Adaptive teaching requires us to be flexible in our teaching to meet pupils’ individual needs within the lesson. 

There are some steps we can take to set ourselves and our children up for success in English lessons. This useful blog written by Jon Eaton, Director of Kingsbridge Research School, explores a simple framework for developing thinking about adaptive teaching. Firstly, at the planning stages, we should consider what barriers or challenges might arise for children within the lesson. Then, we can plan for relevant adaptations to address those barriers. During the lesson, we need to make use of appropriate assessment and checking strategies to identify any barriers, then respond to those with adaptations, where possible, in the moment. The EEF’s 5-a-day recommendations can act as a helpful guide to different ways we can adapt teaching to meet the needs of different learners. 

Often, small adaptations can be made in the moment which enable children to be successful. In this fantastic and though-provoking blog, Clare Sealy explores the ways we can increase or reduce the challenge of tasks by considering the cognitive demands they present. We highly recommend exploring the blog with your colleagues.

As teachers, we continuously adapt our teaching, whether it be through re-wording a question, repeated modelling, or providing a verbal or written scaffold. It is useful to build a repertoire of strategies for adapting teaching in the English lesson, so that these can be planned for or pulled upon to support pupils’ learning. The Primary English team have joined forces this week to bring to you a host of strategies that can be used flexibly within English lessons, when the need for adaptation arises. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but hopefully a few helpful strategies to try out in your classroom.

Adaptive teaching strategies for writing

Spelling

1. The phoneme frame is a trusted and much used resource in the teaching of phonics for encoding in reception and year 1. After that, it only seems to make an appearance in the occasional year 2 lesson or an intervention. This provides a zero-preparation, quick and easy way to scaffold children’s learning at any point, in any lesson.

From year 2 spellings:

 
to year 3 and 4:

and year 5 and 6: 

2. Before introducing a new spelling objective, track back to the related spelling objectives and reawaken prior knowledge. For example, when teaching the eigh grapheme in Y3/4, revisit other ways of recording the ‘long ay’ sound. Some children might need a short pre-teaching session reviewing ay/ai and a-e. This will put them on a stronger footing when the class review and enable them to link the learning. If they are finding the new learning a step too far, secure that foundational knowledge during the lesson - the earlier spelling objectives represent spelling patterns more frequently used and need to be embedded first and foremost.

Reducing transcriptional demands in writing tasks

One way to adapt writing tasks for pre-key stage learners, is by setting the same objective but reducing transcriptional load, for example by:

• providing them with a word bank that contains only 80%+ decodable words
• giving them linked encodable dictated sentences, e.g. ‘Pick up the coats’ in instructions
• giving fewer paragraphs/sentences to write, but well-edited and with the focus on encoding skills gaps (less is more)
• offering a symbol-supported word bank where the word labels are 80%+ decodable 
• guiding writing with them: modelling, guiding, pairing-up, letting loose. The end result is less quantity but undoubtedly higher quality…and more secure foundational skills.

Flexible grouping and collaborative writing

In the drive to “get writing into books,” it’s easy to overlook the power of collaborative writing. Flexible grouping in class allows teachers to group children for various reasons, such as addressing specific gaps or mixing different levels of writing development so children can learn from each other. This strategy, recommended in the EEF’s Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools Guidance Report, can help develop all children’s self-belief as writers, as well as promotet a sense of a community of writers in the classroom.

In the HFL Universal and Universal+ Training, which shares many strategies for supporting pupils, one strategy suggested is that children work in carefully chosen groups of three to write. The children orally compose a sentence together, discussing word choices and features. Two children then monitor and edit the scribe’s writing. The roles are rotated for the next sentence, to ensure no child dominates. This is a particularly effective strategy as children have a range of strengths and weaknesses and can support each other. It enhances oral rehearsal, self-monitoring, and sets children up for independent writing after group practice. It is one of many useful strategies shared on our Fixing Full Stops CPD.

Proof-reading

When teaching children to proof-read, it can be challenging to decide what to focus on first. It is important that children understand that the purpose of proof-reading differs from that of editing. In this case, we are thinking about ensuring writing is free from errors - think the ‘nuts and bolts’ of writing. A useful acronym to scaffold the process of proof-reading is CUPS. 

• C – capital letters for starts of sentences and proper nouns
• U – usage. Check for subject, verb and tense agreement
• P – punctuation
• S – spellings 

This allows the teacher, in the first instance, to identify which areas of proof reading are priorities and subsequently teach strategies to address these. The pupil then can work through manageable and specific areas of improvement in their own writing. 

