LEARNING PROGRESS REVIEW
Unlock their potential
Give us one day, and we’ll give you a complete understanding of your child’s academic learning profile.
About your Child's
LEARNING PROgrESS REVIEW
Being happy and settled should also mean progressing and challenged.
Seeing your child happy and settled at school is important.
You also want the confidence that they are making the progress they are capable of, being appropriately challenged and developing academically.
A Learning Progress Review gives you that clarity.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The Learning Progress Review is designed to feel engaging and personal. Across the day, your child will spend time with our teaching and learning team through five sessions.
Time to settle in to our community, meet our teachers and become comfortable in our school environment.
A combination of engaging activities and our adaptive academic assessment build an evidence-informed picture of your child’s current learning ability.
Through conversation, questioning and carefully pitched challenges, we explore how your child applies their knowledge, thinks independently and responds when learning becomes more demanding.
The session finishes positively, giving your child an opportunity to reflect on what they enjoyed, what challenged them and what they discovered.
An optional session where your child can choose to extend their day by joining one of our After School Activities and experience our Extended Learning Day provision.
There is nothing to prepare and no pass or fail. The day is designed around getting to know your child as a learner.
What is included
Your Learning Progress Review gives you data and evidence of where your child is academically today, and what they need next.
All-inclusive fee: £150
Your child’s assessed reading level, including comprehension, fluency and areas of strength or development.
Your child’s assessed mathematical attainment, including fluency, reasoning and problem-solving.
A teacher-assessed piece of writing showing what your child can currently demonstrate and the specific areas they need to develop next.
An objective indication of whether your child is currently working towards expectation, at expectation, or beyond expectation appropriate to their age.
A written report bringing the assessment evidence together, including strengths, areas requiring development and areas where greater academic challenge is appropriate.
Specific learning priorities, with recommended actions showing how your child can consolidate gaps or be stretched further.
A private and confidential consultation to interpret your child’s results in context, discuss the significance of the findings and provide professional recommendations for their future learning.
Full-day provision available from 8:00am–5:30pm, with a nutritious breakfast, fresh morning fruit platter and afternoon tea, plus complimentary access to an After School Activity.
How we know your child
We combine two complementary approaches to create a complete, evidence-informed understanding of your child’s current learning.
SUMMATIVE DATA
An adaptive academic assessment that responds to your child's answers, adjusting the level of challenge as they progress.
Objective, standardised data providing a measure of current attainment and performance against national age-related data.
FORMATIVE DATA
Professional dialogue and observation led by our experienced, qualified educators designed to get to know your child.
Richer evidence of how your child thinks, applies their knowledge, responds to challenge and approaches learning.
Together, these provide both the data and the professional insight needed to understand what your child knows, how they learn and what they are ready for next.
What parents discovered
We thought our child was where they should be academically. The Review showed us they were actually working below national age-related expectations.
MAINTAINED SCHOOL PARENT
It gave us the clarity we’ve been missing. Our son is not being challenged enough by their school. The recommendations in the Progress Plan will help my son.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL PARENT
It’s so personalised to our daughter. The evidence shows us exactly what she needs next, and how she will be supported.
CURRENT ENROLLED PARENT
KNOWING MATTERS
A message from our
Executive Head of School
As parents, you know when your child is happy and settled. What can be much harder to see is whether they are academically where they should be. That’s our responsibility as educators.
A Learning Progress Review gives you that clarity. It replaces assumption with evidence, giving you confidence that your child is progressing, being appropriately challenged and receiving what they need academically.
One day is an investment in knowing — rather than assuming — that your child is on track.
“Knowing a child is happy matters. Knowing they are progressing, being challenged and reaching their academic potential matters just as much.”
SALLY DAVIS
Everything you need to know
What is a Learning Progress Review?
It is a professionally led service designed to give you a data and evidence-informed picture of your child’s current learning, academic strengths, areas for development and opportunities for greater challenge.
