Assessment Power: Shaping learning, driving pupil progress and informing curriculum design

Join ISEB and leading school practitioners for half a day of insight and discussion on how assessment can do more than measure attainment - it can shape learning, drive pupil progress, and inform curriculum design. 

These half-day events will explore how schools are using assessment data to support meaningful progress for pupils, transition between stages, develop 21st century skills, and build confidence in areas such as oracy, creative writing, enterprise, and interdisciplinary learning.

Hear from Heads and Deputy Heads who are embedding enquiry-led approaches into the curriculum, using creativity and peer collaboration to support deeper thinking and collaborative, connected learning. Discover how you can access meaningful insights that help your pupils thrive.

09.00-09.30: Arrival and registration
09.30-09.45: Welcome from ISEB
09.45-10.30: Project learning: 21st century skills in action
10.30-10.45: Refreshments
10.45-11.30: Starting your journey to enquiry-based curriculum innovation
11.30-12.15: Rewriting creativity
12.15-12.30: Discussion and close

Project learning: 21st century skills in action
Rethinking progress, reigniting pupil potential
Presented by Sophie Banks, Head at Pembridge Hall School (Berkshire), and Mark House, Senior Product Manager at RM Compare (Birmingham).

Discover how the ISEB Project Qualification (iPQ) is transforming independent learning at KS2 and KS3 by putting pupil enquiry, originality, and agency at the heart of curriculum design. This session will demonstrate how the iPQ can empower pupils to explore what really excites them, and what's possible when we trust pupils with real ownership. You'll also learn how adaptive comparative judgement supports fair and flexible assessment of unique individual projects, and how schools are using the iPQ as a stepping stone to the EPQ.

Starting your journey to enquiry-based curriculum innovation
Where to start with an enquiry-based curriculum design
Presented by Phil Seal, Deputy Head at Kings High School Warwickshire.

This session offers a practical, inspiring entry point into enquiry-based curriculum design for schools looking to move beyond traditional subject silos. With practical examples and research-backed strategies, it will explore how to create thematic, interdisciplinary units, structure impactful project weeks, and empower student-led learnin, while maintaining academic rigour. This session is ideal for curriculum leaders and educators ready to take meaningful steps toward a more exploratory, dynamic, interdisciplinary curriculum.

Rewriting creativity
Rethinking how we assess young writers
Presented by Anna Camillieri, Head of English at Eton College.

This session will explore how schools can move beyond restrictive mark schemes towards richer, more authentic ways of assessing creative writing. At its core is adaptive comparative judgement, which offers a powerful, research-informed approach that offers greater reliability and deeper insight while honouring the creative complexity of pupil writing. With practical insights from leading English educators, you’ll learn how to harness this technology to assess creative writing with fairness, clarity and depth.