Don't forget your full stops!

Published
19 September 2023

"This blog offers a range of strategies to help address the perennial problem of missing full stops."

 

I am ashamed to say that I have offered this futile advice to many children in many classes across many schools during my time in the classroom. On reflection, those words had very little impact. In reality, those who knew where the full stops should go, for the most part did not forget them; and those who had a shaky understanding of sentence structure and demarcation, continued to have a shaky understanding despite my timely advice. For those children, it was not so much a case of having forgotten where the full stop should go: the reality was that they did not really know where it should go in the first place.

Now as an English adviser, it is the barrier to age-expected writing that I encounter most frequently during my school visits. I often work with teachers who lament the children’s seemingly laissez faire approach to sentence demarcation. For KS2 teachers, the panic is often palpable: ‘How on earth will I get them to showcase their use of dashes, colons and semi-colons when they don’t seem to be able to master the full stop?’

Fixing full stops across KS2 training was born out of a desire to provide teachers with strategies to address this. The reasons for a child entering KS2 with insecure knowledge in this area can be manifold and is carefully unpicked in our training Securing full stops at KS1. Let’s focus for now on some proven strategies for getting children in lower KS2 back on track.

To support my explanation, I have organised the different techniques under headings, however, in truth, each of the strategies probably sits between and across several headings. Furthermore, the headings are not meant to draw teachers towards a preferred technique based on a notion of preferred learning style. Instead, they are to signify that the ability to understand sentence structure no doubt relies on an amalgamation of many input processes. By tapping into as many of these as possible, we may have greater success at securing this tricky bit of learning for as many children as possible. In the experience of the school where I supported, a combination of the techniques, planned over a unit of work and repeated little and often, seemed to work best.

‘Hearing the sentence’ techniques:

Alien sentences

Much like alien word games in KS1, where children are asked to spot alien words amongst a collection of real and made-up words, pupils are presented with sentences and non-sentences derived from the model text. First, they listen to the sentences/non-sentences and then sort them into the correct category whilst discussing their decision. This activity allows teachers to judge the children’s ability to succinctly express their understanding of what a sentence actually is, and to offer any additional technical language to help clarify their understanding.

Sentence match-up

Teachers take key single-clause sentences from a model text and cut them into two. The children match up the beginning of the sentence with the correct ending reading them aloud to check that they sound complete. This should be followed with a discussion about how they know which parts to put together, and whether they have spotted any patterns in the sentence structure. The beauty of this simple technique is that children have opportunities to re-read sentences many times over, all the while helping them to attune their ear to the sound of a sentence and draw their eye to the repetitive structure.

Sentence re-build

This technique is much like the Sentence Match-Up activity above. However in this version, the teacher takes several sentences and cuts them up into individual words (having removed the obvious clue of the capital letter at the start) and invites the children to re-build the words into the original sentences. This should lead to discussion and debate, while the children have yet more opportunities to express their understanding of sentence structure.

Stepping stone sentences

This is a powerful one! In this activity, children are asked to plan their sentences in advance of writing, but are scaffolded in doing so by physically stepping from one sentence to the next. Using visual ‘stepping stones’, the children are invited to rehearse their first sentence when stepping on the first stepping stone. When this sentence is shaped and secure, the child can step onto the next stepping stone and relay the next sentence that they intend to write, and so on. This works well modelled as a whole class activity and then as a small group activity for those children who needed a bit more securing. The children are then invited to write and to use a full stop to represent the ‘stepping stone’ from one sentence to the next. This activity proved powerful as the children had a visceral memory of ‘moving’ from one sentence to the next. Having engaged in physical movement from one sentence to the next, children are less likely to allow the sentences that they had rehearsed to merge into one another.

Self-regulation strategies:

Count and check

This technique has proven to be effective for some children who prove persistent in their neglect of full stops and who often miss out key words within their sentences. Before writing, children voice their sentence to the teacher who can help to shape/refine it as necessary. When the sentence is perfected, the child records the sentence using a sound button and then replays it, counting the number of words within it. They record this number in the margin before writing. After writing, they count to check that they had recorded the number of words in their original sentence, putting a tick above each word and ending with a full stop. It is time consuming, but it works. Time is well spent in Lower KS2 revisiting ‘hold a sentence’ strategies used within KS1. This may include building their sentence using counters to represent each word prior to writing to support with oral rehearsal and then self-regulation to ensure each counter has a corresponding written word. Dictation of single clause sentences using children’s known GPCs can also be used to support children with hearing, seeing, saying and then writing single clause sentences. By spending time on these early concepts we then know that the foundations are strong and we can then continue to build.

Underlying principle:

Transparent sentence structures

Underpinning all of the sentence-level work described above, teachers should ensure that - when the lesson objective relates to developing understanding of sentence structure - they adhere closely to the structures specified in their year group’s Programme of Study. Perhaps the children who struggle most with sentence structure have been pushed too hard, too fast, to write ever-increasingly long and complicated sentences, and by doing so, they may not have had enough opportunities to see the regular and predictable pattern of single and multi-clause sentences. To support, teachers can strip back the complexity of the sentences that they model and draw the children’s to attention to the predictable and repetitive way in which the sentences begin. When the children have been alerted to the common sentence starters, they are much more likely to be able to spot the boundaries between independent sentences.


Original Blog created by Penny Slater, additions by Amanda Webb.

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Measuring progress across Key Stage 2 – this year and beyond

Published
15 September 2023

"'Significantly’ does not mean the same as ‘very much’ and ‘significant’ does not necessarily mean ‘important'"

 

The technical details of the 2023 progress model for KS2 have now been published by the DfE. The model is broadly similar to the 2022 model, which I blogged about here. Every year there are minor adjustments to the ‘expected outcome’ for each Prior Attainment Group – these adjustments are down to slight changes in the national average outcomes each year. 

The more significant change affecting the model this year relates to changes in the way children were assessed at KS1 in 2019, compared to 2018. (The 2019 KS1 cohort are of course the children who have just completed KS2.) The differences at KS1 relate to how children were assessed if they were working below the ‘Working Towards’ standard. 2019 saw the introduction of the 'Pre Key Stage Standards’ (PK1 to PK4 at KS1) and the removal of P-scales from P5 to P8. In constructing a model for calculating progress from KS1 to KS2 in 2023, scores needed to be assigned to each of these pre-key stage standards so that a measure of ‘prior attainment’ could be produced.

