Why do children often find written division challenging and how can we best help them to overcome this?

In this blog my aim is to explore some of misconceptions within division that are evident to me, as pupils move towards formal written division in KS2.

Introduction

After the initial work on place value and mental strategies has taken place, children in Key Stage Two often move onto formal methods for calculation, including division.

This learning involves key concepts which are inextricably linked through the idea of ‘Multiplicative Fluency’, and I would like to share some insights from witnessing children carrying out calculations, the accompanying misconceptions linked to progression and the underlying links to both subject knowledge and my own associated research. In considering this process, I was led to the Julius Caeser quote as the title of this blog where the ’conquer’ reference relates to addressing those misconceptions.

The Mastery Readiness Programme

For several years, at HFL Education, myself and my colleagues, Nicola Adams, Laura Dell and Nicola Randall, have been Mastery Readiness Leads, supporting schools across Hertfordshire through the national Mastery Readiness Programme in association with the NCETM Maths Hubs. 

An integral part of the programme is to plan and deliver a series of workshops for Mastery Readiness Lead Teachers linked to the ‘Catalysts of Change’ that need to be considered before continuing the route through the overall Mastery Programme towards teaching for Mastery success:

One of the ‘Five Catalysts’ is Arithmetic Proficiency. Under this banner in the above graphic, you can see the key areas of development are focused on number facts linked to automaticity, number sense, accuracy, efficiency, flexibility and the importance of practice. To that end, it should be recognised that these aspects are all linked to mathematical fluency and as a result of considering this rationale a workshop that focused on multiplication and division was subsequently delivered to Mastery Readiness delegates from ten schools entitled ‘Multiplicative Fluency’.

Misconceptions within Multiplicative Fluency

In my extensive experience of observing primary school children in action closely and conducting a wide variety of Pupil Voice interviews, including carrying out the Lesson Study process that focuses predominantly on the children and not the teacher, I have found that the children do not automatically make specific links between division and multiplication. Often, when asking groups of children (including those who were deemed to be working at age-related expectations) what helps them to be able to carry out long (expanded) and short division effectively, few of them make any links to times tables or multiples and factors. I realise that this appears to be unfathomable, and I think that it is because division and multiplication are often taught separately, and so some children have not yet made the connections between multiplication and division, because they see them as being separate entities. The links needs to be represented effectively throughout children’s maths learning to allow networks of connections to be consolidated.

Multiplicative fluency relies on an understanding of multiplication as repeated addition. and division as repeated subtraction, supported by the concepts of equal grouping and inverse operations. Children need a deep understanding of sharing and grouping, which is developed throughout EYFS and Key Stage One.

In ESSENTIALMaths V2 multiplication and division are explicitly linked. For example, in Year Two this involves the correlation between arrays and fact families:

In my experience, the above representations can be problematic for some children, as they appear not to recognise the separate groups within the whole, even though they appear to be clearly demarcated by the red oval shaped lines. Again, this may seem to be unfathomable, but I have witnessed this misunderstanding on many occasions. I believe that this is because insufficient time is utilised in allowing children to explore the conceptual ideas through the manipulation of concrete materials i.e. the use of counters, before moving to pictorial depictions. I have found that one particular activity has the potential to address this situation.

It involves placing counters as an array on a sheet of A4 paper and asking children the following range of questions:

The children can then manipulate the counters if they need to and articulate and/or generate a range of statements that could include calculations.

The next step is key in facilitating opportunities for children to make specific links to multiplication and division including inverse operations:

Carrying out this process allows specific formative assessment to take place where children's understanding and any associated misconceptions or errors can be realised. I have witnessed such comments as ‘I can see groups of two’, ‘I can see four’, ‘There are two lots of six’.I believe that this eradicates any preconceived ideas of what a teacher might expect children to see, when in reality the outcomes might not meet the intended expectations. Children can then, of course, be directed towards understanding equal groups linked to multiplication and division. I have found that this process may require further ‘scaffolding’ to allow children to gain in-depth understanding and involves a representation, that I have adapted further, that was initially shared with me by Rachel Rayner, a former colleague and now headteacher.

It is also relevant to children moving towards using formal calculations, including remainders linked to fractions and decimals, and how this correlation, and the associated conceptual understanding, can be embedded to allow children to become fluent in their calculations. Through the utilisation of the Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract (CPA) rationale, an effective pedagogical approach could look like this:

Begin with a focus on the correct mathematical language.

(Please notice that the calculations are already complete - it is the mathematical process that is the focus.)

In this calculation, we want children to notice that we are taking equal groups of four.

Children place the counters in equal groups (of four, in this case) within the rectangles, which are being used as a scaffold.

Children can now see that you can make 5 equal groups of four counters. In this case there is nothing ‘left over’.

I have been utilising this for several years now as it provides a clear ‘picture’ of the process and involves representation of the calculation using the CPA approach. Linking the Concrete (the counters) to the dividend and then to the Pictorial in the associated scaffolded array, and to the Abstract (the written amounts) clearly shows the layout at the beginning of the process - I see it as being imperative that children also begin with the physical counters to manipulate, and that they write the associated calculation.

Potential misconception to be conquered: that we can only divide by sharing out one at a time.

We want the children to recognise that they can share the counters by grouping them equally into the rectangles rather than always deferring to a sharing (placing one at a time) method. If they can only carry out this process through sharing, the introduction of formal written calculation for division may need to be delayed, to avoid further misconceptions developing.

At this point it may be tempting to move the process forward into written division, but pupils may need time for further exploration first, to develop understanding and make connections. Key questions could include:

What else can you see?

What other calculations could you carry out?

How could this be represented as multiplication?

Can you manipulate the counters to show a different division calculation?

Potential misconception to be conquered: that multiplication and division are separate operations

We want children to recognise that division and multiplication are inextricably linked, part of the same bigger concept, rather than unconnected operations.

