These performance descriptions describe early learning and attainment before level 1 in eight levels, from P1 to P8.

The performance descriptions can be used by teachers in the same way as the National Curriculum level descriptions to:

• decide which description best fits a pupil's performance over a period of time and in different contexts
• develop or support more focused day-to-day approaches to ongoing teacher assessment by using the descriptions to refine and develop long-, medium- and short-term planning
• track linear progress towards attainment at National Curriculum level 1
• identify lateral progress by looking for related skills at similar levels across subjects
• record pupils' overall development and achievement, for example, at the end of a year or a key stage.

Performance descriptions across subjects

The performance descriptions for P1 to P3 are common across all subjects. They outline the types and range of general performance that some pupils with learning difficulties might characteristically demonstrate. Subject-focused examples are included to illustrate some of the ways in which staff might identify attainment in different subject contexts.

P1 (i) Pupils encounter activities and experiences. They may be passive or resistant. They may show simple reflex responses, for example, startling at sudden noises or movements. Any participation is fully prompted.

P1 (ii) Pupils show emerging awareness of activities and experiences. They may have periods when they appear alert and ready to focus their attention on certain people, events, objects or parts of objects, for example, catching the smell of old fabric or wooden artefacts. They may give intermittent reactions, for example, sometimes becoming quiet or tense when going into an ancient building.

P2 (i) Pupils begin to respond consistently to familiar people, events and objects. They react to new activities and experiences, for example, looking to the source of unfamiliar sights and sounds in dramatisations of historical events. They begin to show interest in people, events and objects, for example, tracking historical artefacts into or out of their field of awareness. They accept and engage in coactive exploration, for example, touching wood, stone or old brick structures during site visits.

P2 (ii) Pupils begin to be proactive in their interactions. They communicate consistent preferences and affective responses, for example, wanting to look at a particular photograph. They recognise familiar people, events and objects, for example, smiling at an item from their own family home. They perform actions, often by trial and improvement, and they remember learned responses over short periods of time, for example, patting an old toy. They cooperate with shared exploration and supported participation, for example, when handling historical artefacts.

P3 (i) Pupils begin to communicate intentionally. They seek attention through eye contact, gesture or action. They request events or activities, for example, vocalising for more sound in a simulation of historical events. They participate in shared activities with less support. They sustain concentration for short periods. They explore materials in increasingly complex ways, for example, looking at, and touching, old objects. They observe the results of their own actions with interest, for example, when exploring an antique mechanical toy. They remember learned responses over more extended periods, for example, recalling gestures used in a dramatisation of a historical story from session to session.

P3 (ii) Pupils use emerging conventional communication. They greet known people and may initiate interactions and activities, for example, prompting an adult to look through a family album with them. They can remember learned responses over increasing periods of time and may anticipate known events, for example, becoming excited at a key moment in a video of a school trip or family holiday. They may respond to options and choices with actions or gestures, for example, eye-pointing to an old toy from their own past. They actively explore objects and events for more extended periods, for example, moving around a historical site. They apply potential solutions systematically to problems, for example, gesturing towards the location for a new activity at the end of a session.

Performance descriptions in history

From level P4 to P8, many believe it is possible to describe pupils' performance in a way that indicates the emergence of skills, knowledge and understanding in history. The descriptions provide an example of how this can be done.

P4 Pupils recognise themselves and other people in pictures of the recent past. They link the passage of time with a variety of indicators, for example, weekend activities, summer holidays or seasonal changes. They use single words, signs or symbols to confirm the function of everyday items from the past, for example, 'cup', 'bed', 'house'.

P5 Pupils know they took part in past events and they listen and respond to familiar stories about their own past. They begin to communicate about activities and events in the past, for example, saying or signing 'baby toys', in response to personal items from their own early childhood. With some prompting or support, they answer simple questions about historical artefacts and buildings, for example, identifying a bowl as being made out of wood.

P6 Pupils recognise and make comments about themselves and people they know in pictures of the more distant past. They recognise some obvious distinctions between the past and the present in their own lives and communicate about these, for example, noting their attendance at a different school in the past. They begin to pick historical artefacts out from collections of items, for example, identifying old plates, items of clothing or hand tools.

P7 Pupils begin to recognise some distinctions between the past and present in other people's lives as well as their own and communicate about these in simple phrases and statements. They listen to and follow stories about people and events in the past as well as events in their own lives. They sort objects to given criteria, for example, old toys and new toys.

P8 Pupils indicate if personal events and objects belong in the past or present. They begin to use some common words, signs or symbols to indicate the passage of time, for example, now/then, today/yesterday. They can recount episodes from their own past and some details from other historical events with prompts, for example, past school or local events. They answer simple questions about historical stories and artefacts.