The range of scores used then for converting KS1 attainment into a prior attainment score for calculating KS2 progress now looks like this:

 

GDS10 points
EXS8 points
WTS6 points
PK44 points
PK33.5 points
PK23 points
PK12.5 points

 

For children with SEND assessed using P-scales, the points range from 0.25 (P1i) to 1.75 (P4).
As per previous years’ models, the prior attainment score is found by converting a child’s teacher assessments in reading, writing and maths into scores, from the above table, and then combining those three scores into one score as follows:

  • calculate the average of their reading and writing scores, to give a score for English
  • calculate the average of this English score and their maths score

Based on this ‘weighted average’ score, children are then allocated into a Prior Attainment Group (PAG) and this forms the input measure of the KS2 progress model (in all subjects). 
The full details are available in the DfE’s technical guidance, but here are two simple examples:

Example 1 – a child who was assessed at EXS in all three subject areas at KS1

Their combined prior attainment score is 8 points.
In 2023, the national average scaled scores for children with a prior attainment score of 8 points were as follows:

 

ReadingWritingMaths
105.38102.02104.61

 

This means that, to achieve a better than average progress score, children with this prior attainment need to score above those figures. If they achieved a scaled score of, say, 107 in reading, their progress score would be +1.62 (the difference between 107 and 105.38). If they achieved a scaled score of 103, their progress score would be -2.38.

These average outcome figures are only marginally different from those in the 2022 model (effectively the same, to the nearest whole number).

Example 2 – a child who was assessed at GDS in all three subject areas at KS1

Their combined prior attainment score is 10 points.

In 2023, the national average scaled scores for children with a prior attainment score of 8 points were as follows:

 

ReadingWritingMaths
113.29108.87112.14

 

In this example, to achieve a positive progress score, the child would need to achieve a scaled score of at least 114 in reading or 113 in maths.  These are both 1 scaled score higher than was the case in the 2022 progress model.

Understanding the way this works for writing is a bit more complicated, as I discussed in the blog about the 2022 progress model

I have produced a free downloadable attainment & progress calculator tool (scroll to the bottom of this page to download it). Using this tool you can easily see for any pupil, by entering their KS1 attainment and either their raw scores from the KS2 tests or their scaled scores, what the ‘expectation’ (i.e. national average outcome) is in the 2023 model. The tool then calculates each pupil’s progress score and produces a cohort-level average progress score. It will also indicate whether this score would be deemed to be ‘statistically significant’ (more on this below).

A cautionary word about analysing this data

It is always best to start from the view that data can raise interesting questions and form the starting point of a discussion, rather than jump directly to conclusions from the data. Data tends to raise more questions than it answers. 

The methodology used to calculate a progress model inevitably carries a bit of ‘statistical noise’ or margins of error, as it is based on what has happened ‘on average’ for different groups of pupils, but no child actually behaves in an ‘average’ way. Every child is unique and complex, and there are bound to be day-to-day differences in how they perform in an assessment activity. So, there may be children whose progress scores come as a surprise – maybe they performed better than you might have expected on the day of the test, or maybe the opposite. At cohort-level though, these variations (some positive, some negative) would hopefully mainly cancel each other out. It is when you find that a large proportion of learners within a cohort appear to have underperformed that we might begin to notice this as a pattern and ask questions about what happened.

This is where statistical significance can help us. As the size of the cohort increases, variations from the norm become more meaningful and might become more worthy of exploration.

It is important to be clear about what is meant by ‘significant’ in this context.

‘Significantly’ does not mean the same as ‘very much’ and ‘significant’ does not necessarily mean ‘important’

In common parlance we might use ‘significantly’ to mean ‘very much’ or ‘noticeably’, e.g. “it is significantly hotter today than yesterday”. In the language of statistics, ‘significantly’ has a more precise meaning than that – it is better to think of it as expressing a degree of confidence in the data.  If a progress score is statistically significantly above or below the national average, what that means is that we can say with a high degree of confidence that progress in that school is above or below the average.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that the progress score is a lot better or a lot worse than average, just that it is better or worse and that we can be pretty confident in that assertion. (95% confident, to be precise – although even a 95% certainty does still mean we will be wrong 5% of the time.)

Likewise, significance is not the same as importance. If something in the data is deemed to be statistically significant, that might mean it is important but, as the song goes, ‘it ain’t necessarily so’. (And something could be important even without being statistically significant.) 

It is for the users of the data to interpret and decide (taking into account all their other contextual knowledge about a school and that particular cohort of children) whether something is important or meaningful. For example, we might observe a significant drop in results from 2022 to 2023 – but that drop might have been entirely expected based on the two cohorts being very different, so we wouldn’t necessarily be concluding that some radical action was required based on that one observation. 

So, what about next year and beyond?

This 2023 data will be the last time we see KS2 progress scores for a few years. Next year, the children completing Year 6 will be the children who finished Year 2 in Summer 2020, when statutory assessments were cancelled due to Covid. The same applies to those children who complete KS2 in 2025. So, in those years there will only by KS2 attainment data – no progress measures at all (as has been confirmed by the DfE).

2026 and 2027 will see a return to progress scores based on the sort of methodology that we currently have in place, i.e. based on children’s progress from KS1. But after that it all changes. The children currently in Year 2 will not be statutorily assessed at the end of KS1 and their KS1 attainment will not be collected by the DfE. This cohort of children all took part in the Reception Baseline in the academic year 2021/22, and that will be the input measure used to calculate their progress when they complete KS2 in 2028. (This is, of course, assuming there are no changes to national policy between now and then.)

It is perhaps worth taking this opportunity to remind readers that progress is always more than just a number. The published progress scores serve to give us an indication of how well pupils have made progress compared to the national picture, but these statistics are always a proxy for what really matters, which is the actual lived experience of children in that school: how well have they made progress through a well-thought-out curriculum, how securely have they acquired the knowledge and skills expected of them, to equip them for the next phase of education? Even in the years when we will have no published progress scores, these will still be crucial questions to explore. I wrote more on this in a previous blog, What do we mean by ‘progress’ and how can we reassure ourselves that pupils are making it?
 

