With the growing popularity of whole class guided reading in key stage 2 classrooms, where all children in the class are reading the same text guided by the teacher, we felt it timely to reflect on the strengths of this process but also consider how to avoid the potential pitfalls that can result from moving to this model of reading teaching.  Here we attempt to address those unintended consequences. We will consider what teachers can do to ensure that all children have the best possible experience and to develop their pupils’ love of reading alongside their journey to becoming proficient readers.

How whole class guided reading fits into a ‘reading diet’:

First, let’s address the idea of the reading diet of each child within a class.  Whole class guided reading should ideally feature as one piece of the puzzle within a wider reading diet that a school offers.  Here are some examples of what these reading opportunities (provided throughout the week) could be:

Of course, the above list is not exhaustive - particularly regarding some of the wider reading for pleasure practices that are so important within every classroom.  Some of these elements are inter-connected.  For example, children will learn more vocabulary during many of the shared and guided reading sessions, but vocabulary instruction also needs to be built into explicit teaching time, which will lead to deeper comprehension during independent and guided reading.  Shanahan discusses academic learning time (ALT) in an enlightening recent blog and how this definition differs to allotted time on the timetable.  For example, there may be 45 minutes of whole class guided reading allocated on the daily timetable, but if a child is not reading and simply page-turning during this time, the lesson does not translate into 45 minutes of academic learning time for that child.  Some children will need to read more and have a greater reading diet (essentially, more time to practise reading!) during their school day compared to other children in the class.  Consider struggling or less confident readers within the class (often referred to by Ofsted as working within the lowest 20th percentile of reading attainment) - these children will need more of a teacher’s teaching time and support, as well as more time and/ or interventions dedicated to different areas of reading instruction (this could be phonics instruction, fluency strategies, etc., according to the needs of each child).  This is additional instruction, not replacement instruction.  In this way, we are ensuring equity of access into reading proficiency and there is arguably no greater responsibility placed on schools than ensuring that all children are proficient readers by the time they leave their primary education.

Guided reading – points for consideration

When it comes to children’s reading diets, some key questions to ask would be:

• do all children have the time to practise and improve their reading through reading aloud, paired reading and discussion, as well as exploring a text independently within the school day?
• are there opportunities for children to repeatedly re-read texts, to practise fluency and use of prosody when reading?
• are reading for pleasure practices embedded into daily classroom routines to foster a love of reading?
• are children listened to whilst reading aloud in a supportive, 1:1 discussion with the teacher which moves their reading on (rather than in front of the whole class)?
• and, coming back to Shanahan’s point, what is preventing allotted time for reading on the timetable becoming academic learning time, especially for the children who might need this the most? 

Whole class guided reading brings with it the benefit of all children embarking on the same reading journey of the same text, providing a shared experience and developing a community of readers.  There is also evidence that reading challenging, complex novels aloud and at a fast pace daily resulted in lower-attaining readers making 18 months progress in 12 weeks (Literacy, vol. 53, issue 2, May 2019).  All children can learn something worthwhile from being taught using a high-quality, challenging text.  However, in some cases, children are removed from the whole class guided reading lesson for a separate reading intervention.  If that’s the case, it might be worth asking - is it really ‘whole class’?  The removal of some children surely undermines the purpose of moving to this model in the first place. Consider the impact upon self-esteem and a sense of belonging for these young readers, and how we can ensure that these children are given more opportunities to read and practise reading than anyone else and, if necessary, provided with interventions in addition to the usual reading diet.  So, if we want to include all children, let’s turn our attention to thinking about ways in which all pupils can participate within the whole class guided reading lesson. 

Ensuring access for all children during whole class guided reading:

An admirable reason for many schools moving towards whole class guided reading is to ensure that all children have access to rich and diverse literature that is pitched at age-appropriate interests and expectations.   A potential pitfall of this can mean that children who are not reading at the expected standard within the class will struggle to read the selected text (ideally, only <10% of words encountered should be unknown/unfamiliar in guided reading texts).  They might well be able to follow when the book or text is being read to them, but they are not necessarily practising the skills of decoding and developing the automaticity that they need from their reading teaching because too many words are unknown or not yet decodable.  A child may be following the text by listening to it, but language comprehension (an understanding of written text) is not the same as listening comprehension (Such, 2021 p. 52).  As a result, teachers will often (and rightly so) avoid asking this child to read aloud and be placed under scrutiny in front of the class, but this also means that the opportunity to ‘tune into’ this child reading and teach specific reading strategies, is lost.  Thinking back to the reading diet, as long as the teacher has had ample occasions (hopefully twice a week, ideally more) to listen to more vulnerable readers read appropriately levelled texts during 1:1 sessions - and used other occasions to teach specific reading strategies that the child needs to make accelerated progress - we should consider ways to ensure their involvement during whole class reading teaching as well. 

Guided reading: Strategies for active participation for all

The third part of this blog will provide advice about the types of discussion, questioning and other activities that could take place within the whole class guided reading lesson.  For now, let’s turn our attention to the preparation for the lesson and how to ensure access for all into the text via these strategies: 

