The P scales are a set of descriptions for recording the achievement of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) who are working towards the first level of the National Curriculum (level 1).
They are split into eight different levels with P1 being the lowest and P8 the highest. Level P8 leads into national curriculum level 1. Levels P1 to P3 are not subject-specific, as they describe early learning and conceptual development. At these early levels, a curriculum subject offers a specific context for learning.
There are P scales for each national curriculum subject and for personal, social and health education (PSHE), and religious education (RE). The P scales were first developed to enable target setting for groups of pupils with special educational needs who are working below level 1 of the National Curriculum. P level data has been collected from schools on a voluntary basis since 1999. The P scales for all national curriculum subjects were published in Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties (QCA, 2001). This publication includes examples of opportunities and activities for each subject at Key Stages 1-4.
If this is not what you are looking for, or if you want more information, you can contact the Department using the link on the right of this page, or by telephone on 0370 000 2288.