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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Secondary Science – do you have the next Einstein in your class?

Published
14 September 2023

"A classroom teacher looking over their new class registers for September may feel daunted by the prospect of meeting the individual needs of a large number of pupils with SEND in their lab. However, with the right challenge and support there might just be the next Einstein in the classroom!"

 

Question: What do Albert Einstein, Chris Packham, Jazmin Scarlett, and Sarah Rankin all have in common?

Answer: All of them were pupils with SEND who have gone on to have outstanding careers in science. 

  • Albert Einstein, Physicist, dyslexia
  • Chris Packham, Naturalist & tv presenter, autistic spectrum disorder
  • Jazmin Scarlett, volcanologist, juvenile arthritis
  • Sarah Rankin, Stem cell biologist, dyslexia & coordination disorder
  • For more information see: The Royal Society – Celebrating Scientists with disabilities

A classroom teacher looking over their new class registers for September may feel daunted by the prospect of meeting the individual needs of a large number of pupils with SEND in their lab. However, with the right challenge and support there might just be the next Einstein in the classroom!

The number of pupils identified with SEND has increased by 87,000 since 2022 in English schools. (ONS 22nd June 2023) In secondary schools alone this number has increased by almost 24,000. Numbers have increased for the 6th consecutive year and there are now over 1.5 million pupils identified with SEND ranging from the most significant and complex to comparatively minor in English schools. (Ofsted Research & Analysis: Supporting SEND). Most of these pupils attend mainstream schools and are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes challenge, high expectations and builds aspirations. It is important to ensure that the curriculum is not made easier but that students receive the right adaptations to the curriculum and high-quality teaching so that they are able to access new learning.

How can we ensure that our delivery of the Science curriculum enables our pupils with SEND to be successful?

Helping students to break down science knowledge and tasks is a key step in supporting them to be successful scientists. Rob Butler (ASE) describes sensible strategies to manage cognitive load for pupils with SEND during practical work. Adam Boxer (RSC) talks about the benefits of the slow practical. Whilst recognising the need for individual risk assessment for pupils with SEND, (CLEAPSS guidance, G077) there are many similarities between the two approaches which suggests that strategies which improve outcomes for pupils with SEND will also improve outcomes for all pupils. Teachers should feel reassured that high quality teaching for students with SEND does not come at a cost to other students. 

When teachers and support staff use strategies and approaches which effectively meet the needs of pupils with SEND, they will also be meeting the individual needs of all pupils, thereby improving the quality of teaching and learning for everyone.

Alex Grady (Head of whole school SEND at Nasen)

The EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) has said “to a great extent, good teaching for pupils with SEND is good teaching for all.” They have identified five specific approaches, which are particularly well evidenced, as having a positive impact on pupils with SEND.

 

Illustration with text

 

Here we focus briefly on one aspect and discuss the importance of metacognition as an example. The EEF states that the use of ‘metacognitive strategies,’ which involves pupils thinking about their own learning, can be worth the equivalent of an additional +7 months’ progress when used well. 

A good starting point for developing metacognition in secondary science teaching is to focus on using the cyclical 'plan, monitor, evaluate and regulate' as a structure. Adapted here by John Spencer: Five ways to boost metacognition in the classroom
 

Illustration with text

 

This can be used in science lessons alongside complex calculations, practical activities, and evaluations, allowing students to be systematic and strategic in problem solving. This supports the learning of disciplinary knowledge and working scientifically, which is embedded throughout the secondary science curriculum. 
Supporting pupils with SEND to use the metacognition cycle in their approach to scientific tasks enables them to break down the process and reduce cognitive overload.

A very brief overview of questioning to support pupils in working through the cycle is shown here:
 

Stage of metacognition cycle

Suggested questions for pupils

What does this look like in a science lesson?

(Year 7 making an onion cell slide)

Assess

What do I need to accomplish this task?

What prior knowledge do I have?

What practical equipment does my group need?

Who will collect what?

How do I carry a microscope?

What is a cell?

How is a plant cell different to an animal cell?

What does a plant cell look like? Why will an onion cell have no chloroplasts even though it is a plant cell?

Strengths and weaknessesWhat new knowledge do I need to find out and what skills do I have or need to develop here?

How do I make the onion cell slide?

How do I use a microscope?

How do I focus a microscope?

Why do I need to use iodine on the slide?

How do I draw the cell from a microscope?

How do I calculate total magnification?

Plan the approach and apply the strategies

What do I need to do to get to the (successful) outcome?

How will I apply the skills that I have learnt?

Can I name the parts of a microscope?

Can I recognise and name the organelles in a plant and animal cell?

Extension activities:

Can I identify organelles in unfamiliar cells?

Next lesson: Can I use similar techniques to look at cheek cells?

Reflect

How am I doing along the way?

What would I have done differently?

Does my drawing look in proportion to what can be seen down the microscope?

Write an evaluation, how good was my slide?

At what magnification could I see the cells the best?

How could I improve my scientific drawing?

Did I calculate the magnification correctly?

 

Teachers explicitly modelling this thinking for the pupils and walking them through the cycle supports them in embedding the process and applying this questioning to further scientific tasks. Alongside this cycle the other EEF recommended strategies such as scaffolding and explicit instruction should take place. Watch out for future updates on this. 

This is just an example of how one of the recommended ‘five-a-day’ approach can be used within your science lessons to ensure that high-quality inclusive teaching is delivered. 

If you would like more information about, SEND, Secondary Science or the Secondary Science conference please contact:
Joanna.Conn@HfLeducation.org Secondary Science adviser
Anna.Mapley@HfLeducation.org Secondary Science adviser
Becky.Rothwell@HfLeducation.org SEND adviser.

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Making fluent and flexible calculators: why is additive reasoning important for children's success in multiplication?

Published
12 September 2023

"Too many children are trying to solve multiplication calculations with understanding and knowledge only from the counting phase. This is why some struggle to understand and accurately answer multiplication questions and find proportional reasoning, such as fractions, percentages, and ratio, ‘a bridge too far’."

