Recently, I have been working a great deal with teachers on developing their skills at scaffolding learning rather than setting different levels of challenge (also referred to as ‘Tiered Learning’). Let me start by clarifying one thing. I am not opposed to presenting different levels of challenge. There are times when it is absolutely the most appropriate form of differentiation for the learners. For example, pupils who have significant gaps in learning or cognitive difficulties. However, it is the dominance of this approach within our primary maths classrooms that concerns me.

What is differentiation?

At its most simple level, differentiation is the teacher’s response to the variation amongst learners in a classroom. However, differentiation is a vast field, with multiple aspects and opportunities that need to be considered when deciding on the most appropriate adjustments to facilitate maximum learning. There is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach; nor is there a magic bullet. It relies on our professional knowledge of our pupils and consideration of a few key questions:

1) What is the long term learning outcome that is required?

2) What is the learning goal of the individual lesson?

3) How do we get our diverse classrooms to the desired outcomes? In essence, how do we go from Q1 to Q2 and back again?

Tiered Learning

This is the dominant form of differentiation that I encounter not only in classrooms, but also in published (hard copy or digital) resources. Fundamentally, teachers provide different tasks/activities to meet the needs of different learners. This approach has been used in UK classrooms for a number of years because it does have benefits. It allows pupils access to learning that they can (or should be able to) complete independently. In examples of best practice, this is a short term change in the learning goal to support pupils to acquire the knowledge, skill or experience to allow them to move to the next stage of learning. It is successful when a pupil has:

i) a cognitive difficultly and is working on a detailed personal curriculum that reflects their individual learning needs

ii) a significant gap in conceptual understanding that must be addressed to ensure that they are able to continue to develop their schema with clarity. A short term drop to accelerate rapidly back up to the levels of their peers.

I am not going to discuss those pupils with cognitive difficulties in this blog – it would be far too long. Please refer to our previous blogs here and here for focused conversation if you would like to explore this further.

I ran, and will continue to run, classrooms where self differentiation of tiered learning will be part of my teaching style. Warning: this form of differentiation needs very close monitoring.

Let us consider the ultimate outcomes if some of our pupils constantly access less complex or less challenging learning than their peers (either through teacher direction or self-differentiation).  When do they get to reach the age-related expectations (ARE) pitch? If in Year 1 they are constantly exposed to learning experiences that are just below ARE, what happens to them in Year 2? Year 3? The gap continues to get bigger. Many Year 6 teachers feel the eventual outcomes of this – a pupil who was just off ARE in year 1 is now significantly off by Year 6. The pupil has missed many of the key learning experiences and their schema is fragmented, limiting their ability to translate learning across the curriculum. Used constantly and without consideration, children could be placed on metaphorical escalators that have different pre-set outcomes, and once you are on one it is incredibly difficult to jump to the escalator above as the gap increases throughout a school career.

Figure 1: Some of the strategies which can be deployed to support learning

It can be successful though, if carefully managed through clear gap diagnosis, focused intervention, careful small step management, and most importantly, that those expectations are firmly attached to ‘getting back on track’. As such, tiered learning is both very time and energy demanding. I would always ask, is there another way to achieve the desired learning outcome?

Scaffolding

But what about these other ways? What else should be considered? This is where the list is almost endless. Figure 2 summarises the more common strategies that a teacher can deploy.

Do bear in mind that other forms of enabling access and tiered learning are not always mutually exclusive. They can have a symbiotic relationship.

For the purpose of this blog, I am going to focus upon scaffolding.

‘[a scaffold is] that [which] enables a child or novice to solve a task or achieve a goal that would be beyond his unassisted effort’ Wood et al 1976, p90

Scaffolding works in a similar way to its physical counterpart – it allows pupils who are ready to learn the concept but with certain barriers, access to learning that they would not be able, or willing, to reach without it. A key outcome of this approach is that they access the same thinking / learning experiences and continue to develop their understanding on a par with their peers.

When working with teachers, consideration of scaffolding opportunities has shifted their thinking about how to approach the needs of their learners. It makes classrooms more manageable, as through successful scaffolding we can all grapple with the same learning, collective power to conquer together. Then on to the next… together.

So what would this look like in the classroom?

Beware of cognitive overload, try to keep it in mind. Stay focused on the key learning outcome, what exactly do you want them to learn in this sequence or step? For example, if the desired learning outcome is to be able to use the language of multiple and factor accurately, and pupils don’t know their multiplication facts, then providing them with a multiplication chart could be the scaffold (after making sure that they how to use it). If they don’t know their facts, this is going to be a barrier to understanding and accurately applying the language. By being given access to a simple chart, they can explore, secure and feel confident in the use of the key vocabulary language, and they will be able to apply it rapidly when they acquire more facts. The focus of the learning is not to be able to recall multiplication facts (that’s a different much longer journey).

1) Are there any concrete manipulative or printed resources that would ease cognitive load? Do they have access to the same resources that were modelled? Pupils should have access to allow them to model out, explore and confirm for themselves as and when they need to. Some pupils may need a manipulative mat in order to contain/structure their resources – or they might get ‘lost in the sea of Dienes’.

2) Speaking frames support pupils to structure responses in full sentences and in how to use new vocabulary appropriately. These have been a hugely successful part of ESSENTIAL maths, as the development of verbal reasoning is closely linked with the ability to construct personal schemas and knowledge into long term memory. In some cases, pupils are not able to track from the modelled speaking frame and need their own personal copy, so that they can track with their fingers etc.

3) Recording frames work as organisers, supporting pupils to stay focused on key learning and enable some pupils to have more practice. Let’s take these two key functions separately.

4) Check-it stations support the development of independence and self-correction at the point of learning. It has been proven that to find and identify errors in your own learning is vastly more powerful than having them identified for you. Recently in a classroom, I asked one boy who had completed a set of calculations how he knew if he had them all correct. He shrugged his shoulders and said Mr X would mark his book. How much more powerful would it have been for that pupil to have checked some of his responses as he was working through them? Check-it stations can vary in content and level of support, but the default setting is simply just some of the answers. Then the responsibility lies with the pupil to identify where and what the error is and how the correct solution is reached. This prevents the proliferation of error within a lesson, has the added bonuses of more confident, self-checking pupils and frees the teacher to work with guided groups. Many schools who employ this now have editing pens at their check-it stations as well. A quick word from the experienced check-it station user – have at least 2 in your classroom to avoid the bun fight as everyone heads at the same time.

Staying focused on learning

A maths classroom is full of distractions. A recording frame can support a pupil in internalising a thought process, supporting development of efficient and clear recording, learning to contain their pictorial representations and symbols to ensure that they can follow their own chain of thought. They can also be adapted to enable greater depth.

Figures 2 and 3 Examples of speaking frames from ESSENTIALmaths

 

Figure 5 year 1 recording frame with challenge, ‘Can you complete the rest of the recording frame to make this true?’

 

Imagine you are a child who doesn’t write as quickly as your peers. Perhaps you get lost half way through a sentence as you are having to work harder on spelling and letter formation. You get through less practice. You might never get to the ‘tricky’ questions (this is why misconceptions must be exposed early in a practice sequence, but that’s for another time). What is the impact on your learning? Is this because you couldn’t ‘do the maths’? No, it is possibly because your fine motor skills aren’t as well developed as your peers or that your working memory is getting overloaded with other stuff. But you will eventually fall behind and the gap will grow – this isn’t fair.  This is further explored in this blog here. 

We need to get as many pupils as possible to become fluent and confident mathematicians. This is not for school league tables, this is because maths is a key life skill required to function successfully in our society. The longer children stay on parallel curriculums, through constant tiered learning, the harder it is to move them off. Are we content to have different expectations for pupils? Is it okay to leave children trapped on metaphorical learning escalators?

---

In this blog, I have only outlined a few of the different differentiation strategies that a teacher can deploy. If you would like to explore this further and gain a wider portfolio of strategies, please join us on our central training.

