Family-school partnership: Learning Ladders

Parental Engagement/Partnership

At Optimist International School (OIS), our focus is on individual learning progress. We aim to work closely with parents to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding each child’s educational journey. We hold three individual parent-teacher learning conferences per year: in September, January, and June. The purpose of these meetings is to foster open communication between teachers and parents about a child’s learning progress, development, and any specific needs. These conferences provide an opportunity for teachers to share insights into a child’s achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement, while also discussing next steps in their education and how parents can be involved in their child’s journey.

We see it as the teacher’s responsibility to monitor learning progress and signal if it slows down or if more challenge is needed. It is, of course, important for the teacher to share this with parents. When progress is delayed or a student is not meeting age-appropriate expectations, teachers will discuss this with parents. While parents can see progress through our Ladders at Home portal, it is the teacher’s responsibility to monitor progress and take on that ‘signaling role’. The purpose of the Ladders at Home portal is to support communication with parents about learning and progress, which is done during the parent-teacher conferences.

Monitoring Progress – Two Types of Assessments

In primary education, assessing against objectives and standardized assessments are two different ways to check how children are doing in their learning. Both serve a unique role in understanding your child’s development.

Assessing Against Objectives: Teachers assess how well a child is performing based on specific learning goals—skills, knowledge, and understanding students are expected to learn. Teachers continuously observe and assess where students are in their learning journey, what they need to work on, and how they can achieve the next steps. This type of assessment is personalized, focusing on what a child has mastered or still needs to work on. While classes follow the learning goals for their year group, teachers have the flexibility to tailor these goals to meet individual needs. For new students, we use the initial weeks to complete start assessments. These give us an accurate starting position, align us with the parents, and help identify any possible gaps in learning.

Standardized Assessments: These assessments compare a child’s performance to other children of the same age, in our case, within the UK system. They help determine if a child is progressing in line with peers and provide a benchmark for progress. Unlike assessments against objectives, standardized assessments do not focus on specific school schemes of learning but instead offer a broader view of a child’s performance compared to other students. They also ensure our curriculum provides balanced coverage of essential skills. We use internationally recognized standardized assessments for core subjects like English, Mathematics, Reading, Spelling, cognitive ability, and students’ attitudes toward self and school for groups 2 and up.

In summary, assessing against objectives helps teachers understand where your child is in their personal learning journey, while standardized assessments show how they’re performing compared to other children their age. Both types of assessments provide a complete picture of your child’s development, ensuring they receive the right level of support or challenge.

Learning Ladders

Tracking progress against learning goals is done via Learning Ladders for all subjects. Its main purpose is to help teachers, parents, and students clearly understand where a child is in their learning journey, what they need to work on, and how to achieve their learning goals. It helps teachers set clear, specific learning goals for each student, making it easier to plan next steps and monitor progress toward mastering objectives. Learning Ladders doesn’t focus on test scores—it provides a broader view of a child’s understanding and growth across different subject areas, ensuring a more complete picture of their development. It also fosters communication between teachers and parents by sharing real-time progress updates.

Teachers regularly update Learning Ladders, which is visible to parents through the Ladders at Home portal. This portal allows for easy communication between teachers and parents, as teachers can share progress and evidence linked to learning goals. Parents can view this information, translate it into over 100 languages, and also download and print reports.

Ladders at Home will offer:

• From January 2025 onwards, we plan to open the parent portal for real-time updates on Mathematics and Language Arts, so parents can view updated progress as they log in.
• For other subjects, such as IPC, Dutch, Health and Wellbeing, and PE, the portal will be updated at the end of the first two terms (January and April). Parents will be notified when these updates are available.
• Additionally, we will share individual student statements for Mathematics and English Language Arts via PDF email at the end of the first two terms (January and April). These statements will show progress relative to year-end learning goals. Please note that learning continues, and these statements represent a snapshot of progress at that specific point in time.
• For the final term (June), we will generate an end-of-year report via Learning Ladders, which will be shared through Ladders at Home. This report will show progress and attainment in relation to age-related expectations, along with teacher comments.

Development Stages

In Learning Ladders, teachers categorize learning into three development stages: beginning, developing, and mastering. In Ladders at Home, parents will see this marked as ‘in progress’ or ‘completed’. It is important to note that learning goals in subjects like the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) typically take two or more years to achieve. Goals are introduced and initially addressed within a unit, but further development or mastery may occur over multiple units, as skills and knowledge are reinforced. The IPC’s structure ensures that concepts are revisited over time to ensure lasting understanding.

Student agency

We involve students in their learning process through Reflective Learning Journeys, where we visualize progress on specific objectives and explore the behaviors and feelings that come with learning. We are also exploring the possibility of having students add their own reflections to the reports in Learning Ladders. We’ve made a start by adding evidence of learning to Learning Ladders, which can be viewed in the portfolio on Ladders at Home and in the end-of-year report.

Early Years

In Early Years, progress is tracked using an observation map linked to Early Years learning goals, which is also visible through Ladders at Home. The Early Years team will inform parents when Ladders at Home can be accessed.

Supporting Your Child’s Growth: The Role of Learning Ladders

At Optimist International School (OIS), we believe a strong family-school partnership is key to supporting every child’s growth. Learning Ladders helps us track progress, providing clear insights into each student’s development. In this article, we’ll explore how Learning Ladders, combined with regular assessments, ensures that parents and teachers are aligned in supporting your child’s learning journey.

By using Learning Ladders, we can ensure a more personalized, transparent approach to your child’s education, fostering a collaborative environment where progress is clearly communicated and celebrated. Together, we can support your child’s growth at every step of the way.