 

In the first of this mini-series, (Making fluent and flexible calculators: why counting is not enough), I reflected on the importance of taking a deep look at how children solve simple addition and subtraction calculations. I considered why it wasn’t enough just to let them solve simple calculations through counting and the need to stop children from being caught in the counting trap.

This time, I have turned my attention to understanding why gaps in developing additive reasoning lead to difficulties later in children’s longer maths journey. I return to my crucial statement - 'Why getting the calculation correct is not enough’. But this time, I consider why we must blatantly pay attention to additive reasoning. If children in your class struggle with multiplication, division, fractions and/or percentages, they may not have already secured the strong foundations in additive reasoning that they need.

Shortly after publishing the first blog in this mini-series, Ofsted released ‘Coordinating mathematical success: the mathematics subject report’ (July 2023). As one of the main findings for primary schools, they highlighted:

“Pupils’ gaps in knowledge tend to be centred around, but not limited to, addition facts in younger year groups. This was for some, but not all, pupils. These early gaps in knowledge may not become apparent until a significant amount of time has elapsed. This is because it is possible, in the medium term, for pupils to understand what is being taught and then keep up with extra classroom support and slower calculation. However, this is at the expense of the later ability to access the curriculum.”

Additive reasoning is foundational to multiplicative reasoning

I have long questioned why some children seem able to move into KS2 maths easily and others struggle, particularly with multiplication.

Why am I talking about multiplicative reasoning when Making Fluent and Flexible Calculators explores, develops, and enhances children’s ability to solve addition and subtraction calculations?

It is because additive reasoning forms the foundations for developing multiplicative reasoning (see Figure 1 below). During the course of the project, we have repeatedly seen large proportions of pupils using counting to solve simple addition/subtraction calculations. They have yet to develop trust in a range of strategies and haven't developed the habit of looking for ways to simplify the calculations. Instead, they revert to counting or, slightly better, depend on a single strategy (for a more detailed discussion on the strategies children spontaneously use in the project, see the first blog in this series)

 

Different coloured circles with text within each one leading into one another

Figure 1: Reasoning progression phases from EYFS to KS4 and beyond

 

Each phase is progressive, building understanding and knowledge vital for success in the next phase. To be blunt, if a child doesn't secure the required learning in the additive phase, they will struggle with the multiplicative.

Too many children are trying to solve multiplication calculations with understanding and knowledge only from the counting phase. This is why some struggle to understand and accurately answer multiplication questions and find proportional reasoning, such as fractions, percentages, and ratio, ‘a bridge too far’.

To illustrate this, consider what happens when children solve 9 x 6 when this fact is not fluently recalled:

Child A

 

Table full of text and maths

 

Child A is in the counting phase, so they solve the calculation by drawing an array; nine rows with 6 dots in each. Then they count each dot, starting from 1 (count all) or, slightly better, from 6 (count on).

Child B

 

Table full of text and maths

 

Child B is in the additive phase and solves the calculation through skip counting. They now recognise that there are 9 groups, and each group is equal to 6. They no longer see each item (dot), but rather 9 repeated equal units of 6. They solve through applying repeated addition, so even though they are solving a multiplication calculation, they are employing strategies from either the counting or additive phase.

Child C

 

Table full of text and maths

 

Child C’s solution is representative of the multiplicative phase. They have developed an understanding of the two different dimensions of multiplication - the number of groups and the size of groups. They can flexibly manipulate both dimensions to break the multiplication into groups to which they fluently know the answers. They must employ skills from both the multiplicative and additive phases to succeed at this stage.

In addition to the macro-progression of counting to additive to multiplicative, each phase has a micro-progression

Children start with unitary counting; counting all the dots, one to one. This strategy is not time efficient and has massive potential for error. They do not see the array as representative of multiplication or the relationships between two differing dimensions (number of groups/size of group) but rather just a series of single dots. The child’s ability to estimate if their answer is correct is minimal.

Rhythmic counting is how many children first solve multiplication calculations when they start to recognise groups; they emphasise the number pattern but are still counting in ones. When counting in sixes, they would whisper 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and shout 6, whisper 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, shout 12 and so on. They recognise the repeated addition structure but still employ skills from the counting phase.

As children get more confident with rhythmic counting, they can often skip count some of the patterns but then revert to rhythmic counting to complete the calculation. This is called ‘hybrid counting’. For example, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30…whispering 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, call out 36; whispering 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, call out 42, etc.

The cognitive load is huge when using this method as children must keep track of numerous pieces of information all at once, including:
      a)    the number of groups of 6 that they have counted
      b)    which number they are currently on
      c)    which number comes next in the number sequence (particularly challenging if it crosses a decade boundary)
      d)    how many more they must count on to complete the next group of 6.

However, if children are confident in additive reasoning, then they can start to simplify the repeated addition calculation and compact the amount of information they are processing, releasing cognitive space. A child’s thinking might be:
I know 5 x 6 is 30, so 30 + 6 = 36, 36 + 6 = 42, 42 + 6 = 48, 48 + 6 = 54.

During this intermediate stage, children use additive reasoning strategies to solve the sub-calculations required to multiply 9 and 6:
 

Table full of maths and text

 

Ability to use base facts 

In the first blog in this series, I discussed the importance of children developing mental addition and subtraction strategies to prevent them from being stuck in the counting trap.

But the Fluent and Flexible project has also highlighted another issue. Thompson (1994) highlighted that children must understand that mathematics is about “working with relationships”.

The entry data from the project shows that many of the children aren't spontaneously using their base facts to help with other calculations (the National Curriculum refers to them as ‘derived facts’). Children do not see relationships between calculations and are not using what they already know.

For example, suppose pupils know that 9 + 4 is 13. It is then anticipated that they would use this information flexibly to solve other related calculations, such as 90 + 40, 19 + 14 and 13 - 9, but we found that many children involved in the project weren’t. Instead, they see all calculations in isolation. They aren’t in the habit of anticipating and seeking ways to make the calculations easier using known facts.

Not seeing associations between calculations has implications for their longer journey in maths. Children need to build the habit of seeking patterns and seeking ways to simplify calculations in preparation, not just for more complex additive calculations, but also multiplication (if I know 3 x 4 is 12, then 30 x 40 is 120, 13 x 4 is 10 x 4 + 3 x 4). Children need explicit instruction, time, and practice to seek and trust relationships.