---

Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, 17, 89−100

Berk, L., & Winsler, A. (1995). Scaffolding children's learning: Vygotsky and early childhood learning. Washington, DC: National Association for Education of Young Children

My name is Vicki O’Brien and I am the maths subject leader at Therfield First School – a small, village school. There are 52 children from Reception to Year 4 in mixed-age classes and I have been teaching here for 8 years. Teaching in a small school has many benefits – we know our children and their families really well and there is a real sense of community. In class, we are able to target our teaching based on our understanding of each child’s starting point in each concept as we move through the year. However, with maths teaching, our mixed year group classes do present a challenge for us. Firstly, because of the specific curriculum requirements for each year group and secondly, the varied individual starting points for children. But one thing I know about our school is that we always rise to a challenge.

Last academic year, I engaged with Herts for Learning and the Matrix Maths Hub in the NCETM Mastery Readiness programme and this journey to develop mastery teaching across the school continues for us this year. As a school, we have always been passionate about growth mindset but for some of our children, maths is a subject that has historically caused a level of anxiety for a variety of reasons.

I wanted to write this blog to share how considering our school vision for maths and implementing fluency sessions has led to my class becoming confident mathematicians who enjoy exploring, sharing and bouncing ideas off of each other and how I manage this logistically in a mixed-age class.

Why did I decide to add fluency sessions to our timetable?

We have tried a number of mixed-age planning materials and have now found one that works for our school in terms of concept mapping. However, having used these materials for the past 3 years, we felt that there were gaps in the teaching plans in terms of developing fluency and arithmetic proficiency. This is something that we explored through the Mastery Readiness programme and I felt that this was an area we could develop further.

The children were not always making connections between what they already knew and new learning, the steps were sometimes not small enough for all children to secure understanding and I felt there needed to be more time for practice. This was having a particular impact in our mixed age classes because it felt like we were going from one thing to another and it felt rushed.

In addition, we also felt that the materials we were using to flash back to prior learning weren’t enabling development of language or providing a low-threshold, high ceiling approach. The materials were designed for specific year groups, the questions were quite closed and didn’t explicitly involve giving any explanation beyond the ‘answer’. The children weren’t excited about them.

When we returned from the national lockdown in spring 2021, we needed something that would be accessible for all to help us find and fill any gaps as quickly as possible to allow teaching of the maths curriculum to continue with understanding. The children had engaged well with home learning but when back in class, were finding it difficult to articulate their thinking or express how they had worked things out. So in April 2021, we purchased the Herts for Learning fluency slides and have been using these in Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2 since Easter.

The launch

Just after the Easter break, I led an INSET for teachers and TAs to explore how use of these materials could benefit our children. We considered our shared vision and culture around the importance of maths and our belief that every child can achieve. We looked at our timetables to ensure that we could give this proper time to support the development of mathematical fluency.

What I did and what I’ve noticed

As I said, I started using the fluency materials with my Year 3 & 4 class in spring. I chose to do 3 slides that I felt could be used to explore both Year 3 and 4 content. My main aim was to get children to be confident and vocal about what they were learning – talking, proving and investigating.

In my class, I have children working at Y2, Y3 and Y4 level with some who could make links beyond that. To start with, I took something they had already learned to develop confidence with the structure of the sessions and so everyone felt comfortable to participate.

Over time, we explored the 3 concepts at great depth and made connections to things they had learned this year (and in previous years) using sentence structures such as, “If I know ‘this’ then I know ‘that’”. I noticed how engaged they all were – including those who have previously been reluctant to contribute to whole class discussion.

Multiplicative fact recall and reasoning

When we first started, the children had manipulatives on their tables to build arrays. I showed them one on the Interactive Whiteboard and they built it themselves with double sided counters and explored it using the language I provided.

 

 

For each array, children talked to each other about what they noticed and I modelled to them how we would describe it in full sentences, e.g. I can see 4 sixes. This is 4 times 6. The children then repeated this back, also in full sentences to support the language development.

 

 

For this array, the children flipped over the top row of their double sided counters. The overall array hadn’t changed but now we were describing the equal parts differently. We talked about ‘what’s the same?’ and ‘what’s different?’

Everybody has the manipulatives. The children don’t perceive others as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ at maths than them. This approach proved valuable for those ‘fast finishers’ as they were having to model and explain using accurate language. For all children, their multiplicative understanding was deepening.

Over time, they were able to consider how they would split arrays to make calculation easier. This depended on each child’s known facts. For example, the example below shows 6 sevens split into 3 sevens and 3 sevens. For some of my children, this helped with calculating. But for some who were not yet confident with their 3 x table, it was easier for them to split it into 5 sevens and 1 seven, allowing them to use a fact from their 5x table and then add on one more group of 7. This was allowed… and encouraged!

 

 

After four weeks of manipulating arrays and having these conversations, the children were increasing in confidence at working out unknown products and were thinking much more flexibly. We then continued without the manipulatives with larger numbers.

 

 

 

They were now starting to consider benchmarks more naturally and consider numbers that were easy to multiply. So below, spotting that they could calculate 10 x 7 + 5 x 7 to find the overall number of dots.

 

 

Geometry

 

 

The second concept we have focused on is geometry – properties of shape. For my mixed-age class, this was perfect to get some rich discussion going, developing accurate mathematical language at the same time. All children are able to contribute and over time, their knowledge became more secure and they are much more able to describe what they notice.

The focus might be on triangles one week and then quadrilaterals the next. Each day, it’s very similar… but different. This keeps the children thinking but allows them to continue to make connections each time and build up what they know.

 

 

I keep a bank of images to choose from to adapt the slides each time so it doesn’t take long to change it up to build upon the previous day. Having the language down the sides takes the stress away from the teacher and it’s there for everybody to use – adults included!

Place value… and more

When we first started a place value slide, it would just involve talking about the simple place value – thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. Now we talk about greater than / less than, patterns, rounding, doubling, halving, odd, even… Before I even say it, the children are adding or subtracting the numbers automatically. They are not constricted but allowed time to explore.

Sometimes we discuss a number as a whole class, bouncing ideas off of each other. Other times, children work in pairs to record their thoughts and to link the number to other areas of maths. If I notice an error or potential misconception, we can talk about it there and then in the session.

 

 

 

The children are growing in confidence to try things out and then share them with the class. It doesn’t matter whether they are in Year 3 or Year 4, they are bringing their ideas together and they have no fear of failing as it’s all a discussion. They pick up on things I hadn’t even thought about. When we learn something new in class, they bring this to the table too. So for example, after we had learned about measurement, they began making connections to the place value and thinking about how the numbers would be affected by multiplying or dividing by powers of 10.

Headteacher, Tara McGovern, says of these fluency sessions, “Children suddenly immersed themselves in the maths and were proud about what they know. They were exploring numbers, bringing what they knew to the table. We have found previously that children have stated that they find maths hard or said they can’t do it. They’ve put themselves in a box. But in these sessions, the children are enthusiastic and the collaboration between the children is a joy to see.

In one session for example, the children were talking about related facts. One child explained what would be ten times greater. Another child then suggested an inverse operation and it ping ponged around the class, accelerating from something that could have been simple fact recall.

These short bursts of fluency are buzzy sessions that move across the curriculum. Participation is high for all children and they are developing more independence and stamina as time goes on.

Confidence has been brought back into the classroom for the upcoming maths lessons and children are recognising themselves as mathematicians.”

As the class teacher, in the first half term, I noticed a big difference in what the children could do. Fluency slides have given the children a voice. Even those who may struggle in maths lessons can share what they know and learn from others.

 

Blog authored by Vicki O’Brien, Therfield First School, Hertfordshire.

 

Professional development opportunity

Join us for face-to-face training at the Hertfordshire Development Centre to:

• consider the rationale for developing fluency sessions. Why do pupils need to be ‘fluent’ in maths and what do they need to be fluent with?
• explore possible structures and ways of organising sessions
• consider the appropriate content for fluency sessions, including what is appropriate for the year group and time in the academic year
• take away resources for a staff meeting to use with staff and a full set of (revised and updated) fluency session materials to use and adapt with each year group

Developing effective maths fluency sessions

In nearly every class across the country the Autumn term’s maths learning starts with number: place value, magnitude – ordering and comparing number. A very good place to start if you ask me, as it is arguably the ‘key stone’ to all maths learning. I would say that without a secure understanding of number most other maths learning, especially numeracy, becomes a series of memorised processes using digits rather than numbers.

What do I mean by Numeracy?

