The draft Curriculum for Wales has now been released, and as educators we finally have the What Matters statements for the new Areas of Learning Experience (AOLE). The Mathematics and Numeracy AOLE is segregated into four subsections of mathematics: The number system is used to represent and compare relationships between numbers and quantitiesAlgebra uses symbol systems to express the structures of relationships between […]
Read moreAs a department of the University of Oxford, whose mission is to further educational excellence, OUP believes in the important role of evidence of impact in improving learning outcomes across the country. We know how important evidence of impact is to support schools’ decisions around how they invest their time and money. Teachers can now […]
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Assistant Headteacher Liam Noon and Maths Subject Lead and Teacher Judith Myhill of St Thomas’ C of E Primary School in Blackburn share their tips on implementing a mastery programme and how to make it work successfully. Create a whole-school vision At the very beginning of our journey, we strategically mapped out where we wanted […]
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Like almost everyone else in Maths education, I have recently decided to broach the ‘mastery’ word. It does feel a bit odd to do so, given that it’s been around at least since at least the 60’s, and I’ve never felt a need to use it before – despite having been an advocate of the […]
Read more 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 […]
Read more ‘Inspire Maths is future proofing both our children and our curriculum’ – Maths Teacher at St Thomas’ C of E Primary School St Thomas’ C of E Primary School became an Advocate School for Inspire Maths in Spring 2017. Assistant Headteacher Liam Noon, and Maths Subject Lead and Teacher Judith Myhill discuss the triumphs of implementing […]
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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, […]
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 […]
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