Ahoy me maties! Batten down the hatches for another monthly booklist, this month in honour of everyone’s most treasured September holiday: Talk Like A Pirate Day! Walk the plank and dive head first into ten treacherous tales of perilous adventure – from a crew of pirate pooches to the infamous Captain Hook, there’s something for […]
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Deputy Headteacher and Maths Co-ordinator Katie Willis of Perton Primary Academy discusses the initial challenges faced and lesson learnt when implementing a mastery approach in her school, and the successes they’ve had as a result. Our mastery journey began in September 2015. I had just started my job at Perton Primary Academy in Wolverhampton. There were no […]
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Pencil cases are stocked, lunchboxes are packed and school bags are underfoot – it must be the start of a brand-new school year! And what better time to think about one of the most important parts of school life – the friendships that children form as they grow up? The August Reading List is filled […]
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Yes, it’s that time, the booklist is here! We’re delighted to bring you the third of the year. So stick with us as we write out below A few perfect poems you might not yet know From humour and fun from beginning to end, To exciting adventures around every bend, Or even some sport if […]
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By former DfE Assistant Director, Vanessa Pittard A major distinction between primary maths teaching in England and Singapore (and other high performing jurisdictions in the Far East) relates to whole-class (interactive) teaching. In the Far East everyone is taught the same maths together at the same pace, regardless of prior performance or how quickly different […]
Read more By former DfE Assistant Director, Vanessa Pittard I recently led a session with Derbyshire schools on mastery teaching. Derbyshire is a rural county, like many in England. This group of primary headteachers and maths leads included several people from schools with mixed-age classes: a fact of life for many rural schools. No surprise therefore that […]
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Head Teacher of Yarborough Academy, Hannah Albery, shares the journey of changing the maths culture in her school. “…this was mastery, but it also transcended everything. It was just good maths teaching. And, for me, that’s what mastery is. Teaching for understanding. And, that’s what Numicon gives us.” When the new curriculum came into place, […]
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Happy June, everyone! We hope you’re all having a magical summer so far. This month’s reading list is all about – you guessed it – marvellously magical tales to keep the little ones reading over the summer months. So, let’s take a (magic) wand-er through this spell-binding book list that will capture any child’s heart! […]
Read more Tackling a declining trend in maths In 2014, we achieved an Outstanding Ofsted, which was fantastic – a reflection of the dedication of our staff and their hard work. However, hidden behind that was a declining trend in maths. The gap between maths and English was widening and this was a concern. We became aware […]
Read moreHeadteacher Emma Cornhill at Fairburn Primary School talks about her school’s experience of using and implementing Numicon and the impact on the school… I have been head teacher at Fairburn Primary School for 11 years and I love it there. We have 15 members of staff, all part time and only 67 children in our school, […]
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