I was fortunate to hear Mahesh Sharma speak at the British Dyslexia Association’s Maths and dyscalculia day and in his provided notes he defines numeracy as:

“…the ability to execute standard whole number operations/algorithms correctly, consistently, and fluently with understanding and estimate, calculate accurately and efficiently, both mentally and on paper using a range of calculation strategies and means.” (2019, pg 19)

In summary I think pupils need to be able to:

• identify the value of the numbers in the calculation
• choose the best strategy to solve the calculation
• understand what is happening to the values whilst carrying out the calculation
• complete the calculation accurately
• repeat this process many times

I would argue that some pupils can do the last two bullet points but can’t do the first three. These pupils have learnt a process with digits rather than becoming numerate. I think this is proved over and over by pupils who automatically use standard written methods for any calculation with what seems like very little consideration for the values in the calculations. For example: 245 + 99, £10 - £3.99, 3682 ÷ 1 and 816 x 10 would be answered -

The calculations have been answered accurately and pupils do repeat this many times but pupils have not: identified the value of the numbers in the calculations, chosen the best strategy or applied their understanding of number to help them understand what is happening to the values. They are not secure with number. In these examples the pupils have been accurate but a lack of understanding of number can lead to many errors being caused or misconceptions being repeated over and over again.

In these addition and subtraction examples try and work out what has gone wrong.

 

a. not included the additional ten regrouped when adding the ones

b. included all 15 ones in the answer, hasn’t regrouped

c. recognised that there are 12 ones but put the 1 ten in the answer and carried the 2

d. added together the four digits in the calculation 2+5+3+1

e. taken the biggest digit away from the smallest digit in the ones column

f. recognised the need to regroup to be able to take away 4 but not shown that there is now 8 tens in 92

g. recognised the need to regroup but unsure about how to regroup with a no tens

h. recognised that 5 ones is less than 6 ones so shown borrowing a ten but not changes the 5 ones to 15 ones and then taken the biggest digit from the smallest.

 

In all cases the errors are caused by a lack of understanding of place value.

What does the intervention need to be to help stop these errors?

In my experience what pupils who makes these errors is definitely DO NOT is need more practice of column addition and subtraction. In most cases pupils need to secure their understanding of what happens to tens and ones when counting up and down – regrouping ten ones for a ten when counting up and regrouping ten ones for ten when counting down. Once secure with this they need to be able to regroup numbers into hundreds, tens, ones in a number of ways.

I have found that one of the best ways to support pupils in securing this understanding is to play a simple game sometimes it is called banker, other times it is called race to 50/100/zero.

To play the game the pupils need a place value chart with either hundreds, tens and ones or just tens and ones depending on your start and end points and possibly the age of the pupils. In either case it is important that there are two tens frames embedded in the ones column. 

The embedded tens frames enable the pupil to recognise by looking when they have more than ten ones so knows that regrouping needs to happen. The easiest way to generate the number being added each time is by rolling a dice (a ten sided dice works best but an ordinary dotty dice works too). When using the game to count up to a given number the pupil rolls the dice and adds the same number of base-10 ones cubes to the chart as the number rolled. So if 7 is rolled seven cubes are added. At this point encourage the pupil to subitise how many more to ten – the tens frame supports this. Once more than ten ones cubes are in the chart the pupil will need to regroup. The pupil say the total and how it is represented, identify what is going to be regrouped and then restate the total after the regrouping and how it is now represented.

For example:

When the pupil groups ten ones for a ten ensure that they understand that this is the same value. The base-10 works really well for this as ten ones cubes is exactly the same size as a tens rod. This regrouping and explanation of what is happening needs to happen every time there is more than ten ones.  

 

This game needs to be play repeatedly because as well as developing understanding of regrouping they will also be developing their visualisation of the number and conservation of number recognising that as regrouping is done the total amount doesn’t change.

If you think back to the errors made in the addition calculations (a-d) all of those errors were caused by a lack of understanding of regrouping the ones (a-c) or not understanding the value of the digits (d). To bridge the gap between the improved understanding of regrouping from the game to the written strategy expanded column addition will help to make the place value explicit, initially the calculation can be done using the base-10, then represented pictorially and finally written.

For example for 57 + 25:

To support the understanding of how regrouping is needed in subtraction again an adaptation of the ‘Banker’, ‘Race to…’ games are the best starting point. The same place value chart is used but this time the pupils start with an amount and need to count down. This time when a decade boundary is crossed a ten will need to be regrouped for ten ones when there isn’t enough ones to take away. As before the explanation of the regrouping needs to be articulated each time it takes place.

As with addition all the errors made with in the subtraction calculations above were caused by insecure place value understanding. The most common mistake I see with subtraction is like in calculation e) when pupils take the smaller digit from the biggest, practice of regrouping using the ‘banker’ game will help reduce this common mistake. Then using the CPA (concrete, pictorial and abstract) approach and an expanded written method the link between the regrouping when counting back and written subtraction can be made.

For example 73 - 46:

It is the practical element of the game using explicit place value equipment (base-10) physically regrouping the tens and ones alongside the verbal explanation of what is being done that helps to secure the understanding of what is happening to the numbers as they pass through decades. When this is then linked to a calculation strategy pupils make the connections and are able to carry out the process of column addition or subtraction with a much better understanding both of the process and the value of the numbers within them.

They have become more numerate.

Thinking back to Sharma’s definition of numeracy what this blog hasn’t covered is whether column addition is the best strategy or whether another strategy would be better. Considering the original examples:

 

Arguably all of these would all be better answered using a mental strategy but that’s another blog.

---

To find out more please book onto the following course

Mathematics intervention using a place value diagnostic assessment and teaching programme resource

---

References

Sharma, M. (2019). Dyscalculia and other mathematic difficulties.

The role of the maths subject leader is, put simply, to enable and ensure that the best possible mathematical teaching and learning is happening in every classroom across the school.

However, the above sentence doesn’t do the work of our primary maths subject leads justice.

Consider the following re-write…

The role of the maths subject leader is to provide leadership in mathematics; to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and provision, so that pupils learn and make and progress towards agreed targets; to secure high standards of teaching and learning; to monitor vulnerable groups of pupils; to support and develop the practice of colleagues; to keep relevant stakeholders updated about mathematics across the school; to develop excellent subject knowledge and inspire and motivate others; to champion maths; to share good practice and up to date research; to lead professional development; to communicate a clear vision linked to the School Development Plan; to ensure that school policies are up to date; to engage parents with supporting mathematical learning at home and to ensure classrooms are well-resourced to support teaching and learning. I’m sure that’s not all.

Hidden within the above is the monitoring subject leaders often carry out; to support staff and give them valuable feedback, to ensure consistency, to spot and highlight strengths and good practice, to pick up and address any potential areas for development.

Monitoring is essential for evaluation; to be able to lead school development and to support and develop the practice of colleagues. It is one of the pillars of subject leadership. But, we know that time is tight. In most cases, subject leaders have this role on top of teaching a class. (I’ll spare you the hugely long sentence detailing that role). 

So, given the demands on subject leaders’ time, whilst understanding the crucial role their work plays, I aim in this blog to explore how an element of monitoring could in fact be used as a tool for wider professional development, hitting several of those leadership responsibilities at once.

Subject leader privilege

One of the privileges of being a subject leader is the window that the role affords into the classrooms of others. Subject leaders, by the nature of their role, get to see their colleagues teach; they get to see children across the school grappling with maths and learning at different stages. This is a powerful form of professional development, not only as a leader but also as a teacher.

In my role as a teaching and learning adviser, I am also afforded this privilege across many different schools and I can say, hand on heart, that I learn something about the teaching and learning of maths on every one of those school visits.

How could this opportunity be afforded to the wider teaching team while still maintaining focus on whole school priorities for maths?

Let’s turn our focus to a specific example of a monitoring activity likely to form part of a subject leader’s work.

The book scrutiny

Whatever it may be called, monitoring of pupils’ recorded learning (or a book scrutiny or a book look), can provide valuable insight into what’s happening in classrooms across the school. It is a key evidence-based evaluative activity that, like all monitoring activities, has limitations, but is a powerful tool in any subject leader’s armoury.

Monitoring of pupils’ recorded learning could be undertaken by the subject leader alone, along with the wider leadership team, with an external adviser or as part of an Ofsted inspection. But, what about undertaking a book scrutiny together as a teaching staff? Perhaps even with teaching assistants too, during planned staff meeting or INSET time?

