I have been teaching at Reedings Junior School (a two-form-entry school in Sawbridgeworth) for 10 years and have led maths for 5 of those. I have been working with Nicola Adams from the HFL Education maths team for 4 years to develop and enhance maths teaching and learning across the school.

I was asked by Nicola to share some details on how we use ESSENTIALMATHS planning and pupil rehearsal materials at Reedings Junior.

We have used the ESSENTIALMATHS curriculum since its launch back in 2017. We love the level of detail and focus on clear sequencing in the learning progression.  We value the suggestions for using high-quality mathematical talk and resources to embed understanding. 

A welcome relief to teacher workload

We recently started using the Rehearsal and Reasoning sheets (formerly known as Practice sheets) which support many of the learning sequences. These provide children with the opportunity to gain more insight into the core ideas of each step (while also providing some welcome relief to teachers and their planning load!).

The sheets are not intended as ‘worksheets’; rather as a selection of questions and tasks for teachers and children to select from, depending on the type of practice needed. Questions and problems in the sheets build progressively through a step of learning and include worked examples, routine rehearsal, retrieval, exploration and application.

“I can identify who needs support and can let others be independent. It gives an idea of where to aim as an end point and gives opportunity to practise.”
Teacher reflections

Considering lesson structure

As maths leader at my school, I set about understanding how to intertwine use of the pupil rehearsal sheets into our lessons in a successful way and decided to name each part of the lesson with a word or phrase, eventually settling on ‘Learn, Practise (soon to be Rehearse), Apply’.

I trialled this structure in my year group (Year 5) and saw immediate success, with children understanding the process of learning a new skill, practising it and then applying it to problem solving and reasoning.

“It helps because it’s easier to apply if you’ve had lots of practice first’.   
A Year 6 pupil

Once children have practised their skill until they are sufficiently proficient, the ‘Apply’ stage is entered (some children may be asked to move on to this at earlier stages, and some lessons may just focus on this entirely). 

Developing pupil oracy

A constant through all stages is the use of speaking and writing frames to encourage mathematical talk and the use of high-quality vocabulary, which ESSENTIALMATHS has always been brilliant for. 

“It helps me feel more confident with my maths”.  
A Year 3 pupil

Developing pupil independence

Practise and Apply questions and activities are clearly labelled for pupils to select from. They are becoming more and more self-sufficient at choosing tasks appropriate to their level of understanding and confidence in each small step.

“We learn, practise and apply in lessons so we can rehearse questions over and over if we need to and then solve problems as a challenge. I like that we get to choose our questions, but our teacher will help us choose sometimes”.
A Year 5 pupil

Some examples of children’s question selection and recording

A year 5 pupil’s book showing a ‘Learn’ activity at the start, working together to understand a concept, before the ‘Practise/Rehearse’ activities underneath to secure a core understanding. This child then moved on in the lesson to complete several ‘Apply’ questions, which in this case, included investigating statements and proving that something was incorrect.

A year 5 pupil’s book showing learning and problem solving with coordinates. 

“In ‘practise’, you get used to doing something and then you can use it in a problem”. 
A Year 5 pupil

A year 4 pupil’s book showing a range of practise and apply questions. 

The HFL Reading Fluency Project is currently in its 20th cohort for KS2 pupils and its 15th cohort for our year 2/3 pupils (the KS1 project). The Reading Fluency Project artfully combines a range of evidence-based strategies such as modelled expert prosody; echo reading; text marking; performance reading; repeated reading and modelling comprehension. For many of our participating pupils, this combination of approaches, taught with rigour and frequency, supports them to move on from stilted decoding and into fluent reading. It is when reading with fluency that the text is able to come to life, to impart its meaning upon the reader. Once this virtuous circle is established, then pupils perceive themselves as readers and return to reading again and again. They feel the joy that a reader experiences when a text speaks to them, and the more they practise this skill, the better they get at it. The following blog is written by Hayley Bloss, Leading Practitioner at Kyson Primary School, Suffolk. Hayley shares some of the amazing outcomes achieved by her pupils, following her attendance at HFL’s Reading Fluency Project training. 

It had been a tough term: four pupils rolling their eyes at me whenever it was time for their group reading session. They’d had years of seeing themselves as the ‘failing readers’, never quite cracking phonics, struggling to decode, unable to find any enjoyment in this thing called ‘reading’. The strands of their ‘reading rope’ (Scarborough, 2001) were flailing everywhere with no signs of tightening.  It had become a millstone round their necks; the thorn in their sides; their confidence squasher. Did I enjoy teaching reading to these children who had come to hate books? I tried; I poured out my soul in every lesson - willing any sign of enjoyment to come – but I continued to find dread in their uninterested faces.

Seeking answers, I did a Google search in Spring 2019: ‘Intervention to get my Year 6s to expected standard in reading.’
Up popped the results…
Tried it... not for us. 
Tried it… too expensive. 
Tried it… too resource heavy. 
A project…? The HFL Reading Fluency Project!  It was definitely worth a shot!

I had the training and began. Carefully picking that first text to ignite their interest; the shock on their faces when all I wanted them to do was repeat after me; the calmness; the engagement; the finger-tracking; the performance; the smiles…! It was all so effortless and obtainable. In March 2019, the four pupils were scoring a standardised score of between 82-88. The 8-week project flew by and in the summer term, two of them reached the expected standard in the reading SATs, and the other two scored in the high 90s. But, so much more than that - they enjoyed the reading together; their behaviour improved in reading sessions; their confidence grew and that ‘reading’ thing was no longer a dreaded word! 