For children who may find identifying spellings (S) challenging when proof-reading their work, reading their writing aloud and out of context can support their cognitive load. A useful strategy is asking the children to begin on the last word and read back to the start where they can solely focus on asking themselves: ‘Does the word look right?’ If they come across a word which they are unsure of, they can use aids such as electronic spellcheckers to support in making necessary corrections.

Adaptive teaching strategies for reading

Repeated reading

To scaffold children towards increased fluency and comprehension, build in opportunities to read the same text more than once. Consider how to incorporate a pre-read for children who lack fluency: it may be that they follow along with the text as an adult reads it to them, then re-read it in pairs. Then, once in the lesson, they might hear the text read again by the teacher before diving into reading independently with a focus on meaning. This repeated reading will support their fluency and comprehension of the text, and they will be far more likely to be ready to discuss the meaning of what they have read.

Whole class reading in KS2

Whole class guided reading in key stage 2 offers a fantastic opportunity to bring all children together in their learning. However, ensuring every child can access the text and engage meaningfully requires thoughtful adaptations. Here are a just few ways to tailor your approach while keeping the learning inclusive and effective

• Same text, scaffolds to support: Provide all children with the same text but adapt the scaffolds to match their needs. For instance, some children may benefit from scaffolds or prompts to help structure their thinking when discussing the meaning of the text. 
• Simplified text, same objectives: Some children might benefit from a simplified version of the text to aid understanding. In some cases, teachers have experimented with cautious and mindful use of AI to support in generating these texts.
• Simplified texts with support: For children who may find the main text challenging, offer a simplified version paired with additional support. This could include pre-teaching key vocabulary or providing a summary to build context. Alternatively, this might be working in a guided group with an adult modelling comprehension and providing verbal scaffolds to guide them towards understanding.

Adaptive teaching strategies for spoken language

While all children benefit from modelled talk and dialogic approaches to teaching, some need additional strategies to organise ideas for discussion, writing, and presentations. 

Adapting spoken language provision can be a direct pathway to inclusion. 

• Know and hear every voice: Know each child, how they communicate and what motivates them. By valuing and exercising agency, we can discover what engages pupils. Check-in with those who need additional practice or support. A physical object (e.g. a ‘talk token’) ensures everyone within a group has opportunity to share. Provide extra practice before sharing to empower and provide confidence. 
• Pre-teach and use vocabulary in context: Give children opportunities before lessons to see, hear, and use new vocabulary in context. Visuals and examples can support their thinking and communication, leading to independence. 
• Oral Rehearsal: talk before, during and after tasks: Do children have time to think, visualise, and verbalise their ideas before sharing? Allow time to explore, discuss, draw, and dramatise before sharing or writing. Breaking complex tasks into small chunks by stopping regularly to re-read aloud and review, will help to reduce cognitive load.  
   
  Consider flexible groupings: nesting (alone), talk partners or snowballing to name but a few.
• Speaking frames and stems: They should be specific, purposeful and with modelled examples and practice. These might include stems or frames for prompting, guiding or extending discussion, or resources such as substitution tables where children can make choices about content.
• Technology: Simple tools like talking tins help children speak before writing and to hear their sentences. Many schools also use voice-to-text AI for dictating or transcribing, which, when used thoughtfully, can support accessibility.

For more spoken language strategies that can support children with sentence structure, head over to this blog: Don’t Forget Your Full Stops!

Adaptations for supporting children using EAL

Children using English as an additional language (EAL) may benefit from some of the following adaptations in their reading and writing lessons. These suggestions will support children at different levels of proficiency in English, from those who are new to English to those who are more fluent.

Reading - the power of white space

Reformat the margins and line/paragraph spacing of text so children have room to annotate and comment directly on the text. Providing this space will give children the opportunity to note down definitions for new vocabulary (in both English or their first language), decoding support e.g. sound buttons and lines and/or note quick summaries of text to aid their understanding. This will support their cognitive load as they decode and comprehend what they’re reading.

Writing - use of first language to support writing in English

Depending on the writing purpose and task, children may find it beneficial to plan and draft sections in their first language (if they are proficient writers in their first language). This is called ‘translanguaging’ and encourages learners to utilise their full linguistic knowledge to communicate. 