Let’s consider 5 ways that reviewing pupils’ recorded outcomes as a staff could be a tool for everyone’s professional development:

1. make it a shared experience – invite staff to participate
2. decide the focus together and agree what elements you are looking for (based on recent CPD or focus from the school development plan)
3. use it as an opportunity to share good practice; pick up and highlight great examples and show what is working well
4. use it as an opportunity to explore pedagogy (e.g. what it would look like in books if reasoning were our focus)
5. use it as an opportunity to explore progression within the curriculum

In more detail:

     1. Make it a shared experience – invite staff to participate

We have probably all been on the receiving end of monitoring activities within school and at times we may well have felt ‘done to’. Even if we know that these activities are a necessary part of evaluation and school self-refection, and even if we know there are many strengths in our work, we can also then focus on the perceived ‘negatives’.

As professionals and colleagues, one way to avoid the feeling of ‘being told’ or the temptation for focus on the ‘negatives’, may be to invite staff to collaborate, explore, discuss and agree the evaluation and next steps.

We could make the activity part of a professional development meeting – as staff meeting or INSET. We invite all those who contribute to supporting children’s learning and we explore the evidence together.

The caveat here is in the leader’s preparation and leadership of this:

• why do you want to collaboratively look at books/recorded learning? What is your aim?
• how will you structure the session, asking questions so that participants think deeply and reflectively, focusing both on what is going well and being open to self-reflection and learning from others?

The ideal would be for colleagues to leave the meeting feeling, “I’m on the right track and I know what it should look like”; “It was helpful to share my books and to see what other people are doing”, and also, “I saw a lovely way to XXX in ___’s books; I might try that”.

On a practical note, because people have reflected on their books during the meeting, the need to go round and give further feedback is taken away. So, this could also be time-saving in that sense.

     2. Decide the focus together and agree what elements you are looking for (based on recent CPD or focus from the school development plan)

Gone are the days (hopefully) when a monitoring schedule put a generic book scrutiny as a spring term task ‘because we usually do it then’. And we are not simply looking to tick off policy compliance.

Most subject leaders we work alongside are clear about how reviewing pupils’ recorded work will help them see the progress towards aspects of their action plan. There is a focus in mind. The cycle had begun with identifying areas which would positively impact on pupils learning and progress. These became the focus of subject leader, working with staff to develop the identified area and now the book look is the monitoring step to see how this is going and decide next steps.

The part that is up for discussion and agreement is, ‘What should it look like in books if it is going well?’ 

The preparatory stages of a book scrutiny could be used to reflect on content from previous training, linked to key priorities in the maths action plan. We regularly rehearse high-value concepts with children to keep bringing them back out of long-term memory, so they are more easily drawn upon for application later. So why not use this approach in a staff meeting.

Let’s imagine our school focus is reasoning and problem solving. This is the focus within our school maths action plan. Let’s say some training around reasoning and problem solving happened several weeks ago and there has been a school holiday in the meantime. Let’s bring that learning back into the present.

Asking teachers to help decide the ‘what we are looking for’ list, before we begin opening the books, may be useful to do at this stage. So, asking a very broad, open question to start:

If opportunities for reasoning and problem solving are happening and it is going well, what should we see in books?

Staff could then help develop a list of ‘criteria’, which will then help their reflections when they begin looking at their own books, and the books of others.

The caveat here is that leader may need to support, challenge and refine language, as the list of ‘criteria’ is gathered and agreed. Colleagues may need guidance so that when they do open books, they are clear about what they are looking for.

If a colleague says… “Well, you won’t see ___ in books”, your response might be, “Tell me more__” or “Could we see ___?” or even “Do you mean, it could be challenging to see ___ so might it be better to look for ___?”

Or, as an alternative, perhaps provide a pre-written set of questions to discuss, to revisit important messages from that previous term’s training but also, provide a focus for the book scrutiny.

• is there evidence over time that all pupils’ have opportunities to reason and problem solve, to apply their learning in a variety of ways (appropriate to their age)?
• is there evidence (over time) that pupils’ recording reflects a range of working mathematically skills, e.g. drawing diagrams or models, using a list of table to organise information, explaining thinking pattern seeking?
• are sentence stems or writing frames used to support children’s written responses?

These examples have been adapted from the HfL Subject leader toolkit for mathematics – Jan 2022.

     3. Use it as an opportunity to share good practice; pick up and highlight great examples and show what is working well

By working together as a group, teachers can see how children in different classes or year groups respond to the reasoning opportunities they are provided with, for example, enabling teachers to consider how to apply this in their own teaching.

Here, the teacher has provided an open question that has allowed children to respond with their own method of proof.

This Year 1 child has explained their thought process and drawn a beadstring to clearly show what this would look like physically. They have then been asked by the teacher to apply this thinking to larger numbers, showing an understanding of the usefulness of near doubles in calculation, potentially outside of known facts.

 

 

This teacher has provided the children with a conversation cartoon to consider.

 

This Year 5 child has articulated their thinking in written form, as well as offering proof by way of calculation and mathematical diagram.

 

 

In both examples, the children have used pictures and calculations to justify their responses. Accurate vocabulary has been used, appropriate to the age of the child.

These are lovely examples and sharing these with colleagues could be quite an enabling way to model and share good practice.

There are a few ways to draw out the good practice, rather than leaving it to chance:

• join each group for a couple of minutes and ask them to share a good example they’ve found and why they chose it. Discuss how this would look in other classes / year groups
• note for yourself some good examples, and maybe photograph them and display on the whiteboard / screen to share and highlight key points or photocopy the examples so everyone sees them.

The important point here is that there is a shared understanding about why these examples have been selected and what it is about them that could be replicated.

     4. Use it as an opportunity to explore pedagogy (e.g. what it would look like in books if reasoning were our focus)

In the example of Year 5 work below, a speaking frame has been used to help children explain mixed numbers and improper fractions.

If, as part of our work on reasoning, we have been encouraging more written and oral explanation, this example in the books shows that opportunity for this is being given in the classroom.

 

 

This is also an example of scaffolding. The speaking frame has allowed the pupils to articulate their understanding, and with further rehearsal and gradual fading of this scaffold, they may well be able to articulate in this way with increasing independence. 

     5. Use it as an opportunity to explore progression within the curriculum

We may be looking to see ‘progress’ in books, and this can be challenging to pin down. What does it look like in maths books?

There are some questions we can ask to guide us when looking at a pupils’ work;

• what came before this learning? (Did the child have the prior learning in place?)
• how secure is this learning? (Does it look like the child understands and will retain this?)
• what comes next in this learning? (Is the child ready to move onto the next step?)

We can look at progress in terms of ‘through the planned curriculum’. Are pupils making progress through the curriculum that your school has mapped out? Are they developing knowledge and skills that they are likely to remember and retain? 

Here, a Year 1 child has used an addition strategy where regrouping one of the addends to create a complement to 10 has made the calculation easier to solve using known facts.

 

 

Understanding of how numbers can be regrouped in different ways has enabled this Year 3 child to calculate efficiently using known facts within a larger number range.

 

 

Planning strategically based on evidence gathered

Of course, following the staff meeting, the subject leader will inevitably be thinking of the, ‘What  next?’

Drawing together the outcomes of the session will be a useful exercise, not only for the subject leader as a whole school overview but for the teachers to reflect on for their own practice.

Relating these to the action plan for maths will enable strategic planning of leadership activities over the coming weeks and months and, having worked on this as a staff team, should ensure teachers can see the benefits and opportunities for their own professional development.

Sometimes, being ‘subjected’ to a book scrutiny can make teachers feel as if they are being judged. They feel they are being monitored and the feedback will include a list of things that need to be improved. Of course, maths subject leaders absolutely aim to drive improvement but ultimately, want this to be a positive and valuable experience for all involved. Doing it as a group makes this a collaborative and development focussed activity, rather than necessarily… ‘a scrutiny’.

Celebrating what’s working well across the school is important and exploring ‘what a good one looks like’ is valuable professional development. Going forward, as a subject leader, conversations with colleagues, team teaching, planning workshops or targeted CPD, could then build on this and support colleagues to achieve high standards of teaching and learning in mathematics.

Subject leader toolkit for mathematics

The updated HfL Subject leader toolkit (January 2022) has been put together to support all involved in the effective leadership of mathematics. It covers all three primary phases (EYFS, KS1 and KS2).

