School Context

The school is a three-form entry in Rugby, Warwickshire with more than 620 pupils. They have 18% EAL learners (above the national average), and their pupil premium numbers are in line with the national average.

Paddox started delivering the Mathematics Mastery primary programme in September 2022. In November 2022 Martyn Beeston, Deputy Headteacher and Joel Baldwin, Maths Lead, spoke to us about their experience so far.

Everyone can be a mathematician

'We chose Mathematics Mastery to take our pupils onto the next level. We wanted to take the ceiling off their potential; that idea that everyone can be a mathematician.' explained Martyn. Having successfully implemented the programme at his previous school, he was keen to see how it could benefit the pupils at Paddox. 'We want the whole class to be able to access the learning and achieve highly in maths.'

Joel was excited to see how the programme could help them to 'develop even further what we had already put into practice.' Martyn considers the programme to be the complete package: 'It is a fully resourced curriculum, the lesson planning, the website, the staff CPD are all first class. They’re tried and tested, they’re research driven.'

High language expectations for all pupils and year groups

Joel told us why the focus on vocabulary was so important to them: 'We are a big school with lots of children and we want to hear lots of talking about maths and Mathematics Mastery really facilitates that.' Martyn particularly likes how the programme provides practical tools to drive this behaviour in class. 'The fact that the children are repeating in full sentences and having Star Words at the beginning of the lesson makes such a difference. There’s an expectation that it’s okay for a year 2 pupil to know that the line in a fraction is a vinculum.'

Easy to pick up

'It’s easy for staff to pick up and run with' says Joel. 'There’s a clear structure and it helps them address misconceptions. A lot of time has been put into that so that teachers can focus on good practice rather than worrying about what they need to say and how they need to say it.' Joel added, 'Everything is there to support you as a teacher – from lesson resources and diagnostic quizzes to the online CPD, plus the fact you can always contact your Development Lead at Ark Curriculum Plus.'

Joel and his colleagues have also found that the programme design is versatile for pupils: 'With concrete, pictorial and abstract representations, it gives all pupils the opportunity to access maths in a way that they feel comfortable'.

Seeing a difference after just 6 weeks

'The greatest impact for staff is saving on planning time.” says Joel. 'The six-point lesson plan, with the main core of the maths, is all ready for you and includes suggested concrete resources to use, and it’s purposefully designed.'

Joel is excited to see the difference the programme is making in the classroom: 'Children are not just doing the maths or thinking about it, they’re having to talk about it which helps from a teaching point of view – you can assess in the moment whether they’ve understood it.' Even though it’s early days he can already see the impact: 'In my many years of teaching Reception I’d never experienced, until now, children using phrases like ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’ so comfortably.'

Building teacher confidence

In part Joel took on the role of maths lead in the school to challenge himself as he didn’t feel as confident in the subject as he would like. 'I’d say my confidence is developing. I’ve noticed a shift in my focus as a teacher as to what the learning can look like. Rather than showing something in a book, Mathematics Mastery really makes you consider whether we can understand it by speaking about it.' He appreciates the support from the team at Ark Curriculum Plus too: 'We’re only six weeks in, so when we do need help, we’re finding our queries are being answered really quickly and really well.'

Martyn concludes: 'I would definitely recommend Mathematics Mastery – it’s tailored to fit your needs and the journey it takes you on as a school almost guarantees you the results you want.'

See for yourself how Mathematics Mastery Primary supports talk

In our curriculum programme we build discussion into each lesson, so that pupils are encouraged and have the opportunity to talk mathematically.

Download two free practical tools which can help all teachers to incorporate talking to support a deeper understanding of maths: