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The Connecting Steps Guide
Logging In And Out Of Connecting Steps V4
Logging onto the Connecting Steps V4 service could not be easier. Simply head to
www.connectingsteps.co.uk and enter your authorized email and password.
If you receive an error such as invalid username/password we would suggest you
check for a spelling mistake and the caps lock key. If after trying again you still
cannot log on please email us at [email protected] or by phone 0845 4660
161.
To log out of Connecting Steps Browser simply go to the Options cog and select Log
Out. All your data will be saved.
Navigating Connecting Steps V4
There are three ways to navigate in Connecting Steps V4 Browser Edition.
Along the top you have a row of all the user options. When hovered over with a mouse
the assessments and tools are showing in the bar below.
On the main screen you can simply click on the option you require which will take you
to the tools under that title
The Quick links option will take you straight to either

Individual Assessments

Group Assessments by level

Group assessments by strand
These are the most popular assessment views for users.
How To Enter An Achievement For An Individual
To add achievements for an individual is very simple on Connecting Steps Browser
Edition.
When the user logs on they would select Assessment then Individual Assessments.
Select the student and other required criteria such as group and Subject then select
Display.
With your achievement selected click on the assessment you would like to mark and this
will change. Only a mastered or confirmed will change the completed percentage.
How To Delete An Achievement For An Individual
So you have added an achievement by mistake and would like to delete this
achievement. It is a simple process that any user is able to do.
Open History in the Selection Panel.
Select the achievement point that requires deleting. When selected the achievement will
turn black.
When selected, the achievement point will show in History
Select the deleted option and the achievement will be removed.
You will notice the percentage complete changes when you delete achievements.
Baselining And Best Fit Completing
This article will explain the importance of baselining a student and the difference
between Level Complete and Use Best Fit. Level Complete and Use Best Fit can be found
under the Level Status panel in Selection.
The Baseline is the students starting point in Connecting Steps V4. This is very
important to do as otherwise you may not see a completed level for the student and
also the baseline shows from the start where the student is roughly according to the
users assessing.
Use Best Fit is set by the System Administrator and is the completed percentage before
a level is automatically completed.
Level Complete should only be used for baselining and not as a quick way to mark a
level complete. If a user marked several levels complete within a short amount of time
this would cause the childs data to show a huge spike then level out or even regress.
If a student has already been assessed partly on a level and not baselined it is fine to
use Level Complete down to the assessors discretion.
How To Make And View Comments
Communication is key and through experience we know our users like to make
comments at times when assessing.
To add a comment in the individual assessments select the Individual comments tab on
the left. Press the Add Comment option and fill enter your comment.
To view a comment select view comments. The reader will be able to see who made the
comment and when.
How Do I Find Out Who Added an Achievement
To see who added specific achievements navigate to
the history tab in the selection panel. Select the
achievement in the main screen and the assessment
shall appear in the history. Hover your mouse over
the assessment in History and this will show who
added the achievement and the date added.
The Different Assessment Screens Explained
There are four main screens where pupils can be assessed:
Individual Assessment
Group Assessment by Level
Group Assessment by Strand
Group Assessment by Subject
All screens are connected so if you add an assessment on one screen it will appear on
all others giving the user a better range of options to work with depending on the need.
Individual Assessment
The individual assessment screen is for many the first screen to be called up for
assessing espically for SEN individuals.
On this screen you can assess a single student for whichever subject and level
required.
Group Assessment by Level
This screen is for assessing a whole by subject level.
This is great for when a group is working together on a project where the students are
all working on the same level. However in every day assessments the pupils in a group
tend to work on different levels which is where the next assessment screen comes into
action.
Group Assessment by Strand
This screen allows the user to assess a group of students by subject strand over all
levels. This gives the user the ability to assess their group for the subject no matter
what level their students are working on. This can help the user view where a student
may need extra help.
Group Assessment by Subject
This screen is excellent for assessing a group by level for a whole subject including
strands for a selected level allowing the user to again view where students may need
extra help.
System Administration
Manage Groups
In the Manage Students screen the administrator may add, remove and edit groups.
There are three types of groups you may add - Registration, subject and Diversity.
To add a new group select the 'Add new group' option and an Add Group box will
appear.
Name the group and select the type of group you would like to create. If you would like
to change the created date you may do so and you can also have a close date for the
group. Once you have created the group select Save and the new group will appear in
the Manage Groups Screen.