The toolkit includes a comprehensive suite of 27 documents that can be used as a complete package. Individual components can be selected and adapted according to the school's needs.

This revised toolkit provides updated versions of all the existing documents, as well as a number of new additions. For example: tools to support leading professional development, reviewing and articulating impact and a series of resources to support maths fluency.

Available as part of a PA Plus subscription.

Learn more about PA Plus

Alternatively, for more information about the Subject leader toolkit for mathematics, please contact primarymaths@hertsforlearning.co.uk

 

Blog authored by HfL Primary Maths advisors Nicola Adams and Kate Kellner-Dilks.

I hear this often when I am working with teachers considering their maths plans. I worry about this.

What do they mean by greater depth?

I hope they mean that they are looking for ways to take the children deeper into their learning, immerse them in maths and spark curiosity, encouraging children to make their own pathways of discovery in the fantastic and beautiful world of mathematics. But I fear that for some, it has been reduced to assessment criteria or just another criterion that needs to be fulfilled.

Collins publishing approached the HfL Primary Maths team back in 2020, asking if we had any ideas on supporting teachers with greater depth in maths. We embraced this opportunity to reflect on what we meant by greater depth.

• What does greater depth look like? How does it feel?
• What are we aiming to do when we teach ‘greater depth’?
• Is it worth it? Why?
• What challenges do teachers face when providing greater depth opportunities for their children?

What does greater depth in maths mean in your school? 

This is a meaningful conversation to have with all members of your school community. Do they mean greater depth, or do they mean achieving higher standard? The difference between these two has already been addressed in an earlier blog. But to put it briefly, achieving the higher standard means that the children can score more points on a SATs paper, meaning they can answer questions accurately, quickly, and attempt some of the more challenging questions, which is an important and admirable achievement. But it is not, in our opinion, greater depth.

Greater depth is more than having access to more cognitive content. It is complex and develops a child holistically. We believe it is critical to move beyond just the 'maths content'; the ability to 'know more’, if you will. It concerns nurturing behaviours and characteristics that enable children to have confidence in their own learning and be highly motivated to continue to learn (see fig 1).

 

 

Figure 1: Training slide from Introducing the HfL Greater Depth Maths resource: getting the most from the materials

The result of the collaboration between HfL and Collins is ‘Greater Depth Maths: Building curiosity and confidence’. There are sets of resources for each of Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2; a combination of printed and digital online resources.

The behaviours and characteristics shown in figure 1 are promoted through the 6C cycle; the backbone of the resource (fig 2). Each task provides opportunities for all children to engage in the 6Cs.

 

 

Figure 2: Training slide from Introducing the HfL Greater Depth resource: getting the most from the materials.

I want to use Ofsted’s three Is to explore and reflect on provision for greater depth.

What is it currently and what could it be?

The first of the three Is: Curriculum Intent

The School Inspection Handbook states that:

195. Inspectors will consider the extent to which the school's curriculum sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils will gain at each stage (we call this 'intent'). They will also consider the way that the curriculum developed or adopted by the school is taught and assessed in order to support pupils to build their knowledge and to apply that knowledge as skills (we call this 'implementation'). Finally, inspectors will consider the outcomes that pupils achieve as a result of the education they have received (we call this the 'impact').

Ofsted further detail what Intent means to them (paragraph 197). The series of statements provided can be turned into questions to support reflection on your Greater Depth provision. 

What is the Intent of your curriculum, not just your maths curriculum but your whole school curriculum? 

 

 

Are these greater depth behaviours worth teaching? 

These greater depth behaviours (figure 1) are not unique to maths. They are desirable across the breadth of the curriculum, but maths provides an ideal place to teach, nurture and flex them.

Unfortunately, to some teachers, they are too nebulous, perhaps too highbrow, and unachievable in an everyday classroom.

Is your curriculum ambitious for all? Do you ensure that the curriculum is not reduced for those from disadvantaged backgrounds or pupils with SEND?

Should these behaviours be taught only to those who have 'grasped the concept'?

Should they be only for the elite children?

If we teach these only to an exclusive group of children, what are we denying their peers?

Is greater depth what we do after the children have become fluent in the facts and procedures? Which facts and which procedures; all of them or some of them?

Or do greater depth behaviours support children in dealing successfully with unknown and unpractised problems?

I would argue that greater depth behaviours help children build an armoury of strategies and approaches which will support them whenever they eventually meet challenges in their maths journey. If so, then these behaviours are precisely what need to be taught to those who struggle occasionally or often.

Greater depth is not an assessment criterion; it is a set of behaviours that enable children to become their own self-support system and create a well of belief within themselves that they can return to when the going gets tricky. 

Uniquely, Greater Depth Maths: Building curiosity and confidence has frequent support for children struggling to access the learning or those that have hit a dead-end, referred to as 'stumble support'. There is a large quantity of scaffolded support for each task to help children access the learning or get them over a learning bump. This is through slides for sharing, additional concrete experiences, questions to encourage thinking and behaviour, word banks, sentence starters and speaking frames. The aim is to make greater depth accessible to as many children as possible.

How is your curriculum planned and sequenced?

How do your teachers currently develop greater depth opportunities? Is it consistent and progressive across the whole school?

Do they have clarity over age-appropriate expectations and outcomes? Do they know how their year group(s) fit into the bigger developmental pathway?

These resources provide curriculum maps and examples of age-appropriate responses.

Closing gaps because of the pandemic?

We all know that children learning remotely for extended periods has impacted their social development. This resource provides a structured, scaffolded cycle that provides real opportunities and space to develop children's ability to collaborate with each other, focusing on individual responsibility, teamwork and respect for others.

The second of the three Is: Curriculum Implementation

The School Inspection Handbook states that

207. In evaluating the implementation of the curriculum, inspectors will primarily evaluate how the curriculum is taught at subject and classroom level.

Again, the following statements (in the School Inspection Handbook) can be changed into questions.

 

 

Many teachers feel nervous about teaching greater depth. This resource provides detailed lesson plans, including small steps to support teachers in developing their own pedagogy (including CPA, questioning and discussion development) and enhancing their subject knowledge (through clear explanations and examples). Teachers develop their skills and feel empowered to teach greater depth maths to all children.

Warning triangles (see figure 3) are used throughout to highlight possible misconceptions.

 

 

Figure 3: example of warning triangles from the teacher's guide

Clear curriculum maps (National Curriculum, White Rose and ESSENTIALmaths) ensure that children have the opportunity to revisit prior learning at a deeper level, re-engaging and reactivating their knowledge and skills, strengthening the pathways and interrupting forgetting.

The assessment rubrics are another unique feature of Greater Depth Maths: Building curiosity and confidence. These break each of the 6Cs down into progressive steps covering KS1, LKS2 and UKS2.

Figure 4 (below) is a small section of the KS1 rubric.

Using a rubric can help with:

• developing self-regulation: children can use it to help plan or monitor their own learning
• direct teaching: it moves the focus from task completion to learning skills, knowledge, and behaviour
• providing a learning pathway: when used over time, it can help to identify gaps and next steps so feedback can be fine-tuned and highlighted as a teaching opportunity; this feedback and teaching then loops back into the next task

 

 

Figure 4: Example of a section of the assessment rubric for KS1

The final of the three Is: Curriculum Impact

The School Inspection Handbook states that

217. When inspectors evaluate the impact of the education provided by the school, their focus will primarily be on what pupils have learned.

To continue with the question generation:

 

 

The questions based around Ofsted’s three Is have been collated into a separate document.

Greater depth maths reflection questions pdf (49.55 KB)

Many of these questions have already been addressed by providing:

• a clear, structured pathway for teachers to follow, exemplified with age-appropriate responses
• assessment rubrics which will allow teachers to profile holistic behaviour and skill development
• extensive pedagogical and subject knowledge notes to support less confident teachers
• a wide range of scaffolding strategies to support less confident children; termed 'stumble support'

---

The endpoint is to have children who see maths as more than a series of calculations but are genuinely on the greater depth journey. Developing behaviours and skills will enable them to help themselves, become independent learners, be curious and tinker with ideas and questions, work well with others, communicate their understanding effectively to others, and develop a deep love of maths.

---

If you would like to find out more about the Greater Depth Maths, download some free samples.

