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Reception baseline assessment and reporting arrangements

The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) will be statutory in schools from September 2021. The RBA provides a snapshot of where pupils are when they arrive at school. It will provide a starting point to measure the progress schools make with their pupils between reception and the end of primary school. This will allow the department to take better account of the variations schools will experience in pupils’ starting points. This is especially important in 2021, when COVID-19 will have affected children’s lives in very different ways.

Pupils will complete practical tasks using physical resources, and practitioners will log their responses using an online platform. Pilot analysis showed that pupils took an average of just over 14 minutes to complete the tasks. Schools will receive narrative statements describing what each pupil was able to do.

STA have published the assessment and reporting arrangements to be used by headteachers and schools.
 
On Monday 17 May, headteachers will receive a short online form to fill out. This form will capture key information about the school, and will allow headteachers to nominate an RBA lead to oversee the day-to-day running of the assessment.

Assessment resources will be delivered to schools from Tuesday 8 June.

For general enquiries about the administration of the RBA, please phone 0330 088 4171 or email receptionbaseline@nfer.ac.uk.