If a group has no students you will be able to delete a group by pressing the delete
option ( X )
When looking at the list of groups you may see how many students are in a group by
looking at the number next to the group name. For instance, in the picture above you
can see there is one student in the ASD subject group.
The user may also see what type the group is by looking at the Group Type column.
From time to time a user may need to edit a group such as change the name or give the
group an end date. to do this select the edit option corresponding with the required
group. The edit option looks like a pencil.
A school may have as many groups as they like.
Manage Pupils
On the 'Manage Pupils' screen the user may add, edit and delete pupils.
On the left hand side of the screen is the Selection panel. You can select a group then
display to see all pupils in that group.
By selecting Historic pupils in the group drop down you can see a list of pupils that
have been either deleted or are in historic groups.
The user may add students by either pressing the 'Add Student' option in the selection
panel or by selecting the Add New Student option at the top of the main window.
When selected a new screen will appear where you can add the new students details.
Any field with a star * next to it is a required field.
Once all details have been added press Save and the pupil will be live on the server.
To edit a pupils details click on the pencil icon to the right of the start and Left date
area of the students name and a new window will appear where you can edit their
details.
To delete a pupil you can press the X option next to edit and confirm the deletion. A
pupil can always be undeleted. If a pupil is deleted by mistake, in the selection panel
click on the groups drop down menu and select Historic Pupil. The user will see the
deleted pupil in the main window and the user can click on the edit option and unselect
the Delete option then save.
Manage Users
On this page you can add and remove users from your service.
To add a user just click on the Add New User Option and enter their details. When
adding a user you may make them an administrator as well.
From the main list of users you can also either edit or delete a user
Move Students
As the title refers, this is where the user may move students from group to group. The
move students screen is very versatile. A student may have their registration group
planned over any amount of time but the user has the freedom to switch a pupils group
whenever required.
You will notice there is a legend on the right of the screen showing all classes for ease
of use.
The user will notice the date columns are yearly and start on the first of September
which is approximately the start date of many schools.
To add a group to the student just click on the date column across from the students
name and the 'Select Groups For Student' box will appear.
The user can select the group and the date that they would like the student to be in. If
the students group ends and a new group is not selected the pupil will still appear in
the Move Student screen where the user can add them to a new group
Manage Licence
The Manage Licence screen shows the user what type of licence they have and the
school details.
For instance you may see when your licence started by looking at the Licence File
section under Granted.
Under Licence Terms there are three items to inspect Users - This shows how many Users the school is allowed to have. If a school requires
more licences they may always contact us to purchase more.
Applications - This shows what B Squared programs you have a licence for. This could
be Connecting Steps System and GAP.
Assessment Files- This shows the assessment files the school are licensed to use.
Assessment Files
On this screen the school can select which assessment packages they use.
If an assessment package is unselectable this means the school has not purchased the
assessment package.
If an assessment package is editable but does not have a tick in the box this means the
school have access to this package but are most likely using a more upto date version.
For instance the user may see that Early Steps 2000 is available but not selected and
then notice that Early Years 2012 is selected.
Assessments that are selectable and have a tick in the box are the assessment packages
the school are presently using.
Only the latest assessment package for a subject should be enabled. Some packages
such as EYFS 2012 and P Levels 2007 are paid updates so may be greyed out.
Options
In Options the administrator may select the achievement types the users have and the
Best Fit percentage.
B Squared uses different levels of achievement for assessment purposes. There are nine
achievement types in total but we know each school is different and has different
assessment needs. A school may pick and choose which achievements they use but all
users within the school must know what each achievement means. B Squared has
defined each achievement but a school must decide what the achievement actually
means to the user within their school.
The least amount of Achievement types a school may use is two which are mandatory.
These would be Not Applicable and Mastered.
To select which Achievement types the school uses simply select the achievement type
by selecting the tick box next to the achievement type and press Save.
The Best Fit percentage can be changed by clicking on the dropdown menu and
selecting the new percentage then pressing Save.
FAQ’s
The Definitions For The Different Levels Of Achievement?
We are getting asked this question quite a lot, so I have written a simple breakdown of
the different levels of achievement. Depending on the type of school, type of pupils and
the level the pupil is working schools may need to adapt the definitions to suit their
needs..
When looking at the levels of experience, I break them down into 3 groups
Encounter, Awareness and Attention and Response - Levels where there is not
participation from the pupil in the task.