 

Purchase Greater Depth Maths from Harper Collins

 

With next week being National Careers Week, what better time than now to look at the opportunities available as a Learning Support Assistant or Teaching Assistant in Hertfordshire and why a career path like this could change your life.

Whether you are kickstarting your career, fancy a career change or are looking for avenues to allow you to be more flexible around “life”; we want to introduce you to the ‘whys’ of a classroom support career (and the ‘how’s’) in our stunning county of Hertfordshire.

Welcome to Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is one of the most highly performing education authorities in England. Schools consistently achieve standards well above national averages. The county is committed to providing high-quality education and support for all children in every school and setting from early years, through to further education.

With our county a multicultural hub expanding every year outside of London, it is important we celebrate this and champion equality, diversity and inclusion in our county and our schools to ensure the best opportunities for future generations. Herts schools are actively seeking to diversify their workforce to ensure representation for pupils and their families as well as to encourage a diverse dynamic. Not only is this being championed in our schools, but it is also endorsed by the likes of Hertfordshire County Council, HFL and the University of Hertfordshire, helping to ensure the working environment for people of all backgrounds is supportive and inspiring. 

In our opinion there is no better place to be a Learning Support Assistant or Teaching Assistant than Hertfordshire. The county is rightly recognised as one of the leading education authorities in the country. With a network of over 700 schools and settings, including early years settings, nursery schools, primary, secondary and middle schools, special schools, academies, maintained schools, free schools and independent schools- the opportunities are endless. With best practice and high standards shared across settings, you could be a part of something quite simply great. Don’t just take our word for it, you can browse our schools to see them showcase their excellence for themselves!

 

 

The 'whys'

Most Teaching Assistant (TA) jobs are in nursery, primary and special schools, although you could also work in secondary or independent schools and academies. A TA is usually deployed to work across a whole class, but may sometimes support smaller groups and individual children.

Learning Support Assistants (LSA), can work in primary, secondary or special schools, and usually work with individual children who find it difficult to learn due to a disability or health issue, because English isn’t their first language, or perhaps because of family or other specific circumstances. LSAs mostly work with students on a one-to-one basis, although may sometimes work with groups or support the whole class­­. You could work as a LSA in a special school that supports children with special needs or with an individual student or small group of students in a mainstream school.

Depending on the age and the individual needs of the students, your responsibilities could include:

• getting the classroom ready for lessons and clearing away afterwards
• listening to children read or reading to them
• helping children who need extra support
• helping teachers prepare materials that match development needs
• supervising group activities, including outings and sports events
• helping teachers manage class behaviour
• looking after children who are upset or unwell
• leading classes with help from the teacher­­
• Promote the safety and wellbeing of pupils
• Maintain good order and discipline among pupils, managing behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
• Comforting students when they are upset
• Help children understand instructions
• Carry out a student's care plan
• Support children during social activities and outings
• Look after children's physical needs

You can help pupils succeed and achieve

With classrooms being such busy and productive places, class teachers need a helping hand to ensure lessons are delivered to a high standard and that all children’s needs are met. Tas and LSAs help to ensure every pupil is supported, both academically and in terms of their wellbeing, and to support the class teacher too. You may be working one on one or with groups of children, and will be fully trained and briefed to support children in whatever way they need. The impact this has on both pupils and the class teacher is enormous, and as a result this is a job that can be extremely rewarding, challenging and fulfilling.

Be someone they remember

We all remember people from our days at school and most of us will have those friendly faces we think back on for years to come and how they influenced and helped us through the school day. Because Tas and LSAs often are working very closely one on one with pupils, getting to know them and building a trustful relationship, they are a familiar and friendly face. The impact this may have on a pupil is huge and for that pupil, a motivator for years to come which can be lifechanging for them as they embark on life after education.

 

 

Work/Life balance

It isn’t all about how you can help others, it is also about how the role can really help you. The nature of the role provides flexible working hours, often in line with school hours. Whether you pick your children up from school, you need to walk the dog, you have a yoga class or just really appreciate some time to yourself to enjoy things you love doing, the flexible work routine allows that. The balance between both work and life keeps the passion and motivation present and we know a fair few TAs who will vouch for that. 

A steppingstone for career progression

With experience, you could become a senior assistant or apply for a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) role.

You could also choose to train as a teacher. Although many people enjoy a long and rewarding career in classroom support, this can also be one step in the right direction if you are considering whether to become a teacher. You will gain first-hand experience in the classroom, learning and developing skills while observing experienced, qualified teachers day to day. You will gain experience working with children, as well as develop knowledge of curriculum delivery. This will bring you bundles of confidence in the classroom environment. There are training routes available that will allow you to continue working at your school as a TA while you train to teach. Progression from the role does not end here, the transferable skills gained will open up opportunities for a multitude of roles in education, both in and out of the classroom.

A first-hand account

As much as we hope you will trust what we have said about the whys, we wanted you to hear it first hand too. We interviewed Ekhnaam, a Teaching Assistant at one of our local schools to get a glimpse of what the job is really like.

Coming straight from her A levels last year, Ekhnaam plans to go on to university in the future but wanted to gain some real life work experience first. Ekhnaam ran into her old Headteacher while considering her options and after speaking to her about various opportunities within the school she had once attended, she applied and now works as a TA, with children in years 6 to 10.

Although she has no formal childcare or teaching qualification, Ekhnaam received extensive on the job training and learnt first-hand from shadowing and observing experienced TAs in the classroom. This has enabled her to be successful in this role and become a key role model and support to her pupils.

She highlights that “the relationships made with the children” are a really important aspect of her role, and explains that working one on one with individual children allows them to build trust and demonstrates how TAs are constantly making a difference. One child said to her “TAs are like butterflies, I love speaking to them”. Working across the board with all different age groups is one of the things she enjoys most about her role. She says, “I get to work with different people and children every day… every day is different”. She reflects on this point a lot in our interview and highlights it as one of the many reasons she “genuinely loves this job”.

We asked Ekhnaam what advice she would give to someone who was looking to apply and what are the key things schools are looking for. Due to no day being the same and working with a wide range of people, she says you need to be both “patient” and “adaptable”. She also wants to highlight that “anyone can do this job”. Don’t be put off if you think your interests don’t align, across all the lessons you will get involved with so many different activities and tasks. Whether you love maths or science, reading or art you will “enjoy every second of it”. And most importantly “be yourself”. Behind every TA is someone who these children and staff want to get to know and build these relationships with. Everyone starts somewhere in this career and by starting with being you, you set yourself up for a career you will find rewarding, exciting, motivating and one you will “genuinely love”.

 

 

The 'how’s'

By now we hope that you have a real taste as to why a career as a Teaching Assistant or Learning Support Assistant in Hertfordshire is not one to sleep on, and are asking yourself what’s next and how do I get there?

Specialist qualifications are available, and qualifications in childcare, safeguarding, first aid and equality and diversity will help you standout when candidates are being shortlisted for interviews.

However, you don’t always need these to apply as you will receive lots of on the job training.

It’s more important you have;

• Patience
• Empathy
• Initiative
• Resilience
• a great sense of humour 
• the ability to build good relationships with children, teachers and parents
• good organisational, planning and IT skills

You will generally need to have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, in English and maths, and some experience of working with children, especially those with special educational needs would be an advantage.

For your next step, look no further than the Teach in Herts website, which is full of opportunities with schools and settings across Hertfordshire.

You can register to create bespoke job alerts, read testimonials from school staff (including Ekhnaam), and access information and guidance about school careers and training opportunities.

 

Just before half term (6th-12th February 2023), thousands of schools across the country marked Race Equality Week. This is an annual UK-wide movement, with the purpose of ‘uniting thousands of organisations and individuals to address the barriers to race equality in the workplace.’

There’s no doubt that this is a laudable aim. And the following issues, raised in peer-reviewed research,  would suggest that there are many barriers to overcome in education:

• The low attainment levels from Early Years to A level of key ethnic minority groups
• Evidence of unconscious teacher race bias in assessment grading and pupil grouping decisions
• The number of race incidents reported in schools annually
• Over-representation of certain ethnic groups in suspensions and permanent exclusions and those who become NEETs
• The lack of protagonists of colour in children’s literature, picture books and fiction textbooks
• Under-representation of people of colour in the curriculum
• Under-representation of students from racially minoritised backgrounds in admission rates to university and over-representation in drop-out rates from university
• The low percentage of adults from minority ethnic backgrounds working in schools, especially as teachers and even more so as leaders and governors/trustees
• Racism being a key factor leading to teachers of colour leaving the profession.

