioners act as a barrier to this: invariably, they are incredibly time-consuming and can lack validity. This means the data proves of little use when planning next steps in learning.

In seeking to create a tool that is purposeful and manageable, this tracking tool was born. It has been carefully developed so that it is workload-friendly for teachers whilst being rich in the information it provides. It is designed to sit alongside any curriculum model and focuses on identifying which pupils need additional support. Teachers should also consider how to challenge pupils who are judged to be 'on track'.

We don't expect it to be right for every school but hope that many will find it useful! 

Access the tracking tools by downloading the Excel files below. These include instructions around how to set them up and how to use them effectively.

Please note: These trackers do not support teachers to make accurate summative judgements about pupil attainment in wider curriculum subjects. Rather, they provide a simple tool for recording these judgements, giving curriculum leaders access to instant analysis. 

Please share freely. Not to be sold.