The next step introduces the idea of quotients:

This step is crucial where the link is explicitly made to remainders and what they ‘look like’. If we add one to the dividend of 20 to make 21 and still divide it by 4 then there will be one remaining or ‘left over’. The positioning of the counter is also crucial.

Potential misconception to be conquered: that the remainder is not really part of the quotient (or answer) and so doesn’t have a value of its own.

We want children to understand the value of any remainder rather than misinterpret its meaning.

This process can then be continued:

Before the main key misconception can be conquered:

If one more is added to the dividend to make 24, we want pupils to see that this creates another equal group as another multiple of four that can be added to the existing groups.

So here we can see that 5 remainder 4 equates to a quotient of 6. This scaffolding could be ‘faded’ and the children explain and show their understanding using the ‘Pictorial’ by drawing the rectangles and representing the counters, which could be circles or dots or anything else that represents the concept before moving completely to the ‘Abstract’ (written symbols).

The key understanding here is that if the dividend is increased by less than the amount of the divisor, then there will be a remainder which is included in the quotient. For me, this does not get explored in sufficient depth; too often, remainders and quotients are taught purely in the abstract and children are not able to make generalisations and recognise situations where this occurs. This, alongside the lack of correlation between multiplication and division, including repeated addition, repeated subtraction and multiples and factors does not ensure that the children have the necessary skills required to be able to calculate effectively.

In referring to Mastery Readiness Catalysts of Change, and the section entitled ‘Arithmetical Proficiency’, further recognition of different situations when performing calculations can be realised once deep understanding of the language of division and ‘what that actually looks like in practice’ has been understood. Flexibility and efficiency, linked directly to ‘securing number facts’ and ‘automaticity’ can be enhanced through effectiveness in Multiplicative Fluency.

If, for example, the calculation 96 ÷ 4 = is attempted by children, it is my experience that this will, more often than not, be attempted to be solved through the utilisation of a short formal division method:

As part of learning this process, I would always ask to children to articulate their understanding:

Within this scenario Dienes Apparatus is used to show that what is actually happening is 10, as the quotient from dividing 90 by 4 is regrouped with the 6 in the ‘ones’ column to result in 16 which is then divided by 4.

The national curriculum includes an expectation that year 3 pupils can ‘Write and calculate mathematical statements for multiplication and division using the multiplication tables that they know, including for two-digit numbers times one-digit numbers, using mental and progressing to formal written methods.’ Within that scenario we also want the children to realise that flexible regrouping in this example is directly linked to division through the Distributive Law and in terms of efficiency, no formal method is required. The calculation can be written as (20 x 4) + (4 x 4) which is also linked to Multiplicative Fluency via understanding of multiples of four and can thus be calculated mentally.  On a few occasions, when I have been exploring this particular question in Pupil Voice sessions, children have asserted (once the mental strategy had been introduced to them) that it could also be calculated mentally via addition of 10 x 4 and 10 x 4 and 4 x 4, and on one occasion a child showed great delight in sharing that it could also be calculated as 24 + 24 + 24 + 24 = 96 via (6 x 4) + (6 x 4) + (6 x 4) + (6 x 4) because “I know that six times four is twenty four and I am really good at doubling”.

For me, this demonstrates deep understanding of Multiplicative Fluency within Arithmetical Fluency which can also be linked directly to a widely recognised rationale within the world of academic mathematics research. Richard Skemp explores the idea of ‘Intelligent learning’ which involves creating networks of ‘schemas’ or conceptual structures that ‘act as tools for future learning’ where longevity is achievable through deep, long-lasting and versatile understanding. He also links this rationale to the theoretical idea of the difference between ‘instrumental (or instructional)’ and ‘relational’ understanding where the former is defined as ‘rules without reasons’ and the latter involves ‘knowing what to do and why’. These can be recognised as the relational aspect allowing mastery of mathematics and instrumental understanding involving rote learning.

I believe that it is important to realise that children need to be immersed in both of these aspects as they make their mathematical journeys, including, as highlighted in this blog, their progression into formal division in key stage 2, where ‘Multiplicative Fluency’ is required and can be enhanced to allow children to ‘divide and conquer’ effectively.

Questions for maths subject leaders to consider:

• In key stage 1(KS1) and lower key stage 2 (KS2), how carefully do teachers explore both sharing and grouping, when introducing division?
• Throughout KS1 and KS2, do teachers explicitly link multiplication and division, for example, referring to children’s knowledge of multiplication tables and demonstrating how this supports their mental and written division work?
• Is time given to exploring the meaning of any ‘remainders’ when these begin to arise and what their value is, in relation to the calculation?

References:

Skemp, R. “The Idea of a Schema,” in The Psychology of Learning Mathematics: Expanded, 1st ed. (New York: Routledge, 1987), p.24.

Skemp, R. “Relational Understanding and Instrumental Understanding,” in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, vol. 12, no. 2. (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2006), p.89.

When it comes to teaching science, words are like magic keys. They don't just label things; they open doors to understanding all the fascinating aspects of our world. Think of scientific vocabulary as the special keys that allow students to understand complex concepts and make links and connections within the science curriculum.
Words in science can be quite tricky because many of them have multiple meanings depending on the context. Take the word "cell ," for example:

In biology, a cell is recognised as the basic unit of life. In the field of architecture, it typically refers to a small, enclosed space, such as a prison cell. Meanwhile, in physics and engineering, a cell denotes a single electrochemical unit capable of generating electrical energy. Then there's "volume"—normally, we think about how loud something is, but in science, volume is also all about the amount of space something takes up. These different meanings can be confusing, especially for students with SEND. That is why it is so important for teachers to explain and clarify these terms, making sure everyone understands the context.

