Minding the gap whether on the underground or in education there are many parallels; we are constantly reminded of its presence, we can see it’s there whenever we look despite efforts to reduce it, in some cases we might even be relieved it hasn’t got wider since the pandemic, but the fact of the matter is the gap stubbornly remains and we have a duty to eliminate it.  

Disadvantaged pupils are defined by Ofsted as those eligible for free school meals at any point in the past six years which includes groups such as Pupil Premium pupils, pupils with an Educational Health Care Plan, pupils known to a social worker and other groups with protected characteristics and/or covered by the Equalities Act 2010. We know that often students face a multitude of barriers to learning and that new barriers emerge in line with societal change that schools must rapidly identify and work with pupils to overcome if we are to make progress in this agenda. Whilst adapting to societal change has always been something that schools must do, we have seen an unprecedented level of societal change post pandemic, from significant rises in the number of students with SEND to a mental health epidemic among young people to collapsing public services. It is more important than ever that we keep a laser like focus on ensuring that schools are effectively identifying and overcoming barriers that learners are facing in schools which may serve to further disadvantage them. 

This blog provides a whistle stop tour of some, but not all of the areas that span beyond those traditionally associated with regular monitoring of provision and understanding of data for disadvantaged pupils. We as Governors need to be confident that our settings are developing their plans to approach, review and respond to societal changes that have an impact on students, from wellbeing to behaviour. Where are the changes happening that can lead to additional barriers for the disadvantaged and are we effectively tackling them? 

SEND is a huge issue nationally. We know that post-pandemic the level of SEND has risen with some groups of SEND learners particularly adversely impacted by the pandemic. Attendance is a concern across the board, but students with SEND face more barriers to attendance than their peers. Language is key across the board when it comes to closing the gap, and this is particularly true of attendance and SEND. Does your Board talk about ‘non-attendance’ as opposed to ‘school refusal’ in relation to SEND? The inference of refusal is that it’s a choice a child is making rather than there being an accessibility issue relating to a child’s needs that needs to be overcome. This is just one example of the importance of the lexicon of language in Governance.   

Legal duties in relation to SEND are set out laid in the Governance Handbook and both the Children and families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice and SEND regulations 2014.  All boards should have a SEND link governor who will have oversight of their school’s work in fulfilling their obligations to ensure that pupils with SEND have their needs met and the board must report annually on their SEND provision by publishing relevant information on the school website and ensure it’s clearly signposted to parents. What actions do you as a Board take in relation to the report and how is progressed monitored? Attending external scrutiny visits regarding your schools disadvantaged pupils will provide valuable, triangulated evidence of how your school is making progress in closing the gap.   

SEND and Alternative Provision Plan 

Last month saw the publication of the government’s long awaited Improvement Plan for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision with their vision to provide “right support, right place, right time”.  The plan includes setting new national SEND and AP standards to give families confidence in the support available to them; making the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process easier for the children and young people who need one through a standardised approach and better use of technology; investing in more special schools for more timely access to support within the local area; strengthening accountability so responsibilities are known and families can see how well their local area is performing; improving communication with parents so concerns are dealt with quickly through new guidance for LA SEND caseworkers; investing in the workforce to increase access to specialists and introducing a new SENDCo national qualification. This short You Tube video talks about the DfE’s improvement plan in more detail. Naturally, the devil will be in the detail and we await seeing how impactful new policies are at a national level will be. Boards can look at some of the key concepts in the paper such as early intervention and ask questions about the effectiveness of their setting in providing that early support such that needs don’t go unmet for an extended period leading to significant gaps in learning.    

Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum

The DfE are reviewing statutory guidance on this area of the curriculum following concerns that inappropriate material is being taught in schools. The DfE is seeking through its review to introduce safeguards to stop pupils being taught contested and potentially damaging concepts, and to consider introducing age ratings for curriculum content. Has your board discussed this, noted that this review is underway and how the school is planning to respond to the updated guidance? There will likely be pupil and parental challenge once the guidance is made public. Review of relationships, sex and health education to protect children to conclude by end of year - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Pupil voice 

Listening to the lived experiences of disadvantaged pupil and understanding the barriers that they identify prior to developing strategies for overcoming is key to closing the disadvantage gap. Many schools are using the tools on the Votes for Schools website to empower pupil voice, helping pupils to shape the lived experience and learning in their schools. Governors will use surveys and visits to sample and hear pupil voice, however we should not view these as the only approaches. Perhaps you can suggest your school looks at the resources here to enable you collectively as leaders to view and sample pupil voice through a different lens? VotesforSchools - Personal Development, SMSC & PSHE 