• Pre-teaching vocabulary – identify any new or difficult vocabulary from the text which is going to be read and discussed during the whole class guided reading lesson.  Discuss and teach these words before the lesson (this could be with the whole class as this will benefit all pupils, as well as any vulnerable readers), looking at etymology and using the word within sentences orally or in writing.  Supply visual cues to support understanding of unknown or tricky vocabulary for children to refer back to during whole class guided reading lessons and ask children to spot the words that they have been taught within the text, becoming ‘word detectives’ and discussing how those same words have been used by the author.
• Pre-teaching context or background knowledge - in Reading Reconsidered, Lemov discusses the vital importance of context or background knowledge to reading comprehension.  Lemov argues that a reading curriculum should embed secondary non-fiction texts in combination with a primary text, in order to increase pupils’ background knowledge of the primary text and therefore develop comprehension.  For example, let’s imagine that a class is studying the wonderful The Girl Who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook.  Consider what children may not know in terms of the background knowledge needed to fully access this text:  Do they need to know more about Sri Lankan geography and culture?  The biodiversity of jungle life?  The nuances of the behaviour and communication of elephants?  It may be necessary to adapt, combine and amend non-fiction texts and provide these for children to enhance their understanding of the whole class guided reading text.  Again, this will benefit all pupils in the classroom.
• Using supportive or assisted reading within whole class guided reading lessons – in the excellent Megabook of Fluency, Tim Rasinski & Melanie Cheesman-Smith discuss the importance of pupils reading chorally as part of a group or reading with a more fluent partner such as a teacher, parent, teaching assistant, older pupil or even a classmate.  Some research studies have found that dysfluent readers make accelerated progress when they read aloud whilst simultaneously hearing a more fluent reading of the same text.
• Build in opportunities for repeated reading during whole class guided reading lessons.  As well as wider reading, deeper reading is essential for children to repeatedly read the same text several times until they achieve some degree of automaticity (they are not struggling to decode the words).  Each time, pupils will show improved reading with each successive reading (Rasinski, 2012). This strategy is widely employed on the HFL Reading Fluency Project.  
• Explicitly teach reading habits – it can often be the case that children will lose their place in the text if they are trying to keep up with the pace of the text being read aloud whilst following along with reading the written text simultaneously.  Make sure that there are regular reminders for children to track along with their finger or use a ruler/ piece of paper to follow the line that is being read.  Some children may also need to draw what they understand from the text – this will support their visualisation. Whatever method that helps each child to access their reading material will only be a good thing! 
• Use a visualiser! The effective use of a decent visualiser can be the best teaching tool within any classroom.  Modelling how to follow the text as it is being read (teaching reading habits, as above), annotating passages, text marking to denote phrases for effective prosody, highlighting, underlining or circling words – all of these strategies can be demonstrated to the class with the reading material placed under the visualiser.   If a child loses their place whilst the text is being read aloud, knowing that they can simply look up at the screen to see the text and reorientate themselves – without asking or needing to be prompted by the teacher – is empowering.   A good visualiser* is worth investing in. A game-changer, truly. 

The suggestions that we are offering are not intended to require any radical change but to show that, sometimes, as Daniel Sobel and Sara Alston say, some children may need a quick and simple adjustment to a lesson, while others may need a part of it to be adapted.  To conclude in their words: ‘In the end, it [inclusion] boils down to good routines and practices that do not take up much time but are rich in maximising children’s engagement and that sense of ‘I belong and can be successful in this class.’’ (Sobel & Alston, 2021: p. 28).

References:

• Doug Lemov et al (2016), Reading Reconsidered
• Tim Rasinski & Melissa Cheesman-Smith (2021), The Megabook of Fluency
• Tim Rasinski, ‘Why Reading Fluency should be hot’ - The Reading Teacher Vol. 65 Issue 8 (May 2012)
• Timothy Shanahan, ‘What’s the Role of Amount of Reading Instruction?’, 11th March 2023
• Daniel Sobel & Sara Alston (2021), The Inclusive Classroom:  A New Approach to Differentiation
• Christopher Such (2021), The Art and Science of Primary Reading

*It can be difficult to find a good visualiser with so many on the market – it’s worth paying a little bit extra (around £100) for a decent one. 

In our third instalment of developing assessment in primary science, I want to put a key focus on moderation and how completing moderation with all staff will not only support assessment but teaching and learning too.

As science is a core subject, we are legally required to report at the end of each key stage. In order to do this, we need effective and systematic assessment procedures in place. However, the practice is wide-ranging in schools, from those that have yet to put consistent assessment procedures in place for science, those that assess only working scientifically criteria, those schools that assess only on the substantive knowledge and a myriad of mixtures in between. As a core subject, we have an obligation to assess children against the national curriculum descriptors for each key stage. This means ensuring a valid and robust form of assessment that teachers are secure in using that is effective but not onerous or overly time consuming.

The HMI Research review document for Science: ‘Finding the optimum’ (February 2023) discusses that schools were often completing assessment of learning at the expense of assessment for learning, in that pupils were being asked to recall facts that they had not successfully learned the first time. This was also compounded by pupils not having the chance to link what they had been taught in previous years by assessing their prior learning.

In the ‘Pedagogy and Assessment’ section of the report, it stated that schools should: ‘ensure that assessment checks whether pupils remember the substantive and disciplinary knowledge they have learned in previous years. This includes checking that they can use their substantive and disciplinary knowledge to select, plan and carry out different types of relevant scientific enquiry.’

One of the final statements in the report states that: ‘…there is still more to do to make sure that curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and school systems all work together to create the most favourable, or ‘optimum’, conditions for learning science. Although many pupils leave school with a secure knowledge of science and working scientifically, there are still too many pupils who do not.’ It all comes down to ensuring the children leave primary school with secure knowledge in primary science.

There are ready-made options available to assist schools in tracking their pupils’ outcomes and you can find some options here:

HFL Primary Science Package

Simple Assessment Tracker | PSEC (primary-science.co.uk)

Enabling Accurate Teacher Assessment - Centre for Industry Education Collaboration, University of York

Alongside the use of these trackers, however, we also must ensure that we are covering the requirements of the National Curriculum. Without the assurance that all objectives have been taught to a required level of understanding, we cannot accurately assess our children against age-related expectations.

Enter termly moderations! A brilliant way to assess children against the national curriculum objectives and ensure coverage (including Working Scientifically skills).

Running a moderation twilight for all staff once a term or (as a minimum) once an academic year can help you as a subject lead be confident in your school’s coverage, can allow you to support staff to pinpoint objectives that have and have not yet been met, can develop confidence in assessing ‘age-related’ expectations and to share good teaching ideas, approaches and strategies.

There are many documents out there to help with in-school moderations.