Moving beyond known multiplication facts

The ability to use additive strategies is much more than just being more efficient within the times tables facts. As they progress through the curriculum, children will have to use additive reasoning to solve calculations beyond their known multiplication fact range.

Additive reasoning impacts multiplication success

To summarise, additive reasoning develops this kind of understanding and knowledge:
      a)    numbers can be broken into smaller numbers (composite units/part-whole models)
      b)    how to use base facts to seek derived facts – going beyond memorised facts
      c)    to select, with reasons, from a range of strategies to simplify the calculation.

In the 2023 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 1: arithmetic, there were 15 questions that explicitly involved multiplication or division (excluding those that contained fractions). Of these, at least 9 can be simplified and solved using additive thinking strategies.

Examples include:

 

Table full of maths and text

 

Table full of maths and text

 

Table full of maths and text

 

Table full of maths and text

 

That there are many ways to solve each calculation is critical here. It is up to the children to decide. They have the agency so select the option which exploits their strengths.

We need to explicitly help them establish the habit of seeking patterns, build their understanding and trust in additive reasoning so that they will continue to look for relationships within and between numbers. This will help them to learn to seek out ways to simplify calculations rather than mechanically applying the same strategy over and over again.

This foundational flexibility enables them to build more sophisticated ways of solving calculations, preparing them to be successful with more complex calculations.

It is vitally important that we aren’t satisfied with children getting simple addition and subtraction calculations correct, but that we overtly focus on the strategies and the understanding that the child is applying. We should constantly question ‘are they building foundations to enable success for the next stage of their maths journey?’

Is this a key focus in your school?  

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


Find out more about the Making Fluent and Flexible Calculators

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Find out more about the HFL Education Curriculum Impact Packages

References

2023 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 1: arithmetic
Contains material developed by the Standards and Testing Agency for 2023 national curriculum assessments and licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0

Ofsted (2023) Coordinating mathematical success: the mathematics subject report Available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-maths/coordinating-mathematical-success-the-mathematics-subject-report 
(Accessed: 31 August 2023)

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HFL Education and Hon. Stuart Lawrence join forces to improve reading standards

Published
07 June 2023

In the UK last year, 172,000 children in year 6 (26% of pupils) did not meet the national reading expectations.  

HFL Education and Hon. Stuart Lawrence are thrilled to join forces with the goal to improve reading standards via the Reading Fluency Project. 

Commenting on the autumn term project, Stuart Lawrence said,  

“I’m delighted to be involved in this amazing initiative and I cannot wait to see the impact it has for young people nationally.”

The KS2 reading fluency project is now in its 18th round and has an impressive average outcome of 2 years and 3 months progress in reading comprehension in just 8 weeks. 

Find out more about the Key Stage 2 (KS2) Reading Fluency project and the Hon. Stuart Lawrence

 

Stuart Lawrence

 

About the Reading Fluency project 

The KS2 Reading Fluency Project is designed to swiftly improve reading fluency and comprehension of those pupils who have entered Year 5 and 6 working below the expected standard in reading. The project strategies have been trialled extensively and have had a powerful effect on reading ability for the vast majority of pupils, in turn supporting them to develop more positive views about reading. 

Over the eight-week period, target pupils receive two 20 minutes teacher-led sessions each week, using the key strategies of modelled expert reading and echo reading, alongside a challenging text selection. 

Reading Fluency Project outcomes

The exceptional progress that can be achieved in just 8 weeks, is evident in this video of a year 2 pupil, from English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, reading before and after the school’s involvement in the project.  

Pupils have a more positive relationship with books; are more enthusiastic, confident readers with an increased understanding and engagement with texts. 

Find out more about the Key Stage 2 (KS2) Reading Fluency Project

If you’re interested in finding out more about the project please email reading.fluency@hfleducation.org or call 07775 028239

With thanks to PGIM, the first 50 schools that sign up to the project will be gifted a copy of Stuart Lawrence’s book. 

The publication of his first book for children, Silence is Not an Option: You Can Impact the World for Change, is intended to empower all children irrespective of skin colour to demand a better society… Stephen Lawrence’s brightness runs throughout the pages, along with Stuart’s love for his brother” – Louise Carpenter, The Times Magazine

We all want to be successful in life and to be remembered for our achievements – but how can we do that, when the world can seem so big and sometimes scary?”–Stuart Lawrence 

Silence is not an option: Stuart Lawrence - book cover

Celebrating Stuart Lawrence's support for our Reading Fluency Project

Published
18 July 2023

Building upon our previous announcement regarding the participation of Dr. Hon. Stuart Lawrence in our Reading Fluency Project, we are delighted to share the exciting news of his recent appearances on esteemed media platforms. Last week, Dr.Hon Lawrence was featured on prominent outlets such as BBC News, ITV London News, and BBC Radio Devon, where his unwavering enthusiasm for our project and his profound dedication to promoting reading and supporting children were evident for all to see.

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Photo of Stuart Lawrence

 

Stuart's genuine commitment to empowering young minds resonates deeply with our mission.

With Stuart's invaluable involvement, we are confident that our initiative will continue to make a significant impact on children's lives. In this article, we will delve into Stuart's inspiring journey and his book, "Silence is not an option," which serves as reading material for the project.

Penny Slater

 

Stuart Lawrence's book: "Silence is not an option"

We are honoured to include Stuart Lawrence's book, "Silence is not an option," as a key component of our Reading Fluency Project. Written during the lockdown period, the book encapsulates Stuart's invaluable life lessons and offers insights into the tools that have helped him maintain a positive outlook even during challenging times. By incorporating this book into our project, we aim to inspire children with Stuart's resilience and determination.

Penny Slater's insights on the Reading Fluency Project

During an interview with BBC 3 Counties, Penny Slater, the lead of our Reading Fluency project, shed light on the remarkable impact the initiative has had. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the KS2 project has demonstrated an average impact of over 2 years and 3 months within the span of just 8 weeks. This astounding progress underscores the effectiveness of our approach and the dedication of our team.

Silence is not an option: Stuart Lawrence - book cover

 

Interactive session with Stuart Lawrence

We are delighted to announce that Stuart Lawrence will be joining our twilight session during the autumn term. This exclusive opportunity allows participating schools to engage in a meaningful discussion with Stuart about his book. Together, we can inspire a love for reading and empower children to navigate life's challenges with resilience and determination.

