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Guidance: Terms of reference: grants for moderating primary assessments

Standards Testing Agency

September 20
15:23 2023

Purpose

STA pays grants to local authorities and academies to support them in undertaking:

  • moderation of teacher assessment (TA) at key stage 2 (KS2)
  • monitoring of the phonics screening check

STA pays these grants retrospectively to:

  • local authorities once every academic year
  • academies on a 4 year cycle

This is an annual activity required by the amended Education (National Curriculum) (Key Stage 2 Assessment Arrangements) (England) Order 2003 and amended Education (National Curriculum) (Key Stage 1 Assessment Arrangements) (England) Order 2004.

Conditions

Funding from this grant is non-ringfenced, but local authorities and academies must ensure statutory moderation takes place at least every 4 years.

Local authorities are required to moderate 25% of their geographic schools each year, including academies who have selected the local authority to moderate them in that academic year and are due statutory moderation.

Allocation

STA allocates funding to local authorities based on the number of maintained schools within their geographic area, using spring census data and paid based on a ratio of expected visits in academic year. Funding for academies is allocated on a 4 year cycle based on the year they opened.

Grant payment amounts are based on the Department for Educations (DfE) Quality Assurance Framework. DfE introduced the calculation for this grant in 2012.

Payment schedules

STA makes a payment in:

  • September to local authorities
  • October to the required academies

This covers the costs incurred for the retrospective academic year between 1 September to 31 August.

Published 20 September 2023

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