PLAN Assessment do a set of moderation documents for a nominal fee:

Knowledge: Moderating Assessment CPD (KS2 + Y2) | PLAN (planassessment.com)

The OGDEN Trust also has a set of moderation resources free of charge:

How to lead a primary science moderation meeting - The Ogden Trust

There are also end of Key Stage Exemplification documents available for Year 2 and year 6:

Teacher assessment exemplification: KS1 science - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Teacher assessment exemplification: KS2 science - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Your local science advisers may run courses on moderation in primary science (HFL Education runs moderation sessions for science and can run moderation INSET sessions for schools. Email: science@hfleducation.org for more information).

As Science subject leaders, supporting our teachers is supremely important and teachers’ experiences in teaching of science varies from year to year. There are many possible reasons why delivering a science curriculum and assessing against it can be a challenge, including:

• teachers changing year groups – teachers might not be 100% sure of the requirements of their new curriculum
• teachers may plan their progression the way they think about it as opposed to how it’s written in the National Curriculum (I nearly fell into this trap when planning Year 2 plants this year – I had to keep bringing myself back to what they should have been taught in Year 1, what I was meant to teach them in year 2 and what I needed to leave alone for Year 3 to teach them so I didn’t extend into another year’s curriculum)
• schools sometimes employ ready-made curriculums and may not be able to complete all activities meaning some core knowledge might be missed if we remove some lessons
• prioritisation of other subjects/special events
• being unsure of objectives

HFL’s progression documents can be found here for working scientifically and here for progression in scientific knowledge. These are really helpful in terms of planning and coverage.

Regardless of which way you choose to go in terms of resources, keep track of your assessment outcomes and ask for feedback from your teachers. Focus explicitly on science topics where there is coverage in multiple year groups (e.g. Classification, Plants, Materials, Electricity, Light, Living things etc) as this is where schools can often run into problems with duplication, progression and coverage. ‘Finding the Optimum’ is helpful in highlighting that a high-quality curriculum is one that is well-organised, connected and developed over many years in a logical order. Something I think we all aspire towards.

Finally, moderation sessions are a great opportunity to focus on all the good teaching and learning that has been delivered, use moderation to celebrate the wins and successes of your teachers and pupils as well as a way to think about ‘what’s next for developing our science provision’?

Voices from the Classroom

Our new blog series, Voices from the Classroom, allows primary science teachers to share particularly effective practical experiences they have had with their classes. It’s a great way to showcase what your school is doing and written guidance and examples are available for those of you wishing to participate.

If this is something you would be interested in participating in, please e-mail Charlotte Jackson charlotte.jackson@hfleducation.org

Minding the gap whether on the underground or in education there are many parallels; we are constantly reminded of its presence, we can see it’s there whenever we look despite efforts to reduce it, in some cases we might even be relieved it hasn’t got wider since the pandemic, but the fact of the matter is the gap stubbornly remains and we have a duty to eliminate it.  

Disadvantaged pupils are defined by Ofsted as those eligible for free school meals at any point in the past six years which includes groups such as Pupil Premium pupils, pupils with an Educational Health Care Plan, pupils known to a social worker and other groups with protected characteristics and/or covered by the Equalities Act 2010. We know that often students face a multitude of barriers to learning and that new barriers emerge in line with societal change that schools must rapidly identify and work with pupils to overcome if we are to make progress in this agenda. Whilst adapting to societal change has always been something that schools must do, we have seen an unprecedented level of societal change post pandemic, from significant rises in the number of students with SEND to a mental health epidemic among young people to collapsing public services. It is more important than ever that we keep a laser like focus on ensuring that schools are effectively identifying and overcoming barriers that learners are facing in schools which may serve to further disadvantage them. 

This blog provides a whistle stop tour of some, but not all of the areas that span beyond those traditionally associated with regular monitoring of provision and understanding of data for disadvantaged pupils. We as Governors need to be confident that our settings are developing their plans to approach, review and respond to societal changes that have an impact on students, from wellbeing to behaviour. Where are the changes happening that can lead to additional barriers for the disadvantaged and are we effectively tackling them? 

SEND is a huge issue nationally. We know that post-pandemic the level of SEND has risen with some groups of SEND learners particularly adversely impacted by the pandemic. Attendance is a concern across the board, but students with SEND face more barriers to attendance than their peers. Language is key across the board when it comes to closing the gap, and this is particularly true of attendance and SEND. Does your Board talk about ‘non-attendance’ as opposed to ‘school refusal’ in relation to SEND? The inference of refusal is that it’s a choice a child is making rather than there being an accessibility issue relating to a child’s needs that needs to be overcome. This is just one example of the importance of the lexicon of language in Governance.   

Legal duties in relation to SEND are set out laid in the Governance Handbook and both the Children and families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice and SEND regulations 2014.  All boards should have a SEND link governor who will have oversight of their school’s work in fulfilling their obligations to ensure that pupils with SEND have their needs met and the board must report annually on their SEND provision by publishing relevant information on the school website and ensure it’s clearly signposted to parents. What actions do you as a Board take in relation to the report and how is progressed monitored? Attending external scrutiny visits regarding your schools disadvantaged pupils will provide valuable, triangulated evidence of how your school is making progress in closing the gap.   

SEND and Alternative Provision Plan 

Last month saw the publication of the government’s long awaited Improvement Plan for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision with their vision to provide “right support, right place, right time”.  The plan includes setting new national SEND and AP standards to give families confidence in the support available to them; making the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process easier for the children and young people who need one through a standardised approach and better use of technology; investing in more special schools for more timely access to support within the local area; strengthening accountability so responsibilities are known and families can see how well their local area is performing; improving communication with parents so concerns are dealt with quickly through new guidance for LA SEND caseworkers; investing in the workforce to increase access to specialists and introducing a new SENDCo national qualification. This short You Tube video talks about the DfE’s improvement plan in more detail. Naturally, the devil will be in the detail and we await seeing how impactful new policies are at a national level will be. Boards can look at some of the key concepts in the paper such as early intervention and ask questions about the effectiveness of their setting in providing that early support such that needs don’t go unmet for an extended period leading to significant gaps in learning.    

Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum

The DfE are reviewing statutory guidance on this area of the curriculum following concerns that inappropriate material is being taught in schools. The DfE is seeking through its review to introduce safeguards to stop pupils being taught contested and potentially damaging concepts, and to consider introducing age ratings for curriculum content. Has your board discussed this, noted that this review is underway and how the school is planning to respond to the updated guidance? There will likely be pupil and parental challenge once the guidance is made public. Review of relationships, sex and health education to protect children to conclude by end of year - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Pupil voice 

Listening to the lived experiences of disadvantaged pupil and understanding the barriers that they identify prior to developing strategies for overcoming is key to closing the disadvantage gap. Many schools are using the tools on the Votes for Schools website to empower pupil voice, helping pupils to shape the lived experience and learning in their schools. Governors will use surveys and visits to sample and hear pupil voice, however we should not view these as the only approaches. Perhaps you can suggest your school looks at the resources here to enable you collectively as leaders to view and sample pupil voice through a different lens? VotesforSchools - Personal Development, SMSC & PSHE 

Vaping 

As we are all aware smoking by pupils in and outside schools is a problem that’s as old as the hills with pupils sanctioned and often missing learning as a result.  Governors will be aware of the glamourisation of vaping by social media influencers and the epidemic of cheap, disposable and hard to detect vapes finding their way into schools. The challenges of vaping span beyond attendance challenges posed by suspensions and exclusions to very real health concerns with lead, nickel and chromium having been found in illegal vapes used by school children. The RHSE review will incorporate vaping, but in the meantime are Governors satisfied that their setting has an effective policy on vaping and that appropriate education approaches to deter students from vaping are in place?   UK health expert raises alarm at vaping ‘epidemic’ among teenagers | E-cigarettes | The Guardian 

Social media

Financial Times Films has published an incredibly powerful short film capturing the concerns raised most recently by the Childrens Commissioner, Rachel de Souza. This may be worth viewing as a board, not because we have any ability to close this particular stable door or believe that the proposed Online Safety bill will be the silver bullet to put the genie back in the social media bottle, but more so that we are aware of the enormous challenge that young people face navigating their way in the ‘online’ world safely and without harm. The impact on wellbeing of children should not be underestimated and provides additional barriers to learning. Capture, who's looking after the children? | FT Film Standpoint - YouTube 

Transgender policy guidance 

Whilst not directly related to the disadvantage gap, we know that some transgender young people face barriers to learning. This debate remains sensitive and politicised. The DfE has promised updated guidance for schools by the end of the summer term. As a board have you considered what you have in place and how you will respond to updated guidance that may challenge your current approach? www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65127170   

The disadvantage gap is a huge subject that we can only scratch the surface of in a blog but hopefully the point made is there is a wide spectrum of influences on those disadvantaged pupils, exacerbated by changes in society. Within schools we can do our very best to improve life for disadvantaged pupils through robust policy, relevant curriculum intent and impact, modelling safe behaviour, providing structure and reward, specialist help and teaching and a lived experience that prepares them for the wider world. In our work as governors, we need to be aware of the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, strategically monitor the gap, ensure the impact of all plans and initiatives (and the necessary budgeted expenditure) closes the gap and in time all this comes together to close the gap for good.  

The HFL Governance team stand ready to support you whether it be through our acclaimed training programme, our supportive Clerking and Chairs service or our fantastic helpdesk. 

To contact us please use the following:  

Governance Helpdesk – 01438 544487   

Governance Training – 01438 544478  

Governance Clerking - 01438 544487  

Or email us at governance@hfleducation.org  

So, in your school, is handover and transition treated like a relay race; seeing your staff as the team of runners, smoothly passing the baton to each other; allowing the next person to capitalise on the effective handover?

The analogy we often use for transition and handover in schools is of a relay race.

In a relay, a team works together. Each person runs their leg of the race. No one person can win the race alone. And the passing of the baton is key – a smoothly passed baton allows the next runner to make an effective start. They don’t lose time. With a dropped baton, time is spent fumbling to find it before the running can continue.

So, in your school, is handover and transition treated like a relay race; seeing your staff as the team of runners, smoothly passing the baton to each other; allowing the next person to capitalise on the effective handover?

The information we hold about the children we teach is vast and varied: medical needs (including who has asthma or allergies), children with SEND, what strategies have worked well to motivate the class and guide their learning and other sensitive information, such as which children might find it tricky leaving mum or dad in the playground. There is also lots of curriculum coverage and attainment information. We need to decide what would benefit the next teacher/s to know, to smooth the path of transition for the children.

In primary maths, information about coverage and learning could be key in ensuring that time is not wasted. There may still be some coverage gaps, after the disruption to learning in the last couple of years. It is important that the next teacher understands this to adjust the next years’ coverage accordingly; whether this is fitting in missed topics or giving time to secure learning that was covered but not fully secured. We know that if we start at the wrong pitch in learning, with a prior step missing, we often have to back-track later, which isn’t ideal.

When we begin teaching an area or topic, it would be normal to recap previous learning. But knowing whether we need to just remind and support children, or whether we need to properly teach or re-teach something is helpful to know.

What would it be helpful for teachers to share?

I’ll give you two fictional school scenarios:

In Year 4, the children began work on counting through zero. They began to explore negative numbers. Some children did not fully secure the learning and so would count from 4 to -4 but miss out the zero.

In this first scenario, the learning is relatively small in the scheme of learning within Year 4 and could probably be fixed with a short focus on counting through zero before the Year 5 learning is layered on top. If you were teaching this class in Year 5, it would be helpful to know this but might not take much time to address it.

Here are the related National Curriculum programme of study statements:

• Year 4 - count backwards through zero to include negative numbers
• Year 5 - interpret negative numbers in context, count forwards and backwards with positive and negative whole numbers, including through zero

In the same Year 4 class, the children also took quite some time to learn their multiplication tables. As a result, they were not quite secure on using written multiplication by the end of the year. They could double numbers by partitioning / regrouping but not many children had secured a written strategy for multiplying any 2- or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number. They are now more secure with recalling multiplication facts, however.