It is not an entrance test. There is no pass or fail outcome, and your child does not need to apply to Clare House School Porthcawl to take part.
Who is the Learning Progress Review for?
Learning Progress Reviews are available to all children aged 6 to 11 years old, from Year 1 to Year 6, regardless of their current educational setting.
We welcome children from both maintained and independent schools. Whether independent education is already familiar to your family or we will be your child’s first experience of an independent school environment.
Our teaching team will ensure your child feels welcomed into our community, comfortable and supported throughout their day.
Each Review is tailored to your child’s age and stage of learning. This allows our teachers to build a personalised and complete understanding of their current attainment, individual strengths, areas for development and opportunities for greater academic challenge.
Why should my child have a Learning Progress Review?
Being happy and settled at school is important. So is knowing that your child is academically where they should be, making appropriate progress and receiving the challenge they need.
A Learning Progress Review provides an independent, evidence-informed picture of your child’s current attainment against national age-related expectations. It brings together academic data, professional teacher insight and your child’s own reflection on their learning.
You will leave with a clear understanding of where your child is now, their individual strengths, areas requiring further development or greater challenge, and what they should be working on next.
Rather than relying on assumption, the Review gives you evidence, clarity and a personalised plan for progress.
Can children with an identified or suspected additional learning need take part?
We will make your child’s Learning Progress Review to be as accessible as reasonably possible.
If your child has an identified or suspected additional learning need, please tell us when completing the booking form and share any information that may help us understand how best to support them. Our team will consider this before confirming the Review and, where appropriate, discuss with you any adjustments that may help your child participate.
Clare House School Porthcawl is not a specialist additional learning needs provision, and the Learning Progress Review is not a specialist or diagnostic service. It cannot diagnose an additional learning need, replace a specialist assessment or provide recommendations that require specialist clinical or educational expertise.
Depending on the nature and level of your child’s needs, there may be circumstances where the Learning Progress Review cannot provide an appropriate or meaningful experience. Where this is the case, we will discuss this with you openly before confirming the booking.
Our priority is to ensure that the Review is appropriate, accessible and valuable for your child’s future learning.
How will I know how my child is performing against national expectations?
We benchmark your child’s attainment against National Curriculum expectations for their age and stage of education.
Using the evidence gathered throughout the day, alongside our adaptive assessment data and teachers’ professional analysis, we provide an indication of whether your child is working towards the expected standard, working at the expected standard, or demonstrating greater depth.
This provides an objective reference point for understanding your child’s current attainment and identifying where further development or greater academic challenge may be appropriate.
How will you assess my child?
We use a combination of summative and formative approaches to build a complete, evidence-informed picture of your child’s current learning.
Summative provides objective data through a adaptive academic assessment, which adjusts the level of challenge in response to your child’s answers. This helps establish their current attainment and provides a consistent benchmark for their performance.
Formative adds professional insight through structured and informal discussion, questioning, learning activities and observation by our experienced, qualified teachers. This helps us understand how your child applies their knowledge, approaches unfamiliar learning and responds to challenge.
Together, these approaches combine objective evidence with professional teacher analysis to provide a more complete understanding of your child as a learner.
What will my child do during the day?
Your child will spend a full school day with us, combining structured academic activities with opportunities to experience life within the Clare House School Porthcawl community.
Throughout the day, we use summative and formative approaches to create a complete picture of your child’s learning. This includes our adaptive academic assessment alongside teacher-led activities, professional observation, discussion, questioning and opportunities for appropriate academic challenge.
What will I receive after the Learning Progress Review?
Following the day, our teaching team brings together the evidence and professional observations gathered throughout your child’s time with us.
You will receive a Personalised Learning Progress Report, providing a record of the findings, together with a Progress Plan identifying priority areas and recommended next steps.
You will also be offered a 30-minute private consultation with our Executive Head of School, providing professional interpretation of the evidence and recommendations for your child’s future learning.
Who facilitates the Learning Progress Review?
Every Learning Progress Review is facilitated by members of our experienced teaching and learning team, all of whom are qualified teachers.
Your child will be supported by our teachers throughout the day, allowing us to combine objective data with professional observation and educational analysis.
Does taking part mean we have to apply to the school?
No. There is no obligation to apply to Clare House School Porthcawl following a Learning Progress Review.
The findings, report and recommendations are yours to take away and use in considering your child’s future learning.
How much does it cost?
The fee for a Learning Progress Review is £150, payable when a day is confirmed. Clare House School Porthcawl is a not-for-profit school and 100% of the fee is invested in your child’s Learning Progress Review.
Should you subsequently decide to apply to Clare House School Porthcawl, be offered a place and choose to accept it, the £150 fee will be deducted from your enrolment deposit.
There is no fee to apply to Clare House School Porthcawl.
When can I book a Learning Progress Review?
Learning Progress Reviews are held every Wednesday during term time, subject to availability.
How do I book a Learning Progress Review?
Complete and submit the short form on this web page and a member of our team will be in touch to confirm the arrangements with you.
Before the review, we’ll also take some time to learn more about your child, their educational journey and your family’s context, helping our teachers understand what matters to you and make the day as relevant and personalised as possible.
Once the arrangements are confirmed, the £150 fee is payable to secure your child’s Learning Progress Review.
Will my child need to miss a day of school?
Your child will need to be away from their current school to attend a Learning Progress Review.
However, this is not a day away from learning. Your child will spend the day in a school environment, working with qualified teachers and taking part in structured academic activities, individual learning, discussion and appropriate challenge.
The day provides something different from a normal school day: dedicated time to establish where your child is academically, how they respond to challenge and what they need next.
For many families, it is a valuable one-day investment in gaining greater clarity about their child’s longer-term academic progress.
What time does the day start and finish?
Your child will be invited to arrive at 8:00am. We encourage an 8:00am arrival so your child can enjoy breakfast with us, settle into the environment and experience our community before commencing their Learning Progress Review.
The Learning Progress Review will start at 9:00am and finish at 3:20pm.
Your child will also be invited to join an After School Activity until 4:45pm, which is optional.
We also offer Extended Learning Day provision until 5:30pm, which is also optional.
Provision from 8:00am to 5:30pm is included in the fee and there is no extra charge.
How many children take part?
We welcome a maximum of two children to attend each Learning Progress Review day.
Keeping each day intentionally small ensures every child receives significant individual attention and interaction with our teaching team throughout their time with us.
Can I stay with my child?
Parents do not remain with their child during the day.
Your child will be welcomed and supported by our teaching and learning team from arrival through to collection. This also gives us the opportunity to understand how your child engages, learns and interacts independently within the school environment.
Does my child need to prepare?
There is no preparation is required.
There is nothing to revise or practise beforehand. We want the Learning Progress Review to provide an authentic picture of your child’s current learning, so we encourage them to arrive ready to enjoy the day.
Is food provided during the day?
We will welcome your child with breakfast on arrival and provide a morning fresh fruit platter and afternoon tea.
Parents will need to provide a packed lunch and water bottle for their child.
Please let us know about any allergies or dietary requirements when booking.
What should my child wear?
Your child should wear comfortable, practical clothing suitable for spending a normal school day with us. They may wear their current school uniform, if they wish.
Where does the Learning Progress Review take place?
Learning Progress Review days are held at Clare House School Porthcawl, Newton, Porthcawl CF36 5AS.
If I apply, does a Learning Progress Review guarantee my child a place at the school?
No. The Learning Progress Review is separate from the admissions process and does not guarantee an offer of a school place.
If, following the review, you would like your child to be considered for a place at Clare House School Porthcawl, you can submit an application through our admissions process. There is no fee to submit an application.
One day will unlock your child's potential
You leave with more than a result.
You receive a complete understanding of where your child is now, evidence of how they are performing, and a personalised plan for what comes next.
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