Planning for progression

Planning for progression should always take account of the pace and depth of learning, moving from literal, simple information to more abstract and complex concepts. Progress happens when skills, knowledge and understanding can be transferred to and applied in new and increasingly unfamiliar contexts and is enabled when discussion, reflection and evaluation form an integral part of the learning.

As such, it is important to remember that we are dealing here with people, not products. Progression doesn’t happen in age boxes or phase boxes – it happens when it happens. Our current thinking in relation to assessment and progression can easily be distorted by the constructs which frame our thinking which have grown from decades of unhelpful terminology and assessment tools. The job now is to strip away the aspects which do not focus on the learner, constructing the learner-focused curriculum and thinking about how children make progress.