If you are new to TAPS, then we recommend you start by trying some Focused Assessment activities – find the lesson plans on the main TAPS website. To register interest for Focus4TAPS professional development, please complete this form. A summary of the impact of TAPS so far can be found in this impact booklet.

On this website, the TAPS pyramid tool provides schools with a supportive structure to evaluate and develop their assessment processes. The rich classroom assessment information produced by ‘active pupils’ and ‘responsive teachers’ can be used formatively to inform next steps and summatively to report to different audiences.

Assessment information flows up the pyramid, from the classroom ‘pupil’ and ‘teacher’ layers, through the ‘shared understanding’ layer where judgements are collated and moderated, to the ‘summative and whole school reporting’ layers. Within each layer are guidance boxes containing suggested practices and examples from across the UK, providing a bank of ideas for the development of assessment in primary science.

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project is based at Bath Spa University and funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust.  TAPS has been working in collaboration with teachers across the UK since 2013 to develop support for valid, reliable and manageable assessment, which will have a positive impact on children’s learning.