Scientific terminology forms the backbone of the secondary science curriculum, where students are expected to grasp and apply a vast array of specialised terms. This linguistic demand can be particularly daunting for students with SEND. By focusing on clear, explicit teaching methods, we can help all students to process, comprehend and embed the vocabulary necessary for success in science.

So, how can we support vocabulary acquisition? Explicit vocabulary instruction needs to be part of a school’s ordinarily available provision. Using strategies aligned to the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) SEND five-a-day approach, some key principles to think about are presented here:

Consistent approach

A consistent approach to teaching vocabulary is key to helping students grasp complex concepts. Adopting Alex Quigley's approach can significantly enhance this consistency across the curriculum.

• Select: Start by previewing the topic content, including any reading material, to identify essential vocabulary that students need to understand. It is crucial not to assume what students may or may not know. Use open-ended questions before a lesson or topic to gauge students' level of understanding.
• Explain: Explicitly teach the selected words. Pre-teaching vocabulary can boost a student with SEND’s confidence, and engagement as well as providing them with the knowledge. Provide student-friendly definitions, discuss examples and non-examples. Use visuals, and offer multiple meaningful examples using tools such as the Frayer model as seen in the example here: 

• Explore: Dive into the structure and construction of words to support language acquisition. Students with SEND often struggle with morphology, making it harder for them to connect related words and understand complex language structures. Breaking down words can help bridge this gap.

This example taken from our HFL Secondary Science: Inclusive strategies to support learners with SEND eLearning resource, shows how understanding the structure and etymology of thermometer will unlock students’ ability to make connections to other related words such as thermos flask, thermal, thermostatic, and thermodynamics.

• Consolidate: Ensure students are repeatedly exposed to the vocabulary to deepen their understanding and ensure that they have time to practice using the words in different contexts. Repetition and reinforcement are key to helping all students, especially those with SEND, embed and recall scientific terms.

Working walls

Working walls are an invaluable and often underused tool in the secondary science classroom. By consistently displaying essential terminology, working walls can help support ongoing learning and engagement, reinforcing student’s understanding and aiding retention. Consider using your working walls to prominently feature key vocabulary such as GCSE command words and terms related to working scientifically. For students with SEND, who may struggle with language and processing difficulties, having a visual alongside the vocabulary can be particularly beneficial.

Graphic organisers

Graphic organisers are a helpful example of dual coding – presenting visual and verbal explanations at the same time – and can be used to present information in a clear and accessible format. This can support students with SEND to process, understand, retain, and use language more easily. Visual cues can be presented in many ways including simple images, flow charts and diagrams as shown below:

When used effectively, teachers select information and key vocabulary whilst embedding visual cues linked to the curriculum focus. Teachers should consider how these will be displayed both in the classroom and in students’ books. 

Speaking frames and discussion prompts

Speaking frames and discussion prompts are key to supporting students with language processing difficulties[i]. They provide students with a structure such as sentence starters and key phrases that help them articulate their thoughts more clearly and confidently. These tools are especially beneficial for students with SEND, as they reduce the cognitive load associated and help students focus on the content of their responses. 

Unlocking next steps

Share this blog with your science leader, teachers and teaching assistants within the science department, and senior leaders - many of these strategies can be applied across the curriculum. Find a time to read it together with the science department and reflect on the approaches highlighted. Ask yourselves:

• Which of these methods do we use regularly and what difference has it made?
• How could we develop the use of these tools further?
• Can we share ideas of when these tools have worked well in lessons?

Work together to identify one approach that everyone will focus on. Put it into practice and reconvene after an agreed time to reflect on its impact.

Developing an inclusive classroom through explicit vocabulary instruction is essential for unlocking the potential of all students, especially those with SEND. By working together and continuously refining our teaching, we can unlock the magic of scientific words for all our students.

For further practical examples of inclusive classroom strategies access our training resource: Secondary Science: Inclusive strategies to support learners with SEND.

Our SEND and science teams are also available to offer further guidance:

hflSEND@hfleducation.org

HFL.Science@hfleducation.org

References:

1. Widgit Online. Widgit Software | Widgit Symbols Help Communication

2. Alex Quigley (2018) “Closing the Vocabulary Gap”

3. Education Endowment Foundation (July 2021). https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/oral-language-interventions

Fieldwork is an essential component of a well-rounded primary geography education, offering unique learning opportunities often outside of the traditional classroom setting. It allows children to connect often abstract geographical concepts to real-world experiences, fostering a deeper understanding of their environment and the processes that shape it. Through active exploration and hands-on investigation, fieldwork cultivates critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a sense of place. Moreover, these memorable experiences help to ‘inspire a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people’ (National curriculum 2014) creating a lasting impact that extends far beyond the immediate activity.

The recent Ofsted report, Getting our bearings: geography subject report 2023, highlighted that ‘fieldwork was underdeveloped in almost all schools…’ The report states that we should ensure we…

 ‘…teach pupils about fieldwork. Pupils should know how to collect, present and analyse data, and how to evaluate and reach conclusions based on this data. Some of this should include first-hand experience of collecting data.’ 

The Geographical Association also states that, ‘Fieldwork (whether local, residential or international) is an essential component of geography education. It enables pupils to better understand the ‘messiness’ of ‘geographical reality’, develop subject knowledge, and gain a range of skills that are difficult to develop in the classroom alone.’ 

Although fieldwork is clearly a recognised and vital component of a well-planned and balanced geography curriculum, the practicalities of implementation, including budgetary constraints and the necessary risk assessment procedures, often present significant challenges that may deter us from developing such opportunities.

So, how can we design and implement meaningful fieldwork experiences for our children that are budget friendly and not workload heavy, utilise geographical knowledge and bring to life the often-abstract concepts in the geographical curriculum?

This blog will aim to exemplify how we can use our school grounds and local area to plan meaningful fieldwork opportunities in the primary geography curriculum whilst ensuring that there is rigour and progression.