In this second scenario, the learning of a written multiplication method takes time and rehearsal. Written multiplication is not often a ‘quick’ thing to teach. It is positive that the children’s multiplication fact recall is more secure, as this will help, but time still needs to be given within Year 5 to secure this learning before moving onto the Year 5 teaching.

Here are the related National Curriculum programme of study statements:

• Year 4 – multiply two-digit and three-digit numbers by a one-digit number using formal written layout
• Year 5 - multiply numbers up to 4 digits by a one- or two-digit number using a formal written method, including long multiplication for two-digit numbers

From the two scenarios above, the negative numbers issue is probably a smaller and easier gap to address. A short amount of time spent on recall and rehearsal of counting forwards and backwards through zero should be sufficient for the pupils to be ready for the Year 5 learning.

The written multiplication gap may take more work to close. Children will need to secure the method for multiplying a 2- or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number before attempting 4-digit numbers or multiplying by a 2-digit number. The overall maths plan may need to be adjusted to allow for additional time to secure this learning. Simply starting at the Year 5 pitch is unlikely to be helpful to many children and could even create bigger gaps in understanding.

The key is the Year 5 teacher having all this information so that they can plan accordingly before the point of teaching.

Back to our relay race analogy. Let’s explore ways that school leaders and maths subject leaders can enable effective handover to happen – passing the baton smoothly. Here are some ideas.

What might a maths leader do to support transition and handover?

1. ask current teachers to RAG rate their curriculum map or long-term plan to show the level of security and confidence with the learning for most children
2. ask teachers to specifically identify anything that was either not covered or didn’t go as well and so will need time given to it before new learning is layered on top
3. ask teachers to share specific pupil information including about attainment and progress, in whatever form your school uses
4. remind the next class teacher to adjust their medium and/or long-term plan for maths, considering the handover information they receive

The idea of using red, amber, and green to indicate coverage and security of learning is not new. Many schools do this towards the end of the academic year and use it to support handover and transition.

Here you can see a part of the Year 3 curriculum has been RAG rated. Place value has been identified as secure (green) for most pupils. Two areas have been highlighted red and need a further conversation, to allow the next teacher to understand why and what they might do to address the gaps. It also looks like both mental and written subtraction are not secure for some children.

The above is one big piece of the jigsaw at this time of year. We need to ensure that we handover the information we have to ensure that the learning continues smoothly.

But, as well as the handover conversations between teachers, and what the next teacher does with this information, there are other ways to smooth the transition for children and their maths learning. Here are three further ideas, focusing on reducing ‘lost learning’ over the summer and allowing children to pick up again smoothly from where they left off in the previous year group:

• Keep fluency sessions going until the end of term and then pick them up quickly again in September
• Offer ideas to parents and families for everyday maths, which include fun things they might like to try at home, including over the summer break
• Plan in reactivation of key learning in September

We’ve explored each of these further below:

Keep fluency sessions going until the end of term and then pick them up quickly again in September

We know the end of the summer term can become very busy with sports day, trips, plays and celebrations. Time for the maths curriculum can get squeezed. This is a challenge but if regular maths input is reduced, the period the children are not ‘doing’ maths is extended and we know the summer holidays are long. Therefore, even if a daily maths lesson becomes impossible, continuing to do a 10 – 15-minute maths fluency session regularly will help to keep the learning ticking over.

Fluency sessions need to be short and sharp, picking four or five concepts to do daily. Doing each concept for a couple of minutes and repeating these, making very small changes, will help to embed and secure learning.

What concepts might you choose?

Choose high value learning that ensures that they are ready for their next stage in education. Most curriculum plans start with number and place value in September, so include counting, place value and number magnitude. Having base facts at your fingertips is essential so practise those. Reasoning about what strategies to use to solve a calculation is also important. Despite what most people think, maths is not all about the correct answer. It is also about how the correct answer is achieved. In schools currently, I am seeing lots of examples of highly inefficient strategies being used, particularly in KS1 SATs papers, but the correct is answer eventually found. 

What might a fluency session look like?

Let’s consider a Y4 class.

Concept 1: Counting

You could reach for a trusty counting stick or have a slide ready and rehearse counting in different intervals – bigger intervals, skip counting, decimal steps. Think about what the class need to practise to further strengthen their understanding of the number system or multiplication tables. Ensure you don’t always start at the start with zero; vary the starting point and count both forward and backwards.

Some examples:

Concept 2: Place value

As with the counting, the number range could vary so it includes the fluency range for Year 4 – four-digit numbers and decimals to two decimal places.

The focus is on constructing and deconstructing numbers so there is a good understanding about how numbers can be manipulated.

Emphasise the flexible regrouping of numbers as demonstrated here; 318 is 3 hundreds, 1 ten and eight ones but it can also be 2 hundreds, 11 tens and 8 ones.

This understanding is essential to fully understanding formal written strategies. For more about the links between place value understanding and understanding written methods, read Can’t calculate? Could place value be the culprit?

Concept 3: Magnitude of number

Children can find estimating along empty number lines or scales tricky. The first thing to secure is the usefulness of benchmarks. When introducing a new number range, always identify the midpoint (middle) first, and then the quartiles. Once these are known, ask the children to identify a mystery number. They will need the benchmarks to be able reason about their chosen numbers.

In addition, when discussing mystery numbers, as well as asking for sensible suggestions, also ask for silly suggestions – getting the children to give non-examples with reasoning is equally as beneficial – and everyone loves a silly answer.

Concept 4: Base facts

When rehearsing base facts, don’t be scared to go back to the basics. Revisiting bonds to and within ten is a good starting point and they can be quickly built back up to the age-appropriate fluency range.

3 + 7 = 10, so 0.3 + 0.7 = 1.0, and 3,000 + 7,000 = 10,000.