Yet I have two issues with Race Equality Week.

1. Surely we should be striving for race equity, not equality? If we focus just on providing the same opportunities for everyone, regardless of race or in a ‘colour blind’ fashion, we will continue to see inequitable outcomes and under-representation of racially minoritised people in schools. We have to acknowledge that it will take positive and focused additional action to ensure that the rights and needs of people of colour are met in our schools.  
2. There’s a danger, as with Black History Month, of schools planning one-off and tokenistic responses or initiatives rather than acknowledging that striving for race equity is a full-time, life-long commitment.

Striving for race equity is a full-time, life-long commitment.

Rachel Macfarlane, HFL Education

Schools truly committed to anti-racism work will hopefully have used Race Equality Week to launch initiatives that will unfold and embed over the course of a year or more and to set goals and publicly-declared pledges that will commit them to actions that will affect equitable outcomes for people of all ethnicities.

Leaders, governors and trustees in schools committed to becoming anti-racist will strive to:

• become comfortable talking about race and create safe and brave spaces for staff and pupils to do likewise
• address unconscious bias and examine inequities between, and under-representation of, racial groups
• audit all aspects of their provision to determine what needs to change
• be equipped with ideas, strategies and approaches to address any aspect of inequity that is relevant to their school/setting
• action plan and implement change effectively and with lasting impact.

In Hertfordshire in 2021, we set up an annual programme called ‘Great Representation’. The key aims of the programme are to bring together leaders of primary and secondary schools (mainstream and special):

• to encapsulate the key features, structures and practices of schools which have a strong ethos of anti-racism, to better understand how schools become great at inclusion, diversity and equity
• to explore strategies, review literature and hear from expert speakers on how to achieve great representation of people of colour in the curriculum and the school community and
• to share great practice and ensure that schools engaged in exciting race equity practice are contributing to system leadership across the county.

The programme has enhanced the understanding of colleagues from the 50 schools that have participated to date. One headteacher reflected, “I now see my school with different eyes, without complacency about its diversity, and my plan for the work ahead has changed significantly. The course has made me braver in so many ways.”

 

10 great ways for leaders to demonstrate to their school community their commitment to anti-racism

1. Making a public declaration and sharing personal targets that are a commitment to personal action.
2. Communicating high expectations of all staff and all learners and striving to ensure that all staff and learners share the highest expectations of themselves and each other.
3. Giving time to ensure that every race incident is dealt with and the school’s actions communicated appropriately.
4. Ensuring that the ethnicities and heritages present in the school are known by all and that key data is shared appropriately and utilised to ensure representation.
5. Leading a review of the school’s policies to ensure that anti-racism is embedded within each.
6. Modelling the importance of honouring everyone’s name.
7. Creating an infrastructure of roles, responsibilities and resourcing to ensure there is the capacity to generate the momentum to tackle race inequity.
8. Keeping race equity at the top of the school’s agenda: on meeting agendas, in the School Improvement Plan, in appraisal objectives etc.
9. Protecting time for regular and ongoing racial literacy training, enabling staff and students to talk and learn about race issues.
10. Creating a school-wide common language around race equity.

Creating an anti-racist school is not easy. It’s not a quick fix or a priority for one week of the year. It is a safeguarding issue. It is about educational excellence for everyone. It is synonymous with whole school improvement. It should be an imperative for us all.

Further information

Race equity and anti-racism bespoke support and training

HFL Education Hub: race equity training and events

To subscribe to our blogs: Get our blogs straight to your inbox

 

In our previous blog, we explored how subject leadership of foundation subjects at primary has changed quite a bit in recent years.

One of the areas of change has been the language we use to talk about the curriculum. I don’t remember when I first heard ‘substantive’ and ‘disciplinary’ used in relation to the primary foundation subjects, but it was relatively recently.

At first, not understanding the terms, I avoided using them – not wanting to get it wrong. So, in this blog I’d like to take on the challenge of exploring them, to clarify what they mean and the implications for our curriculum in foundation subjects and how we teach.

Whilst planning CPD sessions recently, focused on primary geography and history, I explored the subject research reviews from Ofsted for them, which made for a helpful starting point. If you are interested in either subject, the links to access the research reviews are here:

Ofsted’s research review: History

Ofsted’s research review: Geography  

And, with perfect timing, Ofsted also released 6 new subject insights videos, covering history, geography, music, PE, science and personal development.   

In both the subject research reviews and in the subject insight videos series, there are a number of references to substantive and disciplinary, which help us to understand their meaning and implications for our planning and teaching of primary foundation subjects.  

Substantive and disciplinary knowledge within geography

Within the research review and the subject insight video for geography this diagram is used in the explanation of the terms:

 

 

This graphic to me suggests that the ‘substantive knowledge’ required in geography is largely the subject content, including aspects such as knowledge of places, physical and human geography, and also the knowledge required for using maps and carrying out fieldwork.

By contrast, ‘disciplinary knowledge’ is about the way geographers think. This may initially sound vague; how do we teach primary school children about ‘the ways geography experts think’? The added difficulty when planning for exposure to the ‘disciplinary knowledge’ is that, within the National Curriculum, it doesn’t really appear explicitly.

In the subject insight video, Mark Enser HMI says:

“…our ability to think geographically is based on the knowledge we have to think about.”

So let’s take a step back. Geographers have developed substantive knowledge over time: They have explored, mapped and gathered data; They have developed an understanding of the physical and human geography of our world.

So, you could say that the disciplinary knowledge is how the substantive knowledge has come about. In developing disciplinary understanding, we could consider:

• What questions geographers have explored;
• What skills and techniques have been chosen to help gather and analyse information;
• How findings have been presented and communicated

We need both the substantive and disciplinary within our curriculum. It would be hard to develop disciplinary knowledge without having a good grounding in the substantive knowledge.

I would argue that our teaching needs to better promote the disciplinary than it possibly currently does. This allows children to develop their ‘thinking like a geographer’. So that they ask questions, gather and evaluate information and draw conclusions. This is part of a broader set of life skills that help us to be active citizens of the world we live in, as well as preparing pupils for the next stage of their education.  

Let’s imagine a Key Stage two geography unit focusing on Fair Trade and why it is important. We might have an overarching question for the learning: Why is Fair Trade important?

This might lead us to explore a combination of elements from the substantive knowledge areas:

• The location, human and physical characteristics of Ecuador, for example, in South America and the similarities and differences to our own location.
• The types of land use typically found in Ecuador and the economic activity, including trade with the production and export of goods such as bananas, chocolate, coffee and cotton.
• The impact of producing these crops on the physical and human geography of the area.

The disciplinary thinking helps us to answer the ‘why’ in the question: If the production of these goods is done in a way that treats farmers and workers fairly, then what is produced is likely to be more sustainable and farmers are better able to invest in their communities.

Substantive and disciplinary knowledge within history

So, what might the same terms substantive and disciplinary mean in the context of primary history?

Within Ofsted’s research review of history, it states:

 

 

Let’s put this into an example, to give some context: 

The National Curriculum for history at KS2 includes studying:

• Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
• The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor

Within a series of lessons, we might explore a question such as ‘What was it like to live in Britain at the time of the Anglo-Saxons?’

We know that, within the timeline of British history, Anglo-Saxon rule ended in 1066 with the Norman invasion, led by William the Conqueror. But how do we know this?

 

 

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the story from 1064 up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The tapestry is believed to have been commissioned by William the Conqueror’s half-brother. You can explore The Bayeux Tapestry here.

Studying this tapestry as a piece of evidence, about what life was like at the time (aspects such as clothes, transport, weapons used in battle) and the events that took place between 1064 and 1066. In looking at the tapestry, we can also practice our ‘knowledge about how historians investigate the past’. We would note that this is one piece of evidence and may be giving a particular viewpoint. We might explore how other evidence helps to build up our understanding of what happened further.

