‘It took a lot of pressure off the teachers’: Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School’s trial of NFER Online Assessments
Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School in Knowsley has used NFER paper tests for many years to provide reliable, standardised scores. Helen Scott, year 5 teacher and Assessment and Reporting Lead, oversees assessment across the school.
Looking to manage workload while maintaining robust assessment and preparing pupils for SATs, the school trialled online assessments in years 4 and 5 alongside paper tests, creating a blended approach.
A smooth introduction to online assessment
After an initial learning curve, staff found the platform easy to use. Practical features such as QR-code logins streamlined admin and helped pupils get started quickly.
‘The children could get on the platform really easily, and the older children could just set it up themselves.’
Familiarisation videos also played an important role in supporting pupils.
‘The videos definitely supported the children and improved their confidence.’
'It cut the marking down by well more than half'
One of the most immediate benefits was the reduction in marking time. With around 70% of questions auto-marked, teachers only needed to review extended responses.
‘It took a lot of pressure off the teachers.’
“It’s a good mix – the tick-box questions are done for you, which saves a massive amount of time, but you still get a feel for what the children can do from the longer answers.’
Turning data into action
The quality and immediacy of reporting had a clear impact on teaching at Helen’s school.
‘The reports told me straight away where individual children are struggling, and as a class where the focus needs to be.’
‘You could spend forever and a day analysing one test – whereas it’s there straight away.’
Helen found the insights easy to interpret and apply:
‘I like that you’ve got all the reports and analysis that feeds into my planning.’
Teachers have used this information to adapt teaching, revisit key concepts and provide targeted support. For example, when long multiplication was identified as a gap, additional teaching time and daily practice were introduced.
‘The analysis that you get from this is superb.’
Hybrid assessments: a trusted and balanced approach
Outcomes from the online assessments closely matched teacher assessment and paper test results, giving staff confidence in the data.
‘It’s definitely trustworthy.’
However, the school recognises the importance of preparing pupils for paper-based national tests. Maintaining a hybrid approach ensures teachers and pupils benefit from the efficiency and insight of online assessment, while pupils remain familiar with SATs formats.
For Our Lady’s, ‘a hybrid approach works best.’
Advice for other schools: slow and steady
Helen recommends a phased approach for schools looking to save time through online assessments, but still wanting to retain paper tests.
Her advice for other schools interested in online assessments but not ready to commit to a complete shift, is to ‘try to approach it like we've done’ – start by trailing online assessments in select year groups to allow time for staff and pupils to build confidence gradually, and ensure your devices are reliable.
By adopting a blended approach to assessment, Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School has reduced workload, improved efficiency and gained faster, more actionable insights – while maintaining familiarity with SATs formats.
Find out more
Visit the NFER Online Assessments page for more information on using NOA in your school or MAT.