It is important that children see the link between the base facts and how these are used in the broader number range.

A quick and resource-free way to rehearse addition facts is to play ‘tennis’. You pick a target number, for example 14. You serve an imaginary ‘ball’ to your class saying a number, for example 9. They then return the imaginary ‘ball’ back to you saying the number that added to your number makes to target number so in this case the class would say 5. You then return the ‘ball’ saying another number, for example 3 and the class would return the ball saying 11 and so on.

The next time, you could play ‘tennis’ again with a linked target number such as 140, 1400 or 1.4. Make explicit links back to the base facts rehearsed earlier to ensure connections are made.

If you want to rehearse and explore multiplication facts, using this or a similar practice scaffold can support pupils making links. The idea with these is that you complete one part of the scaffold, and the children complete the rest.

I might give the multiplication fact in the middle as 7 x 6 = __ and ask pupils to complete the other sections. This version includes key vocabulary and a ‘tell me something else…’ box. This is useful because you can encourage children to be creative and show off their knowledge.

Here is a similar scaffold:

Concept 5: Strategy choice

When faced with a calculation, it is important not only to calculate it correctly but also consider the most appropriate strategy, giving time to discuss the most efficient way to solve a calculation.

Let’s take an example from the 2022 KS2 SATs, maths arithmetic paper (Q 6):  

6.48 + 8.6 = ___

It is within the Year 4 fluency range so could be part of the Year 4 fluency session.

This simple structure encourages children to think about multiple ways to solve the same calculation and consider the most accurate and efficient strategy for them. The idea is that you put the calculation in the centre and think of up to four different ways to solve it.

What four strategies would you choose? Which one do you think is the most efficient and accurate for you?

Read more about fluency sessions.

What ideas could be shared with parents and families for everyday maths, including fun things they might like to try at home over the summer break?

As we have already mentioned, the summer holiday is long and during this time, children will not have maths lessons, and we wouldn’t want them to! However, we might want them to continue to have opportunities to think mathematically.

Planning a day trip, or holiday outing

There are many decisions to make when planning an outing. As a parent myself, I wouldn’t want my children planning every trip, but even if the adult decides the destination, there are still lots of other aspects to discuss, agree and plan:

• time – What time do we want to arrive? What time will we need to leave home to arrive at x time? How long will we be there?
• money – Cost of tickets, amount for lunch, snacks or treats, or saving pocket money for the the gift shop?
• measures – How far away is it? What is the best route?
• spatial thinking – following a map

Playing a board game

Most board games support mathematical learning. Track games are particularly great at supporting counting, but many also support problem solving. Even in simple games such as Ludo or dominoes, there is an element of strategy – deciding when to start the next counter, considering the position of other people’s counters, considering the matching dominoes in your hand that link together, for example.

In games such as Monopoly, Cluedo and Ticket to Ride, many problems need solving and working strategically or systematically are important skills that can be developed, as well as guessing and checking, or visualising. All play can have mathematical connotations.

Finding ‘Maths Everywhere’

Doing tasks such as setting the table or putting toys away in the correct place have mathematical value. Our Herts for Learning ‘Maths Everywhere’ resources are perfect for giving ideas. They range from Reception to Year 6 in focus, but all could be adapted to make them appropriate to different ages of children within the same family or group.

The ‘Maths Everywhere’ cards make simple suggestions. Above are just 3 of the set. The first is about collecting, sorting, and counting objects. For younger children this is particularly helpful as they involve skills such as matching, subitising and classifying.

Plan in reactivation of key learning in September

Fluency sessions were a key aspect in their success. Starting with fluency slides that the teacher used in the summer term is one way to begin fluency in September. They will be familiar, and we already know that they cover the key concepts needed for the autumn term. Children will instantly feel successful, and success often breads more success!

Returning to our relay race analogy one last time...

The whole focus of this blog has been about smoothing the journey of learning for children, through effective handover and transition, and identifying ways to reduce the ‘lost learning’.

To recap and summarise the main strategies and ideas suggested within this blog:

To support transition and handover:

1. Ask current teachers to RAG rate their curriculum map or long-term plan to show the level of security and confidence with the learning for most children.
2. Ask teachers to specifically identify anything that was either not covered or didn’t go as well and so will need time given to it before new learning is layered on top.
3. Ask teachers to share specific pupil information including about attainment and progress, in whatever form your school uses.
4. Remind the next class teacher to adjust their medium and/or long-term plan for maths, considering the handover information they receive.

And three further ideas, focusing on reducing ‘lost learning’ over the summer and allowing children to pick up again smoothly from where they left off in the previous year group:

• keep fluency sessions going until the end of term and then pick them up quickly again in September.
• offer ideas to parents and families for everyday maths, which include fun things they might like to try at home, including over the summer break.
• plan in reactivation of key learning in September. 

References

Department for Education (2013) The national curriculum in England: key stages 1 and 2 framework document. 

Available at: Gov.UK: National curriculum in England: primary curriculum (Accessed: 30 June 2022).

September Primary Symposium INSET: Stronger in Knowledge Together, Friday 4th September 2023, Stevenage

This cost effective, full-day, face-to-face, cross-curricular INSET day for primary teaching staff will provide you with the opportunity to select key areas for your staff to develop to meet the needs and requirements as a school. 

Our workshops programme includes the option for your staff to attend sessions on reading, phonics, spelling, oracy, mathematics, Early Years, assessment, foundation subjects, curriculum planning, sequencing and accelerating the progress of disadvantaged learners.

Find out more: September Primary Symposium INSET: Stronger in Knowledge Together

When considering end of Key Stage 1 teacher assessment judgements, evidence from the statutory KS1 maths tests will form part of the evidence base for each child.

Let’s delve into this statement from the Teacher Assessment Framework:

The pupil can add and subtract any 2 two-digit numbers using an efficient strategy, explaining their method verbally, in pictures or using apparatus.