To conclude

My interpretation is that substantive is largely the content matter of the subject, including the knowledge and skills of that subject, using the National Curriculum to guide us in what we select. Disciplinary is about how the experts in that subject think. You could suggest that this is more hidden (or implicit) within the National Curriculum at Key Stage 1 and 2. But, it is the disciplinary in action, used by the experts in that field, that has led to us have the substantive.

If education is (partly) about preparing pupils for the next stage of their education and for later life, then developing the disciplinary alongside the substantive is essential. The substantive alone is unlikely to be enough to really prepare pupils for their future learning or life out in the world.

We need both substantive and disciplinary knowledge to be gradually but explicitly developed within the curriculum for foundation subjects at primary, whilst understanding that it would be hard to develop disciplinary knowledge without having a good grounding in substantive knowledge.

When we construct or review the curriculum for a subject, we should explore how the planned curriculum enables teaching to promote the disciplinary learning. How it allows children to develop their thinking, beyond the substantive, so that they ask questions, gather, interpret and evaluate information, make decisions and draw conclusions – as part of a broader knowledge and skills set than the substantive content of a subject alone.

If you are interested in further reading; we have a blog series looking at ‘Progression in foundation subjects’, which explores how pupils make progress in their learning outside of the core subjects. There is also a thought piece on ‘The moral imperative: creating a curriculum that develops identity, broadens horizons and enables success for all’ – essential reading for subject and curriculum leaders thinking about curriculum purpose. 

---

 

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

To subscribe to our blogs: Get our blogs straight to your inbox

 

The rise of the ‘history month’ has made a difference in British schools for sure. Various focused months have enabled schools to find time for preparation of materials and the curriculum space to explore a limited range of important historic events and people that the ‘prescribed’ curriculum does not value. They have enabled marginalised groups to see people like themselves contributing positively to our society. They have highlighted to our pupils, I hope, that the prejudice of the past is no longer welcome in modern Britain and that we value everyone in their diversity, within the context of the law.

However, the concept of delivering work for a ‘history month’ must leave teachers in some confusion. Are we really saying that is okay to recognise that a group is marginalised by our curriculum and then to continue that marginalisation for the rest of the year. Surely, that is not what we are about in education. Central to everything we do is inclusion. The Equality Act 2010 requires that our attention to inclusion must cover the so-called identity-based protected characteristics. More recently the statutory guidance for the RSHE curriculum has clarified that LGBT representation and inclusion should not be separated out, but integrated fully across the curriculum. Well, if we can do it in RSE, what’s the problem anywhere else?

You might respond that the barriers are time and the limitations of set curriculum content. They may be challenges. However, the human cost of overlooking inclusion for LGBT pupils is writ large in their lived experiences of invisibility, hostility, bullying, prejudice and ongoing stigma. The fact is that, for all our well-intentioned laws, British LGBT young people are significantly more likely to contemplate suicide or become homeless.

In Hertfordshire many, maybe even most, schools have worked hard over the last two years to drive forward race equity across the curriculum. HFL Education’s race equality advisers have worked tirelessly to support schools with audits, gathering pupil voice, staff training and consultancy. We are proud to be leading a National Race Equity Conference on March 15th 2023, with a stellar array of speakers. I wouldn’t miss it for the world! (David Olusoga, Reni Eddo-Lodge and Jeffrey Boakye). If we can make such amazing inroads in the inclusion of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups in two years, we can do it too for LGBT inclusion.

I’m not unaware or naive of the perspectives of some groups in our society who wish to challenge some of this work. However, we can all be encouraged by the recent Ofsted report that supported a school for resisting parental opposition to LGBT inclusion. If you would like support for your school on LGBT inclusion, not just for LGBT history month but for every day, any day and any pupil, please contact the wellbeing team to explore your needs, by contacting wellbeing@hfleducation.org. 

 

Budget setting and the importance of a three-year plan

Budget setting and review is an important part of a trust’s strategic planning process. It is not a one-off piece of work, and, with rising costs and ever-increasing financial pressures, it should form part of the trust’s overall financial management processes.

In this blog, we are going to look at the importance of preparing robust three-year plans, key items to consider and how to approach this task when there is so much uncertainty around future funding and increasing cost pressures.

Three year budgets

It is not a new requirement for trusts to prepare and submit three-year budgets – trusts have been preparing these for a number of years now – however it is becoming more and more relevant to review not just year one, but the financial picture for years 2 and 3 as well. With the increasing financial pressures, academy trusts need to be fully informed on their three-year position so that they can take action now to avoid financial deficit and the risk of a Notice to Improve. This will also ensure that the academy trust remains compliant with the Academy Trust Handbook.

The budget setting process

Setting the budget should not be a one-off piece of work, completed once a year and then not touched again. Instead, it should form part of the trust’s ongoing financial management processes.

Understand the current year

When looking at future budgets, it is important to consider the current year budget and expected outturn. What areas are showing underspends/ overspends? Are these one-off changes or do these need to be reflected in future year budgets?

Whilst budgets should not be based on current year spending rolled forward, it is important to understand how the current year budget is tracking against actual, so that where costs and income are different from budget, these can be factored into the working budget.

Key assumptions

Before starting work on the budget, the school/ trust must agree the key budgetary assumptions for the next three years. These will include:

• income inflation and future funding
• local income generation and future plans, including understanding local competition
• staff pay awards
• general inflation
• specific inflation, including energy and the impact of living wage on services

It will be impossible to predict with certainty the exact future income and costs in all areas; instead, trusts will need to be clear on the assumptions made and key factors. This will make it easier to monitor and stress test the budget for different scenarios and to understand the impact of any announcements, such as on pay, as these are made.

Strategic plans

A trust’s budget should reflect its strategic plans for the next three years, a budget should never be set in isolation without reference to the school/ trust level development plan, the asset management plan or without understanding key strategic objectives over the medium term, such as the trust/ school’s IT strategy.

There may be one-off costs to consider in future years, which will need to be included in the budget. Equally, trusts may wish to consider ring-fencing monies each year in the budget to be held aside for future spend and projects. This would then form part of the reserves at the end of the year, to be used to off-set planned additional spend in future years.

Staffing structure

Staffing costs generally account for around 80% of the school’s total budget. Schools and trusts should regularly be reviewing their staffing structures to ensure that they are still fit for purpose. Is the structure still delivering the outcomes required? Is it still fit for purpose and are you expecting to roll forward the same structure across the three years, or are future changes expected? For example, are there any bulge classes leaving or joining the school that could have an impact on the staffing structure and requirements? Are there any fixed term contracts coming to an end that won’t be renewed?

It can be tempting to leave the staffing in future year budgets as it is now, working on the assumption that all leavers will be replaced like for like. Whilst this is a prudent option, this can lead to inaccuracies within budget setting, particularly where schools are expecting staff on a high pay grade to leave who won’t be replaced similarly. If these changes are not reflected in the working budget, this can skew the overall financial position, and risks difficult decisions being made that could be avoided. Whilst it is often difficult to know exactly what staff changes may occur, it is nevertheless important to ensure that consideration is given to reflecting the most likely staffing situation over the next three years.

Contracts register

The school should have a contract’s register, with details of all contracts including price and end date. This should be referenced and reflected in the budget, with clear adjustments made when contracts are expected to end where these are not going to be renewed. Where contracts are expected to change to a new supplier, this should be included in the budget, particularly where this is expected to result in a cost saving.

Scenario planning

Once you have pulled together all of the information you need to set a budget, the detail can be prepared. It is strongly recommended that schools run a series of scenarios to look at a range of situations. There is so much uncertainty in the current climate that schools will want to stress test their budgets, to understand the impact of changes in certain areas to the budget e.g. decrease in income, increases in staffing costs, higher than expected income in certain cost areas of the budget.

It won’t be possible to have absolute certainly over all of your figures in the budget however by scenario planning and stress testing, schools will be able to better understand the areas of high risk and to begin to take mitigating action to manage these.

Approval and monitoring

Once the final budget has been prepared, this will need to be approved by the Trust Board, before being submitted to the ESFA via the BFR3Y.

This isn’t the end of the process, as soon as a budget has been approved, this should be locked and then a copy taken to use as a working budget. It is best practice to keep this up to date throughout the year – budget setting isn’t just a one-off piece of work and trusts should be regularly revisiting the budget and understanding the current three-year financial position.

Actuals should be reviewed and monitored against budget every month, with clear explanations for differences. As we note above, this will then begin the whole process again.