Working at greater depth: what it means for your child

Each year, the DfE publishes a Teacher Assessment Framework that sets out what children have to do to meet the expected standard for their Key Stage, and what they must demonstrate if they are working at greater depth.

Working at greater depth is NOT simply doing the same calculations with bigger numbers, or reading more challenging books.

At the end of KS1 (Year 2), pupils are assessed by their teachers.

In KS1 reading, children who are working at greater depth can:
 

• In a book they are reading independently, make inferences on the basis of what is said and done.
• Predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far.
• Make links between the book they are reading and other books they have read.

In KS1 writing, children who are working at greater depth can:
 

• Write effectively and coherently for different purposes, drawing on their reading to inform their vocabulary and grammar.
• Make simple additions, revisions and corrections to their own writing.
• Use the punctuation taught in KS1 mostly correctly.
• Spell most common exception words.
• Use suffixes mostly correctly in their writing (e.g. -ment, -ness, -ful, -less, -ly).
• Join some letters in their handwriting.

In KS1 maths, Year 2 children who are working at greater depth can:
 

• Read scales where not all numbers on the scale are given, and estimate points in between.
• Recall and use multiplication and division facts for 2, 5 and 10 and make deductions outside known multiplication facts (e.g. 2x2 is the same as 1x4).
• Use reasoning about numbers and relationships to solve more complex problems and explain their thinking (e.g. ‘Together, Jack and Sam have £14. Jack has £2 more than Sam. How much money does Sam have?’).
• Solve unfamiliar word problems that involve more than one step (e.g. ‘Which has the most biscuits: 4 packets of biscuits with 5 in each packet, or 3 packets of biscuits with 10 in each packet?’).
• Read the time on a clock to the nearest 5 minutes.
• Describe similarities and differences of 2D and 3D shapes, using their properties (e.g. knowing that a cube and a cuboid have the same number of edges, faces and vertices, but different dimensions).

At the end of KS2 (Year 6), children are assessed by statutory tests, or SATs. ‘Children receive a scaled score where 100+ is judged as reaching the age-related standard, and 110+ is reaching the higher standard,’ Rachel explains.

‘Confusingly, there is no greater depth judgement for 11-year-olds; however, it’s likely that schools will still use the term in their own assessments.’

In a word, no! ‘The clue is in the term greater depth,’ Rachel says. ‘We encourage children to go deeper into the subject before accelerating higher.’

Children must demonstrate that they’ve thoroughly mastered an area of learning, rather than racing ahead to the curriculum for the following school year.

‘Maths, particularly, is a highly developmental subject where new learning depends on what has come before,’ Rachel explains.

‘There is a small minority of children who need to be working beyond the content for their year, and it’s appropriate that they move on to the new programme of study.

‘However, gaps caused by moving children on too quickly can cause big problems later; on many occasions, I’ve witnessed pupils being extended into new learning far too soon, before they have secured important building blocks.’

It’s natural for parents of children who are currently high-attaining to worry that their child’s needs will be overlooked, but teachers are adept at recognising which children need to be extended.

‘Teachers are amazing; they constantly assess how well children are working on the current learning,’ says Rachel.

‘Our maths advisers, for example, encourage teachers to “teach to the top” and have high expectations for all children.

‘Sometimes it’s more appropriate to have a lesson where some children are completing more complex tasks while others are practising to secure their learning, but often, teachers will present a concept to the whole class then drip in more complex ideas, questions and tasks as and when they see children being successful.

‘This allows teachers to support those children who are not yet secure in their learning while also providing tasks for those who are confident.’

Whatever year group your child is in, our subscriber learning packs offer a selection of 'greater depth' activities for them to work through for English and maths.