This project was exciting, easy to access and provided results far exceeding the data.
The project was put in place as a reading intervention from Year 2-6 in Autumn 2020 and the results were outstanding*:

Teachers commented on the improvement of pupils’ reading in class situations such as their new-found confidence to speak out in front of their peers and most importantly, pupils showing enjoyment as readers.

The HFL Reading Fluency Project has had a positive impact throughout our school as an intervention. With 10 cycles of the project completed, the only reduction we have seen is in the number of pupils needing access to the project. Initially, we rolled the project out to 70 pupils each term. By spring 2024, we only had 15 pupils taking part in the project due to the sustained achievement of the previous participants. Our end of key stage reading results for KS1 and KS2 were above the national average in summer 2023. 

Tying together the work of Professor Tim Rasinski, the DfE Reading Framework July 2023, the EEF’s summary of recommendations for Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, and the insightful findings in Chris Such’s The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading, we teach a weekly whole class fluency session based around the key elements of the project. Our fluency sessions allow staff to support pupils’ reading rate, accuracy and prosody in lessons and the measured impact is evident in our whole school termly data.

The project was the perfect find at the perfect time; its ability to transform reluctant readers is infinite. Rather than a piece of old rope, we show pride and pleasure wearing our tightly-knit, practical scarf, which will stand the test of time.

A huge thank you to the HFL Education team for their support throughout. 

To enrol in HFL’s next cohort of Reading Fluency Project schools, or to find out more, please email reading.fluency@hfleducation.org

*According to the York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension

HFL Reading Fluency Project

Our evidence-informed reading intervention supports pupils to make accelerated progress in reading comprehension whilst encouraging them to rediscover a love of reading.

Also in the ‘Inspire Me’ series focusing on Cuisenaire: 

Inspire me! Cuisenaire Rods: The CPA approach to teaching algebra
Inspire me! Using Cuisenaire Rods to explore calculation strategies
Inspire me! The CPA approach: using Cuisenaire Rods to explore fractions

References

• 2023 Key Stage 1 mathematics paper: arithmetic
• 2023 Key Stage 1 mathematics paper: reasoning
• 2016 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 2: reasoning
• 2023 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 2: reasoning 
• 2023 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 3: reasoning
• 2024 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 2: reasoning 

Contains material developed by the Standards and Testing Agency for 2016, 2023 & 2024 National Curriculum assessments and licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Memories

As a child, my best friend had a Victorian Singer sewing machine at her house, and we’d spend hours using discarded scraps of fabric from the local mill to make pretty pockets which we would then fill with dried lavender and tie with string. We still reminisce about those times now, such a simple activity and so relaxing and satisfying!

Creativity through sewing-the benefits

The therapeutic benefits, and the boost to wellbeing that come from having freedom of creative expression has always been a motivating factor for me to provide opportunities to sew in both my nursery and reception classrooms. Combine these benefits with the more obvious ones, regarding developing strong fine motor skills, pincer grip, hand-eye coordination, and concentration, and you have an area of provision that is inclusive, inviting, and, if supported well by staff, will equip children with life-long skills, knowledge and understanding.

Sustainability

Sustainability is key when setting up any sort of sewing provision in the classroom. Collecting old fabric (those with an open weave are best for beginners), yarn, wool, beads, buttons and other embellishments from parents, families, staff, and local scrap projects is a brilliant way of embedding an understanding of recycling, re-using and the ‘make do and mend’ school of thought. Local fabric suppliers often have off-cuts, and garden centres often have mesh and netting which is immensely useful for large scale weaving projects outside with natural materials.

Organisation and the development of sewing skills

As with any other learning zone, organisation, labelling and storage of resources needs careful thought so that children can access resources independently. When planning the tools and materials that are available, there should always be an acknowledgment of the different stages in sewing so that children’s confidence and engagement levels remain high.

Children’s own experiences

Over the years I’ve enjoyed talking with children whilst they create, about the fabrics and other resources they are handling, stitching onto or joining together. Conversations about the names of different fabrics, their origins, and the types of clothes they might be used for based on their own experiences are all valuable. Listening to children’s stories and experiences builds cultural capital and promotes community cohesion in a meaningful way. Ensuring that all staff in the setting, even those less confident with sewing, understand their role in challenging stereotypes about sewing not being a gendered occupation or skill but one that is open to all is also vital.

Managing risk

Risk assessment and management is clearly something that needs to be considered carefully when developing either a permanent or portable sewing provision in your setting, and a written risk assessment should be agreed by all and reviewed regularly. Through observing children carefully, specific risks might emerge, but as a minimum there must be supervision when teaching children to use needles or a sewing machine. Needles must always be returned to a pin cushion or container to ensure they do not get lost, and careful management of scissors must be embedded. Depending on the needs and age of the cohort, individual settings will want to ensure that nothing is available that could present a choking hazard. As with many learning zones, ‘less is more’ to begin with.

Further reading

If reading this blog has sparked an interest in sewing in your setting, I highly recommend the Froebel Trust pamphlet linked below, it is an inspirational source of information and ideas.

Enabling environments on a budget

If you would like lots of inspiration on how to re-imagine and upcycle furniture and resources, as well as tips on where you can discover free ‘treasure’ to enhance all learning zones, please join us at our  Enabling environments on a budget webinar on Wednesday 26th June.