If you’d like to find out more please visit; Key Stage 2 (KS2) Reading Fluency Project: Special edition

The Reading Fluency Project commences in September. For more information please email reading.fluency@hfleducation.org

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New academic year: Is it time to change your school MIS system?

Published
06 September 2023

"Procuring a new School MIS system can be time-consuming, expensive, and fraught with legal complexities. HFL Education's MIS Framework eliminates these pain points and includes options from leading cloud MIS vendors allowing schools to save up to 40% on MIS licensing."

 

As a new academic year begins, many school leaders are contemplating how to better integrate technology into their systems. Building on Richard's blog about technology in schools and digital strategy, it's essential to address the role of the School Management Information System (MIS) in this context. Is your MIS holding you back from a broader digital strategy? If so, you're not alone—many school leaders feel constrained by their current MIS.

The case for Cloud MIS

Traditionally, School MIS systems have been server-based, requiring physical storage within the school premises. This setup often becomes a roadblock for schools wanting to move towards a more flexible, cloud-based digital strategy. However, the good news is that transitioning to a cloud MIS, such as Arbor Education's platform or Bromcom, is not as daunting as it may seem.

New Academic Year: New MIS?

In the last year, we've successfully transitioned 300 schools to cloud-based MIS solutions including Arbor, Bromcom, and Scholarpack. Recently, some of our schools that were hesitant to transition away from SIMS have opted for the SIMS Connected package, providing them with a cloud-based experience. With careful planning and strong support systems, schools can adopt a new cloud MIS without a hitch from day one.

Cost-efficiency in times of budget constraints

Given the tight budgetary times we live in, a cloud MIS system can offer cost efficiencies that are more crucial than ever. It optimises staff time by simplifying data retrieval, which helps in curriculum planning and provides essential insights to both teachers and senior leaders.

Eliminate procurement pains

Procuring a new School MIS system can be time-consuming, expensive, and fraught with legal complexities. HFL Education's MIS Framework eliminates these pain points. Our Framework includes competitive options from leading cloud MIS vendors like Arbor, Bromcom, and Scholarpack, allowing schools to save up to 40% on MIS licensing.

Join us for expert insights: Why another trust made their MIS switch

If the technical and procurement aspects seem overwhelming, our free online webinar  "Maximising Value: The Benefits of HFL Education’s Framework" can offer some much-needed clarity. In this webinar, you'll hear first-hand experiences from Durham County Council and the Danes Educational Trust, who have both benefited from our Framework.

Durham County Council and the Danes Trust will share their rationales, the efficiencies they’ve realised and the positive outcomes they’ve observed since making the switch. This peer perspective could be the deciding factor if you're on the fence about changing your MIS.

Why MIS support is crucial: Takeaways from HFL

During the webinar, our team will also cover vital aspects such as managing risks, public contracting regulations and support services that can make your transition to a cloud MIS smoother.

School MIS migration and support services

Support is crucial when making any significant change in a school setting, especially something as integral as a MIS system. Our experts will walk you through the migration process, helping you manage the risks and ensuring a hassle-free transition.

So, is it time to change your School MIS system this academic year? With supportive migration plans, cost-efficient options, and real-world testimonials from other trusts, making the shift is easier than ever before. Make an informed decision and unlock the full potential of a cloud-based digital strategy for your school today.

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Digital strategy for education settings: A new frontier for school improvement

Published
06 September 2023

"Technology is not just a tool; it's an ecosystem that can fundamentally transform the education landscape, especially for multi academy trusts and individual schools alike."

 

As we dive into the new academic year, education professionals are keenly aware of the evolving challenges facing schools. Be it budget constraints, increasing demands in areas such as SEND, or the ongoing pressure to improve student outcomes, the new term is set to be as busy as ever. Given this backdrop, it's easy to understand why technology strategies sometimes end up in the "too hard bucket."

However, can we really afford to let technology remain on the backburner? I'm convinced the answer is a resounding "no," and here's why.

Why technology should be central to your school improvement plan

Technology is not just a tool; it's an ecosystem that can fundamentally transform the education landscape, especially for multi academy trusts and individual schools alike. When executed correctly, a digital strategy can significantly impact student engagement, staff satisfaction and operational efficiency. However, the key to unlocking these benefits is integrating technology into your broader school improvement plan.

Inconsistent and unreliable technology not only frustrates staff but also hinders effective teaching and learning. Therefore, to truly "connect the classroom," you need a solid digital foundation.

Where to begin?

Building a robust ICT infrastructure should be the starting point of your digital journey. Infrastructure isn't just about having the fastest broadband connection; it’s about ensuring that the connection is secure, reliable, and supports your pedagogical needs. A well-designed local area network (LAN) equipped with the right switches, cabling, and Wi-Fi solution is pivotal.

Migrating to cloud systems

Cloud-based systems offer long-term savings and operational efficiencies. They not only facilitate remote learning but also pave the way for a plethora of services for schools. It's not just about lifting your data and services into a cloud like Microsoft or Google. It’s about rethinking what’s possible with this new infrastructure and aiming for innovation and school improvement.

One-to-one pupil devices: a long-term goal

Moving towards a one-to-one pupil/device ratio may seem daunting, especially given budget constraints. However, many schools are achieving this through creative financing models, including parent contributions. Such a model may not be immediately feasible for every institution, but it's an ambition worth considering in your long-term planning.

ICT services; overcoming misconceptions

There's often a misunderstanding that ICT services for schools are relatively straightforward compared to corporate IT. But those who have been in both sectors know that education IT is complex and unique. Schools not only require a robust back-end infrastructure but also need to ensure age-appropriate safeguarding and security. Timing is crucial, too. Unlike in the corporate world, schools can't afford lengthy deployment projects. Every month counts in the life of a student.


Join us for a deeper dive into digital strategy

Understanding that school leaders crave real-world insights into creating and delivering effective digital strategies, we've organised a free event:

Creating and delivering an IT strategy for schools and trusts

10th October 2023
09:00-15:30pm
Robertson House, Stevenage

Content for the day:

  • detailed real world case studies

  • building the digital vision and defining objectives

  • engaging stakeholders

Here we will delve into the intricacies of digital strategy formulation for schools and trusts. Attendees will learn about products in the education market, benchmarking of costs, procurement processes, and much more.