Let’s consider this alongside question 17 from the 2023 KS1 arithmetic paper:

First, let’s see how long it takes to solve this using a one-to-one correspondence counting method…

I’ve sped up the video because it took 2 minutes 9 seconds to reach a solution.

This is plenty of time for a child using this method to become distracted in a busy classroom, resulting in an error being made. Plus, I’ve lined my dots up nicely – this is hard to do with so many to draw!

Possible points of error for children using this method:

1. drawing the incorrect number of dots

2. crossing out the incorrect number of dots

3. counting the incorrect number of dots remaining

If a child used this method and DID get the answer correct, would we be able to include this as evidence of this TAF statement being secure? I would suggest not as it lacks efficiency.

When analysing 2022 SATs papers with teachers this time last year, we came across plenty of examples of this very method being used for questions such as this:

If this is a child’s ‘go to’ method, it becomes even more problematic when having to employ it in a wider context, where there are more things to consider.

For example, here, for question 23 in the 2023 KS1 reasoning paper:

We could have a situation here where a child is having to:

• decide which coin set to start with (let’s say they choose to start with Ben’s)
• consider the value of each coin and draw the relevant number of dots (50 dots and 2 dots and 2 dots and 10 dots and another 1 dot)
• interpret that they need to find the difference, not add the two amounts (the word more has the potential to throw them here)
• cross out the number of dots representing Sita’s money (50 dots and 5 dots and another 20 dots)
• count each remaining dots to find the difference.

That is a HUGE amount of cognitive load and there are so many potential points of error.

What can we do to ensure children really can ‘add and subtract any 2 two-digit numbers using an efficient strategy, explaining their method verbally, in pictures or using apparatus’.

For questions like those considered so far, where there is no regrouping required to subtract, let’s explore some more efficient methods where a solid understanding of place value can be applied.

Another relevant TAF statement here is: ‘The pupil can partition any two-digit number into different combinations of tens and ones…’

Children need to understand ‘numbers within numbers’ – the parts and the whole.

Let’s revisit the first question above and explore some more efficient methods.

How can we get children to really see this?

Children can’t use the equipment in the test but this will support with visualisation of what is actually happening here when we take away part of the 94.

Connections between the abstract calculation, equipment and familiar part whole representations develop and secure understanding.

Language is important. Talking it through during modelling and independent practice ensures connection between the number names and the place value of each part.

We have ninety-four.

That’s 9 tens and 4 ones.

We take away 4 tens.

Now we have 5 tens and 4 ones.

That’s fifty-four.

Colours could be used to highlight the parts, alongside a speaking frame (as above):

This method could be represented pictorially:

Language remains important here too when considering the tens and ones.

These take much less time than drawing all the dots and they become even quicker once understood and the move can be made to purely mental calculation. Plus, there’s much less chance of error if number fact knowledge is secure.

Looking ahead to Key Stage 2

This is ok while understanding is developing but application to larger numbers would be cumbersome and it returns to being error-prone. Pictorially recording in this way should be a stepping stone to generalised understanding of how this method can be applied to larger numbers, taking into account place value:

Secure understanding of part whole relationships, tens and ones, and how to partition numbers flexibly will enable pupils to tackle problems across the curriculum in KS2 when they begin to work with a larger range of place values.

We certainly wouldn’t want to be relying on drawing dots to solve this one:

The HFL Education End of Key Stage 1 Mathematics Assessment Toolkit has been updated to include question level analysis materials and question-by-question TAF links for the 2023 KS1 SATs papers.

Contact the HFL Primary Maths Team at primarymaths@hfleducation.org to discuss in-school support for making accurate teacher assessment judgements at the end of KS1.

Professional development opportunities: autumn 2023

Join the HFL Education Primary Maths Team for face-to-face training at the Hertfordshire Development Centre in Stevenage:

Practical ways to assess, scaffold and secure maths learning in your KS1 classroom: applying Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction

Practical ways to assess, scaffold and secure maths learning in your KS2 classroom: applying Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction

Looking to develop pupils’ accuracy and efficiency in calculation as pupils move from KS1 to KS2 in your school?

Find out more about our Making Flexible and Fluent Calculators project, launching in autumn 2023.

To keep up to date: Join our Primary Subject Leaders’ mailing list

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References:

• 2018/19 teacher assessment frameworks at the end of key stage 1 for use from the 2018/19 academic year onwards
• 2022 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 1: arithmetic
• 2023 Key Stage 1 mathematics paper 1: arithmetic
• 2023 Key Stage 1 mathematics paper 1: reasoning

Contains material developed by the Standards and Testing Agency for 2022 and 2023 national curriculum assessments and licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0.

At the beginning of the Summer Term, Oak View welcomed Monika Koziara from HCC for a waste education visit. We began the morning with an assembly for Years 3 and 4. The children were engaged from the outset and were able to answer many of Monika’s questions using their own experiences and understanding. Monika’s questions were incredibly insightful and pulled out not only what the children already knew but also some misconceptions they had regarding waste management.

For example, one of the children mentioned incinerators after looking at a picture prompt in the presentation and stated that they believed that’s where the rubbish went to be burnt and that burning caused pollution to be released into the air. Monika’s follow up to this surprised many of the children (and even some of the adults)! She explained that although the burning of our waste releases various ‘naughties’, as technology improves, incinerators are more and more capable of dealing with the release of these chemicals by trapping them and stopping them before they go into the air. In fact, what we see being released into the air isn’t smoke but steam which can be used to generate electricity.

Another shock to the children was that the UK wouldn’t be creating any more landfills because we are running out of space and it isn’t sustainable. Even more shocking was that meant all our rubbish would have to be taken out of Hertfordshire (because we don’t have any incinerators in Hertfordshire yet).

We then discussed climate change and the release of methane adding to this. The children were very knowledgeable and understood some of the larger impacts climate change is having on our world. This linked in very nicely with the workshop sections – ‘So what can WE do about it?’

The children staying for this section had a chance to reflect on this during a movement break before their practical activity.