There are a few points to consider when we start planning fieldwork experiences in our curriculum. 

Progression

Firstly, children should become more proficient in fieldwork as they move through the school. They should make progress in how they carry out fieldwork. This means that the experiences should look different depending on the stage of development of the children.

The table below is an example of a progression map we have developed, for fieldwork opportunities. Using this, we can see that as children move through the curriculum they develop from experiential, play-based learning and enquiries towards suggesting their own appropriate and well thought out enquiry questions. They will also use a more complex range of fieldwork techniques and measurements and develop their recording and presenting skills.

Enquiry

Secondly, fieldwork should ideally be based around real life enquiry questions. Effective fieldwork requires thinking about what places are like. What are the features of this place? Why is this place like this? What could be done to improve this place? The school grounds and local area can provide endless opportunities to investigate issues and potential problems. Posing, investigating and answering real-life enquiry questions is inspiring for children and can help build a sense of self-efficacy, belonging and empowerment as they seek to explore and suggest solutions to local issues.

Knowledge

Lastly, fieldwork provides an invaluable opportunity for pupils to apply and expand upon classroom learning. Effective fieldwork experiences foster memorable, real-world learning activities that cultivate geographical knowledge crucial for understanding the processes shaping their environment. By engaging in the practice of ‘"doing geography’," fieldwork can transform abstract geographical concepts into concrete, active learning.

Whether you have written your own geography curriculum or adopted a published scheme, personalising it to your school and local area, including the fieldwork opportunities, will ensure learning is meaningful and serves your context and children.

Below are some ideas that utilise the school grounds and local area: 

EYFS Opportunities – play-based and exploratory

• Explore the sand, water and soil in trays and in real-life situations; build sandcastles and knock them down, observe what happens, mix water and soil to see what changes, to begin to understand some of the properties of the physical environment.
• Create a drawing of the EYFS area or garden, comment on the aspects liked/disliked. Suggest elements for improvement/change.
• Use a simple map to find objects in the EYFS area or garden.
• Go on a ‘favourite place walk’.’ Discuss sights, sounds, smells etc. take photos and make drawings.
• Observe and discuss the weather using simple charts and symbols.
• Observe and discuss the changing seasons – investigate how some trees change across the year. Make representations.
• Investigate the best place to plant flowers.

KS1 Opportunities

Weather:

• What is the weather like in our local area?
  • Keep a daily record of the weather using charts and symbols.
  • Use thermometers to measure temperature at various times of the year.
  • Use a simple rain gauge to measure rainfall at various times of the year.
  • Discuss patterns in weather, using information pupils have gathered.
  • Create and use a weather station with a thermometer, rain gauge and simple wind vane.

The school grounds:

• What is in the school grounds?
  • Create maps of the school grounds and mark features using a key.
  • Go on a sensory walk around the school. Mark on a map of the school the quiet and noisy areas, favourite areas. Take photos and sound recordings.
  • Create a nature trail around the school. Mark the physical features on a map. Undertake sampling at various locations to explore plants and animal habitats.
  • Identify issues in the school grounds – car parking, litter, not enough shade etc and investigate – take photos, create simple interviews, sketch etc.
• What might be the best place for – a new bin, a friendship bench, a picnic bench, a climbing frame? etc.
  • Using a map of the school grounds, plot the location of human features using symbols and a key.
  • Research the best place for a new XXX by observing classes at playtime, lunch time etc. Where is litter dropped? Where do children stand alone? Where do children want to sit?
  • Create and carry out a simple questionnaire. Collectively analyse results.

The local area:

• What is my local area like?
  • Go on a walk around the local area. Take photos, make sound recordings, make sketches.
  • Plot the street furniture on a simple map of the local area.
  • Find the busy/quiet places in the area. Are there any issues? Traffic? Litter? Plot these on the map.
  • Record favourite places in the local area and describe them, explaining reasons for likes and dislikes.
  • Investigate how the area has changed. Look at old photos and maps. Interview grandparents. Discuss what the future of the area may be.

KS2 Opportunities

The school grounds:

• How do people use the school grounds?
  • Conduct a land use survey of the school grounds, identifying and classifying different types of land use (e.g., recreational, educational, environmental).
  • Observe and record land use at contrasting times of the day.
  • Accessibility: Conduct an accessibility audit of the school grounds, considering access for people with disabilities, people using pushchairs, cyclists etc.. Discuss ways to improve accessibility.
• How are the school grounds different/similar to other local spaces?
  • Compare the buildings of the school to other buildings in the local area, e.g., materials, usage, purposes. How do they reflect the local community, and its needs?
  • Explore the variety of habitats in the school grounds, identifying different plants and animals and their adaptations to their environment.
• Are the school grounds environmentally friendly?
  • Conduct an environmental audit of the school grounds, assessing factors like litter, energy use, and water consumption. Discuss ways to improve the school's environmental impact.
  • Explore the concept of sustainability by investigating how the school grounds are managed. Survey the classrooms at break and lunch time – are windows open and heating on? Are electrical devices on? Is there a litter issue? Discuss ways to make the school more sustainable.
• Where is the best place for different features, e.g., a nature area, bug hotel, solar panel(s), pollinator garden?
• Investigate microclimates within the school grounds, measuring temperature, wind, and sunlight in different areas. Discuss how these variations affect plant growth and animal habitats.
• Sample soil using quadrats.
• Investigate air pollution using squares of card covered with petroleum jelly. Hang one inside and one outside to compare air quality.
• Investigate using maps, photos, sound recordings, questionnaires etc.