In conclusion, devising a digital strategy isn't just a box to tick; it’s a transformational journey that can significantly contribute to your school improvement plan. With the right approach, technology can do more than just connect the classroom; it can redefine education for the better. So, let's embrace the challenges and opportunities that this new academic year brings and make technology an integral part of our mission to enhance learning outcomes and school efficiency.

To join us in our mission to harness the transformative power of technology for the betterment of education, please sign up for our free course: Creating and delivering an IT strategy for schools and trusts.

Looking forward to meeting many of you there!

You may also be interested in: New academic year: Is it time to change your school MIS system?

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Transitioning from reception: Year 1 readiness in science

Published
06 September 2023

"This blog endeavours to use the relevant information for EYFS from OFSTED’s Finding the Optimum: the science subject report and offer some suggestions as to how schools can ensure they show effective planning and progression from EYFS to KS1 in science."

 

The transition from Early Years to Year 1 can be a big step for pupils and staff members alike. When thinking about the knowledge and skills the children need to move into Key Stage 1, schools should be thinking about progression through the school as well as allowing children to experience as many different opportunities as possible. For example, topics such as ‘Plants’ are done in many year groups, however, if each year group completed an enquiry on how to best grow a bean from its seed into a mature plant their experiences would be limited.  

Therefore, it is important to think about the following:

  • Progression from EYFS
  • Any crossover between EYFS and Year 1
    • Ensuring this is for a key purpose, or
    • Ensuring this is to a different depth
  • Ensuring the EYFS activities themselves have a clear focus.  

This blog endeavours to use the relevant information for EYFS from OFSTED’s Finding the Optimum: the science subject report and offer some suggestions as to how schools can ensure they show effective planning and progression from EYFS to KS1 in science. The report focused on the teaching and learning of science across primary and secondary schools.

The highlighted sections have been taken directly from OFSTED’s Finding the Optimum: the science subject report (2 February 2023).

Children were generally introduced to a range of interesting phenomena in Reception. However, in some primary schools, the knowledge of the natural world that children were expected to learn in Reception was not clear enough. Often this was when curriculums simply identified general topic areas or activities for children to complete. This limited how effectively children were prepared for learning science in Year 1.

It is important that children in Reception have a key focus when undertaking an activity. This could be to learn something substantive e.g. some objects float and some objects sink or simply to be able to observe and describe what they can see. They may wish to ask questions about what they experience but not all questions have to be answered (as many concepts they may encounter in EYFS may be too far beyond their ability to understand at this point). 

Recommendations 

Ensure that the curriculum is specific about the knowledge that children in Reception should learn about understanding the world. This knowledge should connect with what pupils go on to learn in Year 1 science.

Statutory Framework for the early year's foundation stage 

ELG: The Natural World 

Children at the expected level of development will: 

  • explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants; 
  • know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class; 
  • understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter

Topics from the Year 1 Programme of Study include the following: 

Plants 

  • identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees
  • identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants
  • identify and name the roots, trunk, branches and leaves of trees

Animals, Including Humans 

  • identify and name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals
  • identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores 

Seasonal Change 

  • observe changes across the four seasons 
  • observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies. 

Materials 

  • distinguish between and object and the material from which it is made
  • identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, water and rock, 
  • describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials
  • compare and group together a variety of everyday materials based on their simple properties 

You can see that there is a lot of crossover between EYFS and Year 1 in terms of topics and thus it is important for opportunities across the Key Stages to be varied to fully develop children’s understanding. New learning is fragile and is best embedded through many linked experiences. Allowing children the opportunities to grow many different types of plants, for example, will allow them to use similar skills in new contexts.

It can also allow them the opportunity to do the following:

  • link their learning to literacy through many fantastic texts (Bloom, The Gigantic Turnip, Ten Seeds, From Seed to Sunflower, A Seed is Sleepy, Sunflower Shoots and Muddy Boots and many, many more)
  • link their learning to maths in terms of measuring the height (using non-standard measures – how many cubes tall, how many cars tall?)
  • link their learning to art in terms of sketching the different flowers they see

The more directed opportunities the children are given, the more transferrable their knowledge and understanding will be. 

However, this is not just knowledge-based. The children’s Working Scientifically Skills should also be developed in EYFS. A good visual representation can be found in HFL’s working scientifically wheel for EYFS: 

 

Wheel of text and iconography

 

This tool can help EYFS teachers to focus their units/activities around the working scientifically skills and preparing these skills for use in Year 1. 

Sometimes, leaders used commercial curriculum plans that began in Year 1. They used a different curriculum resource for Reception. However, they did not ensure that these 2 curriculums were coherent, and that the Year 1 science curriculum built on what children had learned in Reception.

This can be a challenge across the curriculum, but particularly in science due to the overlap of subjects and very specific national curriculum requirements at each stage. It is important to ensure the mapping of EYFS enquiries and the specific focus of each in order to ensure children are ready to progress to Year 1 and that the same activities are not revisited without a clear purpose. 

Vocabulary 

It is equally important that when new units are introduced to children in reception, that the correct vocabulary is being used. Some units that may include magnets, forces, electricity, heating and cooling for example, are units that won’t be covered again until Key Stage 2. Therefore, when looking for correct vocabulary, it is important to look at the requirements for those units and plan accordingly. There was an example in a recent report that stated children in Year 3 who were studying magnets were using the word ‘sticking’ to describe ‘attraction’ and that this misconception was not acted upon. It is important that children are exposed to the correct terminology (as appropriate for primary) and that it is modelled correctly to ensure we are not perpetuating misconceptions. The focus here is not on early years children using this terminology at this point, but on exposing them to correct vocabulary that will support their learning throughout the curriculum.