We chose Year 4 to take part in the practical activity this year as it links very nicely with their Science unit: ‘Animals and their habitats’. Particularly the curriculum objective: ‘recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.’

Monika linked this incredibly well in terms of the land needed for incinerators and landfills, but also the harm that rubbish can cause to our wildlife.

The children were then able to discuss the different materials that daily items were made of and did a sorting activity to see what we would do if we wanted to rid ourselves of particular items. The children not only enjoyed the ‘hands on’ approach of this activity but thought hard about what they would do with each item. The following were their key takeaways from this session:

• pringles cans can’t be recycled (apart from the lid) because they are made of too many different materials
• when in doubt, throw it out (black bin) otherwise entire lorries of waste may not be able to be recycled
• old worn-out clothing that isn’t fit for donating can be recycled at recycling centres
• paper can only be recycled a set number of times as it begins to lose its integrity – egg cartons are usually the last form paper takes on

Needless to say, the session was incredibly informative, and the children (and adults) gained a lot from it.

We also wanted to include our ‘Teacher Top Tips’ for planning your session:

1. each Hertfordshire school is entitled to one free visit per school year
2. book ahead – the visits get booked up a few months in advance – so look ahead at when this visit would be best and reach out to book.
3. Monika will pitch the presentation at whichever level suits your children – let her know in advance which year groups will be at the assembly and which will take place in the workshop
4. the videos played use YouTube – so worth asking for them in advance to download or ensuring you will be able to use YouTube on the day
5. a hall space is really helpful to allow the children to move freely during the workshop
6. a couple of follow up resources completed in class following the presentation helped the children to think more critically about what they had learned
7. this workshop can link well to the Science topics of ‘Animals and their habitats’, ‘Materials and properties’ and ‘Changes of materials’ across the primary year groups. It links nicely to Forest school activities and the Eco-schools Green Flag accreditation as well. More information on Eco-Schools can be found here.

Bookings for visit can be made through Monika Koziara at Monika.Koziara@hertfordshire.gov.uk and more information regarding recycling for schools in Herfordshire can be found at the Eco Schools website:

Eco Schools: What is Eco Schools

Sarah Taylor (Year 4 Teacher Oak View Primary and Nursery) and Siobhan Stuart (HFL Primary Science Adviser)

Voices from the Classroom

Our new blog series, Voices from the Classroom, allows primary science teachers to share particularly effective practical experiences they have had with their classes. It’s a great way to showcase what your school is doing and written guidance and examples are available for those of you wishing to participate.

If this is something you would be interested in participating in, please email Charlotte Jackson charlotte.jackson@hfleducation.org

It is almost 30 years since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In 1992, I was at secondary school in Hertfordshire and remember writing to Boutros Boutros-Ghali in an English lesson urging him to lead the world to a legally binding solution to the escalating environmental crisis. I was a forthright teenager, focused on righting global injustices from racism, to poverty, to environmental degradation. I remember feeling let down when I realised that the failings of Rio were about wealth and who should foot the bill for environmental protections. It felt like a real missed opportunity when world leaders agreed to continue thrashing out agreements in a series of conferences. Fast forward 30 years and much has happened, but disappointingly little has changed on finding global consensus to what has now become a climate emergency. We are now up to the 26th conference following Rio and whilst progress has been made, we are yet to reach global consensus. In my own life, I am now the mum to a teenager the same age as I was when the Rio Earth Summit happened. I am lucky in that he attends a Hertfordshire school who are very pro-environmental action, and he is engaged in COP26, but I can’t help feeling he will feel let down by global leaders on this agenda, just as I was back in 1992.

I want to be optimistic about COP26; but the cynic in me is telling me not to put my faith in world leaders and feel disappointment for a 26th time. Rather, I should concentrate on positively influence change through my role at HfL. I work for HfL because I love our moral purpose and I have learned in my post as Director of Business Services that it is possible to inspire positive action across a number of agendas. I’ve learned that this is the truly great bit about the job, but I have to look beyond the high level of effort and focus to keep the plates spinning. It is only when I challenge myself to go that extra mile that I find the truly inspirational element of my role - the chance to make change and measure that change. Of course, the world needs decisive action and a positive outcome from COP26, but it also needs every organisational leader to be championing this agenda. It will take every leader to look beyond the high level of effort and focus going into their role and go that extra mile to inspire change that matters and will have a positive impact. The impact that we can have as governors is not just in reducing carbon emissions, but in inspiring young minds. We need to lead the way and create the next generation of environmental stewards and advocates. Let’s not hang all our hopes on COP26 and risk another generation feeling let down by world leaders as they didn’t grasp a key opportunity. Let’s show children and young people that we all have a role to play in this agenda and local action will accelerate our path to carbon neutrality.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Covid remains a huge challenge in schools, settings and trusts, and the operational demands are not reducing. I recognise that so many school leaders are exhausted and close to burn-out and driving the environmental agenda in your school, setting or trust right now probably feels like an agenda too far. However, just as children and young people have one-shot at education, many scientists believe that is the last chance to stem irreversible and damaging climate change. Whilst schools, settings and trusts continue to manage the challenges of Covid, an even greater challenge is growing that requires positive action right here, right now.

I believe that there are three immediate steps that Boards should be seeking to take:

1. Establish how you as a Board will plan, monitor and implement environmental action going forward. What can be achieved within the existing resource envelope and what will require additional investment from HCC and DfE? How can you ensure that the climate crisis remains on the agenda and that progress against targets is being made? Following discussion, set challenging yet achievable time-bound goals. For example, HCC and HfL have both signed-up to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030;
2. Set up a Climate Committee (consisting of students, staff and governors) to explore what your school can do to make a difference and report into the Governing Board;
3. Adopt an environmental action statement and publish it your website, we have provided a model template in the Governance pages of Climate Change and Sustainability on The Grid - just scroll down to the model template. Ensure you include specific environmental actions within your school development plan priorities.

#schoolgovernor

#schoolgovernance

#cop26