The local area:

• What is it like to live in the local area?
  • Investigate the different types of settlements in the local area, and how they are different? e.g., village, town, city.
  • Explore how land use in the local area has changed over time? Compare maps, interviewing relatives and local residents. Discuss positive and negative change. What might the future of the area be?
  • Explore where the key services are located in the local area, and why? Plot on maps of different scales. Consider land use. Who uses which services? Conduct a survey and analyse the results.
  • Compare the local area to other places studied. Look at land use, jobs and economy, types of buildings, features etc.
• Who lives in the local area, and what are their lives like?
  • Conduct research and surveys. Analyse demographics on various maps.
  • Research how people use the local area.
  • Explore how changes to the area may be linked to changing demographics. E.g., a new home for the elderly may be built due to an aging population. The school may expand due to more children being born etc.
• What is the high street like?
  • Use a map to identify the uses of buildings on the high street.
  • Survey resident’s’ opinions on the high street.
  • Investigate if local produce is sold. Debate pros and cons of importing food.
  • Explore how an empty shop could be used.
  • Investigate how and why the high street has changed over time.
  • Plot human and physical features on a map.
  • Plot street furniture and investigate where the bins, toilets, post-boxes are located etc.
  • Explore the environment of the high street – traffic pollution, air pollution, litter etc. Create a campaign based around findings.

Travel and traffic:

• How do people travel around our local area, and what are the impacts of different modes of transport?
  • Looking at road systems and local area traffic. Identifying issues. Exploring traffic at different times of the day. Creating and analysing surveys. Pollution statistics. Looking at the bus routes and timetables.
  • Investigate if local transport is suitable for the local needs?

Tourism:

• How does tourism affect the local area?
  • Using maps at different scales and OS symbols to identify tourist attractions.
  • Creating questionnaires to ascertain resident’s views on tourism.
  • Debate the pros and cons of tourism.

Rivers:

• How does the river change from its source to its mouth?
  • Sketch the local river at various points.
  • Plot the river on a map.
  • Take photos and annotate/caption points in the river, identifying the features of a river.
  • Measure the flow rate at different points. Measure a set distance and drop sticks into the river. Use a stopwatch to calculate the time it takes for the sticks to travel between points. Compare.
  • Measure the turbidity of water at different points using a secchi disk. Lower the disk into the water until the white and black areas can no longer be differentiated. Measure the wet string. Compare at different points. Does pollution affect the water?
• How do humans use the river, and what are the consequences?
  • Investigate through mapping the river, taking photos at various locations, researching river uses over time and/or interviewing a resident.
• What are the different types of plants and animals that live in and around the river, and why?
• Use sampling techniques, photos, sketches. Annotate photos and maps.
• Compare river wildlife with the plants and animals found in the school grounds.

There are many wonderful opportunities right on our doorsteps for meaningful fieldwork opportunities that enable children to ‘become geographers’. These experiences also connect children to their local area and offer a chance for them to become problem solvers

Key takes

1. Look for opportunities in your curriculum to utilise the school grounds and local area.
2. Ensure that children ‘get better’ at fieldwork over time. You may want to identify the progression in your current opportunities or develop a progression in fieldwork, like the one above, to help teachers plan.
3. Pose, and encourage children to pose, meaningful enquiry questions. Base the fieldwork around answering these questions.
4. Explore how to communicate and present findings (in an age-appropriate way), to answer the enquiry question(s).
5. Utilise and build on knowledge learned in the classroom when undertaking fieldwork.
6. Give it a go and have fun!

If you would like further support to audit your school’s curriculum and embed fieldwork, contact Claire at Claire.watson@hfleducation.org for support.

What is transient art?

Transient art is a term used for creative work that is not fixed. This is a type of art created using movable pieces, which can be easily changed, adapted, and added to, but most importantly is not permanent. This offers children the opportunity to focus on the process of the artwork, rather than the finished product itself. This encourages children to build skills such as choosing resources for a purpose, thinking critically, and understanding why they are making certain choices.

What are the benefits?

There are many advantages of transient art in the early years. It develops curiosity, imagination, and problem-solving skills. Children are required to seek resources for intent and explore with the way they look and feel. There is opportunity to understand more about the way different materials can be manipulated, and the permutations are endless! This really is the meaning of open-ended play and learning without limits. One other benefit to consider is the use of repurposing and reusing materials, which supports an eco-friendly ethos in the setting.

Where is the learning?

As with many activities in the early years, curriculum links cross and learning is happening through the characteristics of effective teaching and learning. Children learn key skills and practise through transient art, such as maths; moveable resources allow children to play with pattern, symmetry, counting, subitising, shape, size, and position to name a few! There are also many strong links to communication and language. Children can explain their thinking and reasoning, use descriptive language to talk about the resources, and even tell their own stories through what they are creating. Physical development is also being practised, with hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. For settings that use themes, topics, or texts to support their curriculum offer, transient art can easily be adapted to enhance this, e.g., minibeasts, special people pebble art, creating our own faces, exploring emotions and expressions. Children really get to understand that objects can be used to represent meaning.

Links to inspiring artists

There are many famous artists that have been motivated by transient art, such as Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Shilling. They often make use of what they have around them in the environment to capture and create art. 

How do we get started?

Collect resources of different shapes, sizes, and textures. Include natural resources and encourage children to collect things to add too. Start off with a few resources and build them up over time, as this may be new, and children can become overwhelmed with too much choice. Remember to risk assess small parts and ensure what you offer is age appropriate. Consider how you can make this appealing to children, by providing items to use as a ‘work area’, such as real photo frames, chalk frames on the ground, coloured paper, mirrors, placemats, and trays. Consider where children might access this – indoors, outside, on the floor, at a table. Think about the adult’s role. Could children’s transient art be recorded? Photos could be taken throughout the process to look back and reflect on the journey. Enhance the area with photos of inspiring transient art created by other children alongside more famous pieces. The possibilities really are endless!