Before introducing translanguaging to learners using EAL, teachers need to know each child’s proficiency for writing in their first language. Some learners may not be able to write in their first language so cognitive load would not become lighter by encouraging children to utilise this strategy as they may be more proficient in writing English. 

Translanguaging supports learners using EAL as it helps to lighten their cognitive load at all stages of writing. For example, if the children are writing a biography about an inspirational figure, a child using EAL could gather their research and facts about their chosen figure in their first language. Now their content is secured, they can focus upon translating these ideas when drafting. Teachers can support children through their discussions e.g. encouraging and supporting children to orally rehearse their sentences in English before writing. 

Above is a wide range of different strategies that can be used to meet the needs of different pupils within English lessons. It is by no means an exhaustive list. Adaptive teaching relies on flexibility, creativity, and a deep understanding of pupils’ individual needs, informed by assessment. By embracing these strategies, teachers can create inclusive and dynamic English lessons that empower learners to thrive. 

Against a worrying international backdrop, where major firms (including Meta, Amazon, Walmart and McDonald's) are reversing their diversity and inclusion initiatives, the stark underrepresentation of minority ethnic groups in our school workforce is of huge concern.

Year after year, data tells us that people of colour are less likely than their white counterparts to receive or accept an offer for Initial Teacher Training (ITT), and often face negative experiences during training that impact their ability to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS). Retention rates are also lower for teachers of colour, driven by racial discrimination, limited career advancement, and disillusionment with their impact on minority pupils. Despite a small increase in the latest year, the recent  ITT census tells us that numbers of entrants to teaching remain well below DfE targets. Within the context of this ongoing recruitment crisis, surely more must be done to increase the number of staff from minority backgrounds entering and succeeding in the school workforce.

Apart from the potential to reduce overall teacher shortages, improving the diversity of school staff is vitally important for a number of reasons:

• You can’t be what you can’t see
• Pupils of colour taught by a same-race teacher have more positive outcomes
• Encountering people from diverse backgrounds enriches our society and helps to counter negative racial stereotypes, providing important recognition for children from minority groups
• We know that when people can be themselves at work, they are more likely to perform better, and be happier, more productive and more innovative. Diversity and inclusion directly links to wellbeing of both our young people and our educators.

Creating an inclusive and anti-racist school culture is essential for improving recruitment, retention and progression among under-represented groups. However, unlike Scotland and Wales, England currently has no national initiatives to address this.

Supported by HFL Education and Herts County Council, many schools and trusts are pioneering this work at a local level, through initiatives like Great Representation and Herts Voices, not to mention our Staff Network and National Race Equity Conference.

We were curious to see what impact this work is having on the ground, and asked some of our brilliant colleagues to share their experiences with us. Some of the recurrent themes from their stories are covered here:

Will I be welcome?

One headteacher, who prefers to remain anonymous, reports that she was slightly hesitant to apply to a village school because of the lack of diversity, but was keen to move and also to take on a headship, which she knew she was ready for. 

Many teachers of colour share that they have felt stereotyped and pigeonholed:

In her Diverse Dreams TED Talk, Hannah Wilson of Diverse Educators describes this as a “talent spotting crisis - we have got hidden figures in every school, aspirant black, Asian, minority ethnicity educators who want to be leaders, who are leaving the education system because their value is not being recognised by the schools they work in”

Isolation:

So what can we do about it?

As neatly put by Roxy Batliwala, Assistant Headteacher and EDI Lead at Chater Junior School.

The next step is to raise awareness. Keeping EDI on the agenda is crucial. Roxy advises “Say yes to EDI-related events. Often, people feel their voice doesn’t matter, but every perspective is valuable. Participation is vital, even if you can’t always give your best self. Just showing up helps to grow and sustain this important work.”

Through the three cohorts of Great Representation, a wide variety of schools have now undertaken supported studies directly concerned with increasing diversity of staff.

Hollybush Primary School’s Hannah Cracknell and Valerie Noon summed up the starting point beautifully:

Raj Khindey of Chater Junior School explains that there’s a fine line to walk: 

You can't recruit people just because of their ethnicity but at the same time, you do need to support all people to have equal chances to get those jobs and the representation on the school workforce is just not what it needs to be.