Engagement, Participation and Involvement - Levels where the pupil is participating in
the task, the 3 levels can be used as different levels of support/prompting
Gaining Skills & Understanding - The pupil is almost there and may of completed the
skill once
This gives a simple breakdown and a number of schools will choose 1 from each group
and use 3 levels of experience.
If a school wants to use a finer grade of improvement, the basic definitions are;
Encounter - The pupil was in the room when it happened, they show no awareness or
acknowledgement of the task going on. This could be for many reasons
Awareness - The pupil is aware that there is something going on, depending on the
level of the pupil, it could be a brief change in facial expression or a glance over while
they are involved in their own activity
Attention and Response - The pupils is now listening or aware of what is going on and
may react to events. Depending on the level of the pupil, could be a smile as something
happens or a vocalization.
Engagement - The pupils is now involved ready to join in, again depending on the level
will depend on how it is used, it could be use as full physical support, or it could be full
verbal prompting, imitating etc.
Participation - There is not a large change from Engagement, but it could be the pupil
being more cooperative, even leading the activity with slightly physical support. If using
verbal prompting, the amount of prompting is reduced
Involvement - The pupil is more involved, they may need no physical support, perhaps
a nudge or point to start them. With prompting, they again may only need a few words
to help them achieve
Gaining Skills and Understanding - This is where you are giving the pupil the chance
to do it on their own, no physical support and only minimal prompt, they may only need
a couple of prompts to get them started or to make sure they complete the task. The
pupil may even achieve the task, but cannot repeat the achievement or you think it has
to be done a particular way.
Mastered - You are confident the pupil can achieve the skill, they have demonstrated
the skill a number of times and you are confident they can do it.
Confirmed - This is optional and to the computer has the same effect as mastered.
Schools can use confirmed in different ways, the most common is if a different teacher
has seen the pupil achieve the skill, another use that is becoming popular is marking it
confirmed when there is evidence showing the achievement. The school also uses the
commenting function to give a link to where the evidence is.
A pupil may forget the skill a month later, but if you feel with a quick recap they can
still do it, then they can still do it. Most of us cannot perform a skill or demonstrate
knowledge at the drop of the hat, it is up to the teachers professional judgement to
decide if a pupil has lost a skill or not.
Teachers can regress a pupil, reducing the level of experience or reducing an
achievement from mastered to a level of experience. When a teacher drops a pupil from
Mastered to a level of experience, the percentage complete will drop, but only from that
day forward. The system will remember that the child could do it before that date, but
no longer has the skills required.
How Do I Save?
Your data automatically saves each time you change an assessment point which takes
away the worry of having to save manually. The data is saved to our servers where your
data is stored or the school server if self-hosted.
No data is saved to your computer for privacy.
Can I Enter Data For Last Term?
You can data to any date required. To add data to a date in the past simply change the
date in the selection panel to the past date and click display. Once the assessments
have been updated you do not want to forget to change the date back by pressing the T
button next to the date option.
How Do I Find Out Who Entered An Achievement
To see who added specific achievements navigate to the history tab in the selection
panel. Select the achievement in the main screen and the assessment shall appear in
the history box.
Hover your mouse over the assessment in History and this will show who added the
achievement and the date added.
What Is My Best Fit Percentage
The Best Fit is the percentage where a level is completed and moves onto the next. Most
schools have the best fit set at 80% or 85%.
To view your best fit look at the bottom right of the screen and you will see your best
fit.
How Do Look At What A Pupil Had Achieved Previously?
To view what a pupil has achieved in the past you would navigate to Individual Reports
and Level Summary. Select the student and report criteria such as curriculum and date
you would like to see the data from. Press display and your report will show.
How Can I See What Skills Have Been Mastered This Year?
If you would like to see what skills an individual has mastered this year navigate
Individual Reports and then Assessments Mastered.
Select the required criteria in the drop downs such as Class, Student and curriculum.
Select the date range you would to view and click display. In the main panel now it will
show you all skills mastered for the time period selected.
How Can I See How Much Progress A Pupil Has Achieved Over A
Term, A Year Or Key Stage?
To see a students progress you would navigate to Individual Assessments and then
Level Progress. On the selection panel you can select the required subjects and a
specific date range.
To see where a student is overall navigate to Level Summary and the Status column
shows where the student is at present.
Trouble Shooting
Problem: When I log into Connecting Steps some of the boxes are upside down and squashed.
Reason: The Internet browser being used is not supported by Connecting Steps. Connecting Steps is
does not support Internet Explorer 8 or 11 at present.
Resolution: Download and use Chrome, Internet Explorer 9 or 10.