Resources to help

  • The EYFS Matrices from PLAN Assessment have a great range of activities to undertake in the Early Years and focus on building the knowledge and experience necessary to progress into the KS1 and KS2 curriculums. Used alongside the KS1 and KS2 knowledge matrices, it is a clear way to show progression from EYFS – Year 6. 
  • Primary Science Education Consultancy also has a document that shows progression in Growing Plants from EYFS to Year 6 with a different focus in each year group (including experiencing growing different   
  • Explorify has introduced a set of activities geared specifically towards EYFS  
  • Primary Science Teaching Trust, play observe ask- provision maps with activities to support learning in EYFS
  • HFL working scientifically wheels

Top Tips for EYFS to keep in mind 

  1. Ensure a clear focus for each activity (why are the children doing this – what are you intending for them to get out of it?) 
  2. Ensure exposure to age-appropriate scientific vocabulary (so we don’t perpetuate misconceptions later in the curriculum) 
  3. Ensure progression between year groups (different experiences allow children to apply their knowledge and understanding to new situations) 

Introduce the working scientifically skills in Reception so children begin building an awareness of the skills they are using  


Voices from the Classroom

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

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

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Why teach oracy?

Published
05 September 2023

"It is suggested that oracy education improves engagement with learning, supports wellbeing, and improves academic outcomes. It allows pupils to structure and articulate their thinking, then develop and deepen it in collaboration with others."

 

I have been an English adviser for a few years and there’s one area that I’ve failed to have the impact I would have wished to: Oracy.

It seems there is rising interest in government with the Labour Party recently setting out their stall for an oracy curriculum.  There is also ‘The Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group’ (Oracy APPG).  They offer the following definition of oracy:

‘The ability to speak eloquently, to articulate ideas and thoughts, to influence through talking, to collaborate with peers, and to express views confidently and appropriately’

A small minority of schools have prioritised this area of the curriculum.  Although there is a spoken language programme of study in the national curriculum, few schools have a programme of purposeful and explicit teaching of these skills.  It is, of course, common to see group discussions, talk partners and so on, but have the children had explicit instruction?  Do they know the skills involved? Do they know how they can manage these? Do they know what they might improve upon?

It is suggested that oracy education improves engagement with learning, supports wellbeing, and improves academic outcomes. It allows pupils to structure and articulate their thinking, then develop and deepen it in collaboration with others.

Why teach oracy?

The most compelling answer is that, as many of you know, is that oracy skills in primary school are a predictor of life outcomes as an adult.  The Oracy APPG report highlighted studies illustrating that:

‘One in four pupils who struggled with spoken language at age five did not reach expected standards in English at the end of primary school. In comparison, only one in 25 pupils with good language skills failed to meet expected standards. One in five children with poor language skills at age five did not reach expected standards in maths at the end of primary school, compared with one in 50 who had good language skills.’

It is crucial that oracy is taught (rather than facilitated) and the following are some prompts to promote discussion in your setting and hopefully entice you to investigate this area of education in more detail.

Varying levels of formality – writing and oracy

In writing we support children to write with differing levels of formality, as appropriate to the intended outcome.  It is also essential that children are able to vary the levels of formality in their spoken language.  We should begin by valuing the children’s home language and dialect and we build their repertoire of variations of formality from there.  This supports them to communicate in a variety of situations, sometimes known as ‘code switching’.  As able users of language, we are often able to switch effectively between a home language when speaking to family, to something slightly more formal, for example when asking for help in a shop, and further along a scale of formality if speaking to a person of authority.  To do this, we don’t just change the words we use, we often change the tempo, volume, manner and accent (I am old enough to remember having a mum who had a ‘telephone voice’).  In an ideal world, there would be no reason for children (or adults) to code switch as long as they are communicating effectively.  However, in the Oracy APPG, The Times journalist, Terri White noted:

‘Accentism is often aimed at certain regions and people of low socio-economic backgrounds. She added in overcoming accent bias, it is important to ‘empower young people to the best of their ability’. 

Accent is only one aspect of varying formality and, as I said, these are points to promote discussion in your school.  I’m sure, if you chose to discuss the above point, there would be some very lively interactions.

Reading fluency and oracy

I’ve made a link with writing, and of course, there is also a link with oracy and reading.  In reading, we know the importance of teaching fluency.  We also need to teach many children to be able to communicate ideas and thoughts in a coherent, fluent manner.  It’s amazing sometimes to listen to children explain an idea.  Even with the most able language users, you will often find they communicate in very disjointed non-sentences.  I was lucky enough to undertake a study tour of education in the USA.  We saw some stark differences in US and UK classrooms.  However, the most noticeable one of all was that in districts where there was high deprivation, the standards of oracy were remarkably high.  One reason for this is that the children are asked to present their learning at length quite often.  If you think about your own classroom, how often do children speak for more than one minute at a time and what percentage of your class would do this on a regular basis?  Of course, if we return to the link between reading fluency and oral fluency, reading aloud is one way that children can become used to speaking fluently and developing the correct levels of formality.

‘Speak for Change’ Oracy Report

The following recommendations were made in the Oracy APPG ‘Speak for Change’ report:

  • ‘Recommendation 11 in the cracks in our foundations report sets out that the Department for Education (DfE) should introduce a ring-fenced fund for continuing professional development (CPD) focusing on improving foundational skills in the classroom. This is important in overcoming the issue of teachers feeling ill-equipped and unprepared in teaching foundational skills such as oracy in classrooms. 
  • Recommendation 14 calls on the DfE to introduce new National Professional Qualifications (NQPs) for leading numeracy and leading oracy. 
  • Recommendation 15 of the report calls on the DfE to put oracy education on an equal footing with literacy and numeracy by introducing oracy in the national curriculum and piloting new Oracy Hubs, in the style of English and Maths Hubs. ‘

Begin the conversation

Can you get ahead of the curve and consider how you can begin developing the teaching and learning of oracy in your school?

At HFL Education, we are excited to be hosting Neil Mercer, Director of Oracy@Cambridge, at our ‘My Voice, My Writing’ conference.  I have to admit to being quite a fan.  His book ‘Words and Minds’ changed my classroom practice for ever and led me onto an MEd.  Through practice-based research, I developed a deeper understanding of oracy and its benefits for helping children think together.

Join us at the conference to see what you think.

Further oracy reading

Here are some other blogs I have written around this subject:

Bring language to life – be more aardvark

Linking science and English for impact – developing standards of writing and science across the school

Painting the picture with words

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