Initiatives undertaken by our GR schools so far have included:

• Extensive staff surveys, with some differentiation of questioning for key groups
• A forum for ethnically minoritised staff “to ensure their voices are heard, and to enable the senior leadership team and governing body to respond to any recommendations made”
• Unconscious bias and anti-racism training for leaders and for staff
• Using the anonymised shortlisting facility on the Teach in Herts website
• Rather than anonymising applications, leaders at one school chose instead to ensure where possible that ethnically minoritised applicants were included on shortlists and, when known to the school, supported to gain the required experience for the post and to write strong applications
• Including equal opportunities form as part of the recruitment process
• More explicitly stating our aspiration to be a diverse and inclusive community on our website and in our recruitment literature
• Reviewing the images displayed on the school website
• Include videos of our staff of colour saying why they enjoy working at our school as part of our recruitment package
• Reviewing and adapting job adverts to encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds including a statement in adverts about inclusion
• Directly marketing our vacancies to diverse groups. Reaching out to our school community rather than just posting adverts on recruitment websites
• Reviewing where and how jobs are advertised (for example ethnically minoritised)
• Thinking about how we can inspire young ethnically minoritised pupils from our own school community to become teachers and return to us in due course (eg through ethnically minoritised teacher presentations at our careers fair and by working through the potential obstacles to this aim with our local ITT provider)
• Positively encouraging those of different backgrounds to apply for roles at all levels, including governance
• Encouraging staff to aspire to more senior roles/offering mentoring for promotion to those from a minority group. Being clear about this as an aim in our equalities plan
• Focusing governor recruitment on securing greater representation around the table
• Ensuring more equitable representation on panels during the interview process

The impact of these initiatives has been significant in many cases. Lisa Davies and Ceiri Withers of Harpenden Academy reported that:

We hope that this insight into the work being done locally will help to inspire you on your own journey. You can read more on The GRID from our Great Representation schools. The NFER document is also a great resource, providing valuable insights into the lived experiences of ethnic minority teachers and identifying systemic barriers they face. By using this report, schools can develop informed strategies to support equitable practices, improve staff diversity, and create a more inclusive environment that benefits both educators and students.

If you would like to find out more, we would love to hear from you. Please join Shammi and the team in 2025 for our scheduled training:

Anti-racism training: How to lead with confidence 2024-2025

Recruiting, retaining and supporting a diverse staff

Wellbeing termly briefing

Or get in touch to find out how we can support you and your school.

Whilst thinking about writing this blog, I went back to Richard Skemp’s book, ‘Mathematics in the Primary School’, published back in 1989 and promptly disappeared down a rabbit hole. Several hours later, this quote stuck with me:

“If the processes of multiplying numbers of any size are learnt as mechanical rules, little understanding and no creativity are involved. Children are simply being taught to function mechanically like a calculator, and for getting the answer quickly and accurately, it is much better for them to use calculators.” Pg 80

Relational vs instructional teaching

Skemp is a great advocate of teaching relational maths rather than instructional maths. He describes relational understanding as knowing what to do and why and instructional maths as rules without reasons.

In the first chapter, he provides arguments for both, and refers to the effect that assessments, tests, and exams, have on teachers’ decisions on how to teach. The vast majority of tests focus on getting the right answer and have a pass mark, so how the answer is achieved is not considered. This means that if the answer or process can be correctly recalled, the correct answer can be achieved with little or no understanding.

Skemp also lists ‘time’ and ‘an over-burdened curriculum’ as other reasons why teaching for relational understanding is a challenge.

Nearly 35 years later, have things changed?

I would argue yes, and no.

The need for relational understanding

I think we have a much better understanding of the need for relational understanding. Schemes of work that support teachers to deliver the curriculum are designed to support learning for understanding, but the tests children sit in maths are still about right and wrong responses, and how those answers are achieved is less considered – mainly because this is very difficult to do in a written test.

That means teachers are sometimes torn - I know I was.

I regularly asked myself the question, ‘Do I teach this properly or do I teach this in a way that the children will remember the rules and achieve the mark in the test?’. For some children, this doesn’t impact their progress but for others, especially those that struggle with maths, it does.

Without understanding what has been taught previously, it is very hard to progress, make connections, and learn new content.

Another challenge listed by Skemp was time. Teachers are still time-poor, and we still have a very full curriculum. So how do we support children to understand maths better, in manageable ways, to help create links and include creativity?

Finding a balance

In this blog, I can’t provide a solution for the whole of the maths curriculum, but I can offer a simple idea that will help when teaching and learning times tables. The Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check is one of those ‘hoops’ that our children must jump through and is purely about regurgitating a right answer. Many teachers are not fans of this assessment, and I think Skemp’s quote sums up why.

