We currently advise that when you are assessing children working below their Key Stage in Assess > Primary Summative, you use the 'Show all codes' option and select the year group band that most accurately reflects where they are working.
Can we assess using the Pre Key Stage Standards?
The DfE guidance for Pre Key Stage Standards states that;
The pre-key stage standards are provided for the statutory assessment of pupils engaged in subject-specific study who are working below the overall standard of the national curriculum tests and teacher assessment frameworks.
and that they are not intended to be used to assess children between Key Stages
The standards are not a formative assessment tool: they should not be used to track progress throughout the key stage or to guide individual programmes of study, classroom practice or methodology. Teachers should assess individual pieces of pupils’ work in line with their school’s own, more detailed, assessment policy and not against these standards. Those reviewing school performance, including Ofsted inspectors, would not expect them to be used for anything other than summative assessment at the end of the key stage.
so we only include these as an option in Statutory Reporting.