Exploring Initial Teacher Training in Small Schools: A Guest Blog by Karen Taylor-Paul from Alban Teaching School Hub, with case studies from Hertfordshire schools

As part of the HFL Education Small Schools’ Programme—now in its second successful year, and about to enter a 3rd academic year—we’re pleased to share this special blog post on Initial Teacher Training (ITT). The blog aims to complement the programme’s mission to support our smaller schools through practical, relevant, and timely content.

We’re especially grateful to Karen from the Alban Teaching School Hub for contributing this guest post, in collaboration with Chiltern Teaching School Hub. Drawing on her experience and the voices of small school leaders, Karen explores the opportunities and challenges of engaging with ITT, offering practical advice and real-world examples, including some case studies.

Whether you're considering hosting a trainee or simply curious about the benefits for your school community, this blog is designed to inform and inspire.

The HFL Education Small Schools' Programme launched in early 2024 with sessions facilitated by our experienced team of advisers and speakers hand-picked for their innovative and successful approaches to leading smaller schools.

The first series was very well received, earning a BETT Award nomination for Leadership and Management Solutions for 2025 and an endorsement from Neil Short, Chairman of the National Association of Small Schools.

The Third round begins in autumn 2025, with sessions each half term. Focuses have been chosen for their current relevance and based on feedback from the sector. We hope you can join us for the next instalment! 

Find out more:

With the continued downward trend in teacher qualification and ongoing national recruitment issues, it is important to ensure that we are doing all we can to support those who do choose to train.

Supporting trainees can be a daunting prospect for headteachers, and especially for those in smaller schools, but can offer huge advantages.

In this blog, we provide the answers to some frequently asked questions, as well as sharing the experience of two local headteachers, who have successfully supported trainees within their small school settings.

Recruitment into primary ITT – the national picture

There has been a continued downward trend in postgraduate primary entrants since the high during the pandemic (14,380 in 2020/21 to 8,258 in 2024/25). 88% of the PGITT target was achieved in 2024/25 primary compared to 94% in 2023/24. School workforce in England data published in June 2024 showed the teacher workforce grew by less than 300 teachers in the previous year as record low numbers of early career teachers entered the profession coupled with rising numbers of teachers leaving (39,971 – rate of 8.8%).
 

Benefits of hosting a primary trainee

Hosting trainee teachers in school can bring a whole range of advantages:
•    Additional classroom support
•    Build a talent pool and pipeline for future recruitment in your school or trust
•    Support retention
•    Create professional development opportunities for colleagues who mentor
•    Bring in new ideas to your school 
•    Offer release time for phase leaders or senior leaders 
•    School-based trainees are supernumerary

Other considerations:

•    Building capacity in your small teams (with falling roll and financial instability)
•    Access funding through the apprenticeship levy
•    PGTA is brilliant for job shares (e.g job share with an Assistant Head).  
•    In a trust the release time can enable experienced colleagues to work across a trust within the school day 
•    Many trainees go on to successfully gain employment in their placement or another local school
•    If you have a really good member of support staff with a degree could they be supported to train? These colleagues would need to be known to your school for at least a year to commence the programme. There are a range of providers in the local area which can be signposted to you by your local Teaching School Hub.  

Some barriers to being involved in training are perceived rather than actual experiences

Often schools are worried about some or all of the following, but none of these need to prevent you from working with trainees: 
•    Mentoring requirements
•    Mentoring capacity (experience / suitability)
•    School Ofsted grading 
•    Quality of Education in the school
•    Staffing changes in the school
•    Having both an ECTs and an ITT trainee at the same time

Mentoring 

In fact, mentoring is an exciting role for more experienced practitioners within in a school and as leaders we need to elevate this status in our organisations:
•    Mentoring can be shared so that more than one staff member takes responsibility for ensuring high quality training and mentoring
•    Mentoring is essential to the development and retention of your workforce
•    Mentors impact colleagues throughout training and their induction
•    Evidence informed professional development is provided for mentors and schools are funded for this training time.  
•    Training material can be embedded into wider teaching practice.
•    Access to the latest research, practice and innovation on teaching and support for young people
•    Payment to the school to support the training
•    Makes staff feel valued and subsequently supports staff retention 
•    DfE are responsive to feedback from the TSH – you will see changes within your schools
•    Build school capacity through mentor development and growing expertise
•    Trainees must deliver 80% (14 hours) of a timetable by the final term which provides capacity for the colleague in the class they are assigned

What are the training pathways?

There are a variety of different routes available, including:
•    Primary 3 – 7 (QTS only and PGCE)
•    Primary 5 – 11 (QTS only and PGCE)
•    Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA)
•    BEd
These programmes are now all available as part-time routes (3 days or 4 days a week).

What is the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship?

As a newer training option, this is often a route employers understand least about, which can lead to a lack of confidence to support participants. Here are some key points of reference:
•    An apprenticeship to enable degree holders to gain QTS whilst employed in a school
•    Fees of £9000 are payable from your apprenticeship levy which will be on the approved providers list at HCC if your staffing does not make you eligible for levy funding directly. 
•    Apprentices are paid on the UNQ1 and are employed full-time during their training period
•    12-month contract from 1 July 2025 to 31 July 2026.  This is currently being reviewed by the DfE to reduce the duration. 
•    The apprentice can teach up to 60% of a timetable solo from September (equivalent of 10 hours)
•    The apprentice will be required to complete a contrasting placement in the Spring Term

Hear from Hertfordshire primary headteachers

Two local headteachers share their own experience supporting initial teacher training in small schools:
 

"We were delighted to learn about the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programme through Alban Teaching School Hub as we had an outstanding staff member eager to advance her career. Our primary concern was how to facilitate this development without losing her valuable contributions to our team.

Having previously collaborated with the Alban TSH in supporting Early Career Teachers (ECTs), I was pleased to discover a new pathway offered by a trusted provider. Initially, I was apprehensive about the time commitment required for mentoring, particularly given our status as a small school. However, I found that most mentoring sessions occurred outside of teaching hours, and there is a clear expectation that the school day extends beyond 3:15 PM.

The consistency in scheduling trainee teachers' days out of the classroom has greatly facilitated our planning and organisation of cover. Additionally, we receive ample notice for any additional days required, ensuring minimal disruption.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the diligence of the tutors who visit to monitor progress. Their visits provide an excellent opportunity for both our mentor and me to address any lingering questions.

I highly recommend this pathway to other small schools, as it has proven to be an effective means of retaining talented staff."

John Ferguson
Headteacher, Kimpton Primary School working with Alban TSH
 

Our rationale for having a trainee:

As a small school with well established staff it gives the opportunity to bring someone new to the team. It’s great CPD for the mentor and brings in some money too. I like the idea of giving something back, after all we were all trainees once up on a time.

Did you have initial concerns or reservations?

It does involve a time commitment for the mentor and also other staff across the school. Historically we had some bad experiences with students who didn’t seem to understand the role or the commitment needed. Over the past decade this has shifted and we have only had positive experiences.

What training route have you identified? PGCE, PGTA, part-time?

We’ve had BEd, PGCE and part-time students. The best for us have been final year BEd or last placement PGCE as they can take on more teaching commitments. When we have had emergency staff requirements these students have been worth their weight in gold. They took on large teaching commitments and really stepped up to the challenge. Part time students are the hardest to accommodate as they never see a whole week through and can miss whole subjects and sequences. We’ve found they need to have the flexibility to do different days in order to get the bigger picture.

Benefits that having a trainee has brought to our school:

• New and current teaching practice and resources used in school.
• Children get to experience a different teacher, when they often have the same teacher for at least two years, this is especially valuable in a small school.
• They often have more energy and enthusiasm which rubs off on current staff
• It’s helpful sharing rationale behind decision making as it can help us all question our practice, staying curious is really important and can be hard otherwise
• Teachers can be released while students are teaching, even if it’s just to mark at the back of a room!
• Some of our students have kept in touch, attending the summer residential and productions
• Children across the whole school build up relationships with different adults
• Students often bring a new skill set in school, they might run a club or introduce a new sport or language which all enriches school for everyone

Tips or things to consider for schools not currently engaged in ITT

• The mentor will need to attend training
• All staff need to be on board in a small school as students need to experience each phase and will have random questions for everyone!
• Workload of the mentor is increased at least at the start of the practice
• The mentor has to want to be involved

Anja Tyler, Headteacher
Benington C of E Primary School working with Chiltern TSH

Common questions for small schools:

Q: We have small classes or mixed year groups in classes.  Can a trainee work with these groups as part of their training year?

A: Trainees must experience four consecutive year groups across their training year.  A mixed class is in keeping with the training guidance.

Q: What happens when our trainee leaves for their contrasting placement?

A: Training provisions will accommodate a direct swap with someone training on the same programme, where possible.

Q: Our classroom teacher has areas of responsibility due to the size of our school. Can the trainee take these on?

A: The collaboration between a trainee and the experienced classroom teacher can often breakdown feelings of isolation in small schools.  The trainee can build up the support and delivery of specific areas of the curriculum in the earlier part of the training year. The regular class teacher can continue to deliver the specific specialism in the early stages of the training year.

Engage your school community into considering a career in teaching

This does not necessarily mean to train in your setting but we know that the majority of applications for teacher training in Hertfordshire are from applicants where specific schools or local communities are known to them.

Consider the following in your communications:

• Pop up on your website
• Train to teach info in newsletters and on websites
• Pop up banners if your school is used for external hires
• Host a school experience morning for perspective applicants in your area
• Use the Teach in Herts recruitment service to signpost opportunities to candidates

For more information

Please contact your local Teaching School Hub for more information or support:

‘Do you think you’re good at writing?’

Some other examples of questions we asked the children were:

• What goes through your head when your teacher says, "Now we are going to do some writing?"
• What do you like about writing?
• Do you write much at home?
• Do you know why you are writing the things you do at school?
• In class, do you get to make choices about what you write about?
• Do you know how to improve your writing?
• Think about the last piece of writing you have done in school. What star rating would you give it?

Crucially, we asked the children for feedback on how we could improve writing at Highover. For example, we asked, ‘Do you have any ideas for how we could make writing at Highover better?’ Examples of the children’s responses included:

‘I think that English could be improved by giving us opportunities where we can pick what to write about/free writing.’

‘Doing writing for fun in your own different book and if you had an idea in the week, you could write it all down before you go home.’

‘Let children write whatever comes out of their head onto a piece of paper.’

As you can see from the pie charts above, older pupils were enjoying writing less than younger pupils and children’s suggestions reflected that they wanted more freedom with their writing. We felt a responsibility to give our pupils the chance to develop a genuine love of writing. To do this, we created opportunities for them to write freely outside of English lessons, allowing them to explore topics of their own choosing. We hoped this freedom would help them associate writing with joy, pride, and self-motivation.

We introduced ‘writing for pleasure journals’ for all our pupils to encourage a sense of creative freedom, allowing them to write without the immediate focus on specific learning outcomes or the pressure of perfect punctuation, spelling, and grammar - while still valuing these skills as part of their broader development. Some children choose to write in response to a given prompt. The prompts may, for example, be an image, a piece of music, an object or a poem and they may lead to pupils choosing to write, for example, a poem, a description, a recipe, a diary entry, a news story, an interview or a letter.

If we want our children to truly see themselves as writers, who make their own choices, and who are confident to write at length in a range of genres, we need to give them opportunities to write for their own pleasure, in their own book – and in the knowledge that it will only be shared if they wish to share it.

Our ‘writing for pleasure’ sessions complement the philosophy of the ESSENTIALWRITING curriculum perfectly. Within English lessons and writing for pleasure sessions, children are learning all of the skills they need to write effectively and then combine these with a genuine desire to write authentically. One teacher thoughtfully reflected on the writing for pleasure journalling sessions:

“Children really love writing for pleasure. They like being able to write about the stimulus but many also write their own stories so don't use the stimulus. In each session, they can either start something new or pick up from where they were last time.”

Our key principles at Highover for developing a writing for pleasure culture:

• Child-centred: regardless of the stimulus; the writing children create is ultimately up to them.
• Ownership and agency: pupils are given ownership over their writing projects, allowing them to make choices about their content, genre, and writing process. Each child should have a dedicated writing journal to use for these sessions.
• Creative freedom: writing sessions promote creativity, exploration, and the freedom to experiment with ideas and styles. This writing is not checked or ‘marked’ in the same way it would be in an English lesson, but children can choose to share it with others if they wish to.
• Engagement through collaboration: children are motivated by opportunities to share, discuss, and work together on writing projects.
• Teachers as writers: teachers participate alongside pupils, modelling the writing process and demonstrating how writing can be enjoyable.
• Building confidence: giving children time, space, and support to develop their writing skills, fostering a positive attitude towards writing.
• Writing community: creating a classroom culture where writing is celebrated, shared, and enjoyed by all

We have found that many of the pupils, who previously didn’t enjoy writing, are now developing a sense of enjoyment of writing:

‘I like it because in writing for pleasure sessions you can write about anything you want and this gives more freedom.’

‘It gives me ideas about writing stories at home. I love it because it's super duper fun!’

‘I now like writing because it is fun, and you can enjoy it. Sometimes we even do writing for pleasure and that is SO fun!’

‘You can write in any way you like. For example, you can write a song, a poem or a story’

‘It makes me feel relaxed.’

In primary schools, our curriculum is so full, it often feels as if there isn’t enough time for anything outside of our tight timetables for things such as writing for fun. This is where we need to be brave enough to give our pupils what they want and need. Ultimately, it can support them to be empowered, confident and keen writers for life.

I could easily fill this blog with endless ‘team’ related quotes but feel the above embodies nicely how trust and governing boards can strive to succeed. There are very few cases where individual governors enable a school to maximise the potential of all its pupils on their own but rather more common is where the collective effort of a group of governors or trustees come together and raise the bar for their school.

Governance is a team game and like football requires teamwork, a strategy and shared goals (excuse the pun). Just as football needs a manager, captain, vice-captain, players, coaches and support staff to work effectively so a governing board similarly needs a headteacher, Chair, Vice chair, governors and a governance professional clerk.

Teamwork and collaboration

In football, each player has a specific role, whether it's the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, or forwards. Similarly, in school governance, each member of the governing body has a distinct role. The chair of governors is akin to the team captain, leading and inspiring the team, other governors, like defenders and midfielders assume various link and committee roles playing on their strengths and individual skill set, and (this may be a stretch!) the centre forwards are those experienced governors you can send out to ‘play’ upfront as vice and committee chairs. The headteacher, much like the manager, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the wider team plus as a member of the governance team working to support the whole school community. 

Just as a football team must work together to win, school governors must collaborate to ensure their school's success. Effective communication is crucial. In football, players must train hard together, communicate on the field to execute a game plan and adapt to the opponent's tactics. In governance, governors must communicate openly and regularly, train on their own and together, understand the challenges in the education landscape and develop strategies and have a plan to achieve their school development and strategic goals (there it is again!).

Strategy and planning

A successful football team has a well-thought-out game plan. They watch their opponents, identify strengths and weaknesses, and develop strategies to win. Similarly, as governors we must be horizon scanning for threats and opportunities, benchmarking ourselves against schools of a similar size, consider national benchmarking data to help maximise the opportunities and assess the challenges. All of this can be captured in a strategic plan and vision for our schools. This involves setting ambitious targets and objectives, with clear KPIs, monitoring progress towards these, and adjusting the course of progress when needed. The strategic plan should address key areas such as the school estate, IT provision, SEND provision, student outcomes and wellbeing and how these will be underpinned through effective use of school finances and budgeting.

Recruitment and retention

In football, recruiting and retaining talented players is essential for success. Similarly, school governors must focus on recruiting and retaining high quality staff. This includes not only teachers but also support staff, senior leaders as well as the best governors! High turnover rates can disrupt the school's stability, leadership and impact student outcomes. Governors and school leaders must create a positive work culture where all staff are valued, supported and invested in through long-term professional development and a supportive working culture. This will not only help retain staff members but also attract the best staff to join from other schools with a less positive work environment.

Monitoring and evaluation

Football teams constantly evaluate their performance, reviewing match footage and statistics to improve their performance. School governors must also monitor and evaluate their school's performance. This involves reviewing data on student attainment, achievement, attendance, behaviour and looking at how different groups of pupils perform. Governors should visit the school regularly, gather evidence on areas specific to their link role or area of expertise, and meet with staff and pupils to monitor the school’s progress towards its short-term School Development Plan objectives and medium/ long-term strategic aims and vision.

Stakeholder engagement

A football team thrives on the support of its fans and how it supports and interacts with the local community. Similarly, a school benefits from strong stakeholder and community engagement. Governors should foster communication with parents, local businesses and community organisations. This can help to build positive relationships and engagement with, and from, the community which can only help to cement your schools place at the heart of its community, this in turn may secure much needed additional resources and support for the school. Engagement with, and understanding of, the community a school serves should also feed into the development of your curriculum and ethos that reflects the needs, values, history, diversity and context of the local area.

School governance IS a team game. Like a football team, school governors must work together, communicate effectively, and develop strategic plans to overcome challenges and maximise opportunities. By drawing on the strengths of each team member and engaging with stakeholders, governors can ensure that their school provides the best possible education and maximise the opportunities for all its pupils – or put more simply, win the game!