I do think it is very important for children to learn their times tables so that they can use and apply their learning. I meet a lot of children who can give me the answer to a multiplication fact but then can’t make connections to other learning (when trying to simplify a fraction, for example). I also meet a lot of children who, due to not having quick recall of times tables facts, feel they can’t do any maths.

Preparing for the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)

In Rachel Brown’s blog Put your school in the driving seat for the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check | HFL Education, she provides great advice on how to teach times tables in preparation for the MTC. I am going to drill down further and specifically look at those tricky facts. Many of the times table online practice sites, can provide a ‘heat map’ of children’s scores for the different facts. This means that you can pinpoint which facts are less secure. But to be honest, I am sure you could list the specific facts you know children find hardest to learn.

Once we know which facts need extra rehearsal, practice can be introduced.

Practice and rehearsal to make meaningful connections

The idea of a practice scaffold is to rehearse a multiplication fact in multiple ways, to make connections between different models and language, and to build relational understanding. They also provide opportunities for overlearning. Once the learning rehearsed within the scaffolds has been taught, the children should be able to access them independently.

A practice scaffold example:

The starting point provided by the teacher could be the calculation. However, it doesn’t need to be. In the example above, ‘Describe it…’, is the starting point.

The rest of the scaffold is then completed by the pupils, who must make connections to various representations of the calculation. This draws upon the CPA approach with the option to include a ‘build it’ element.

Variation in representation on the scaffold

Repeated addition

Understanding multiplication as repeatedly adding equal groups is essential. ‘Timesing’ is a common shorthand for this.

Array

The array, drawn or built, is a visual area model. When creating the array, you are showing the space it covers. This is a link missed by many. The array also clearly shows the commutative nature of multiplication.   

Count it…

The linear counting stick model shows that an equal group is being added each time, alongside repeated addition and the array model. Using a dual-coded counting stick enables a clear link to be made to multiples, for example, “the 6th multiple of 5 is 30”.

Commute it…

Knowing that when you learn one times table fact, you actually gain two, is a lovely ‘secret’ I enjoy exploring with children when commutativity is first introduced. The array clearly shows that the product stays the same whether you multiply the number of rows by the number in each row (6 groups of 5 in the example) or multiply the number of columns by the number in each column (5 groups of 6 in the example). Practically building the array with multilink cube enables you to physically turn the array to show this.

Describe it…

Interpreting the language of mathematics is often a stumbling point for children. In this box, vocabulary or sentence stems can be provided and if the scaffold is used repeatedly, children should be encouraged to vary how they describe the calculation.

Story it…

This box allows children to do something we very rarely do, which is require them to contextualise the calculation. Children regularly solve contextualised problems but here, they have to create the context themselves. It could be in the form of a question with a solution (as in the example), a question to be solved or a statement. Many children find this tricky but once they get into the swing of writing them, it is a great opportunity for them to be creative.

Adaptations for even deeper thinking

Practice scaffolds can be altered, depending on the age and confidence level of the children. You might want to include inverse facts, for example, so a box labelled ‘inverse’ or ‘fact family’ could be added. Space could also be included for building a model.

For older students, the language of factors could be included. This could be further extended through scaling and understanding of related facts such as 60 x 500.

Another box I sometimes add is titled, ‘Tell me something else…’ This allows freedom for children to be as creative as they wish.

Repetition is key

The practice scaffolds are designed as an overlearning task so need to be done repeatedly. Once the structure of how to complete them has been modelled and taught, they can be completed independently. I have seen them being used as an early morning task and as part of homework.

The same practice scaffold can be used multiple times to either practice the same calculation – for this, vary the starting point – or for different calculations that you know are the tricky ones. Every child in the class can have the same scaffold, but you might personalise the calculations to practise.

Some schools I have shared these with have them in a plastic wallet and the children complete the scaffold using a white board pen to reduce printing and make repetitive use simpler.

Maths as a tool for life

As Skemp said, a calculator is the best tool for mechanically solving a calculation, and nearly all of us carry one around in our pockets – despite my teachers telling me otherwise – so we don’t need our children to robotically recall facts.

We want them to know their times tables but in a way that encourages them to make and see connections, so they can use and apply the learning across their maths curriculum, not just to be able to jump though one of the many hoops put in front of them.

Is the teaching and learning of times tables a key focus in your school?  

The HFL Education Primary Maths team can work with you in school to develop the teaching and learning of multiplication facts through The Multiplication Package.

Find out more about the HFL Education Curriculum Impact Packages: