Using ‘I can’ statements with the National Curriculum

'I can' statements can ... be used when setting targets and providing feedback to pupils

Nina Siddall-Ward, an associate education expert, explained that ‘I can’ statements are an assessment tool designed to allow pupils to assess their own skills.

They are usually written in ‘pupil-speak’ and will be discussed at the beginning and end of lessons. You can also use 'I can' statements when setting targets and providing feedback to pupils.

You could base 'I can' statements for the National Curriculum on the lists of statutory requirements for each subject.

You can download the National Curriculum programmes of study from the following page:

National Curriculum, GOV.UK – DfE https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum

However, she added that broader 'pupil assessment statements' may be a more suitable way of assessing pupils under the current curriculum. We look at these in more detail below.

Read more about assessment and target setting

Find further support on:

• Setting targets in maths
• Internal assessment approaches and good practice

Pupil assessment statements

Nina said that pupil-speak assessment statements could be a more comprehensive way of assessing end-of-unit coverage and depth of understanding.

To produce these statements, you could look at the interim teacher assessment frameworks and the programmes of study from a pupil's perspective, and think about how they might best be explained in a classroom.

You can download the interim teacher assessment frameworks for KS1 and 2 from the following pages:

Interim frameworks for teacher assessment at the end of KS1, GOV.UK - Standards and Testing Agency (STA) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-assessment-frameworks-at-the-end-of-key-stage-1

Interim frameworks for teacher assessment at the end of KS2, GOV.UK - STA https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-assessment-frameworks-at-the-end-of-key-stage-2

Statements to assess learning, curriculum coverage and depth of understanding

Nina created 4 examples of pupil-speak assessment statements for us: 2 from KS1 and 2 from KS2. These could be printed and then given to pupils to complete.

Use and adapt these examples when developing your own:

KeyDoc: pupil-speak assessment statements DOC, 114.5 KB Download

Examples from schools

Mangotsfield Church of England (CofE) Voluntary Controlled Primary School in South Gloucestershire has published assessment statements for writing and maths.

You can download them from the ‘Assessment’ sections of the pages linked to below.

English, Mangotsfield CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School http://www.mangotsfieldprimary.org/Curriculum/English/

Maths, Mangotsfield CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School http://www.mangotsfieldprimary.org/Curriculum/Maths/

St Agatha's Catholic Primary School in Surrey has also published 'I can' statements for years 1 to 6 in reading, writing and maths.

National Curriculum, St Agatha's Catholic Primary School http://www.stagathas.school/National-Curriculum