Vaping 

As we are all aware smoking by pupils in and outside schools is a problem that’s as old as the hills with pupils sanctioned and often missing learning as a result.  Governors will be aware of the glamourisation of vaping by social media influencers and the epidemic of cheap, disposable and hard to detect vapes finding their way into schools. The challenges of vaping span beyond attendance challenges posed by suspensions and exclusions to very real health concerns with lead, nickel and chromium having been found in illegal vapes used by school children. The RHSE review will incorporate vaping, but in the meantime are Governors satisfied that their setting has an effective policy on vaping and that appropriate education approaches to deter students from vaping are in place?   UK health expert raises alarm at vaping ‘epidemic’ among teenagers | E-cigarettes | The Guardian 

Social media

Financial Times Films has published an incredibly powerful short film capturing the concerns raised most recently by the Childrens Commissioner, Rachel de Souza. This may be worth viewing as a board, not because we have any ability to close this particular stable door or believe that the proposed Online Safety bill will be the silver bullet to put the genie back in the social media bottle, but more so that we are aware of the enormous challenge that young people face navigating their way in the ‘online’ world safely and without harm. The impact on wellbeing of children should not be underestimated and provides additional barriers to learning. Capture, who's looking after the children? | FT Film Standpoint - YouTube 

Transgender policy guidance 

Whilst not directly related to the disadvantage gap, we know that some transgender young people face barriers to learning. This debate remains sensitive and politicised. The DfE has promised updated guidance for schools by the end of the summer term. As a board have you considered what you have in place and how you will respond to updated guidance that may challenge your current approach? www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65127170   

The disadvantage gap is a huge subject that we can only scratch the surface of in a blog but hopefully the point made is there is a wide spectrum of influences on those disadvantaged pupils, exacerbated by changes in society. Within schools we can do our very best to improve life for disadvantaged pupils through robust policy, relevant curriculum intent and impact, modelling safe behaviour, providing structure and reward, specialist help and teaching and a lived experience that prepares them for the wider world. In our work as governors, we need to be aware of the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, strategically monitor the gap, ensure the impact of all plans and initiatives (and the necessary budgeted expenditure) closes the gap and in time all this comes together to close the gap for good.  

The HFL Governance team stand ready to support you whether it be through our acclaimed training programme, our supportive Clerking and Chairs service or our fantastic helpdesk. 

To contact us please use the following:  

Governance Helpdesk – 01438 544487   

Governance Training – 01438 544478  

Governance Clerking - 01438 544487  

Or email us at governance@hfleducation.org  

So, in your school, is handover and transition treated like a relay race; seeing your staff as the team of runners, smoothly passing the baton to each other; allowing the next person to capitalise on the effective handover?

The analogy we often use for transition and handover in schools is of a relay race.

In a relay, a team works together. Each person runs their leg of the race. No one person can win the race alone. And the passing of the baton is key – a smoothly passed baton allows the next runner to make an effective start. They don’t lose time. With a dropped baton, time is spent fumbling to find it before the running can continue.

So, in your school, is handover and transition treated like a relay race; seeing your staff as the team of runners, smoothly passing the baton to each other; allowing the next person to capitalise on the effective handover?

The information we hold about the children we teach is vast and varied: medical needs (including who has asthma or allergies), children with SEND, what strategies have worked well to motivate the class and guide their learning and other sensitive information, such as which children might find it tricky leaving mum or dad in the playground. There is also lots of curriculum coverage and attainment information. We need to decide what would benefit the next teacher/s to know, to smooth the path of transition for the children.

In primary maths, information about coverage and learning could be key in ensuring that time is not wasted. There may still be some coverage gaps, after the disruption to learning in the last couple of years. It is important that the next teacher understands this to adjust the next years’ coverage accordingly; whether this is fitting in missed topics or giving time to secure learning that was covered but not fully secured. We know that if we start at the wrong pitch in learning, with a prior step missing, we often have to back-track later, which isn’t ideal.

When we begin teaching an area or topic, it would be normal to recap previous learning. But knowing whether we need to just remind and support children, or whether we need to properly teach or re-teach something is helpful to know.

What would it be helpful for teachers to share?

I’ll give you two fictional school scenarios:

In Year 4, the children began work on counting through zero. They began to explore negative numbers. Some children did not fully secure the learning and so would count from 4 to -4 but miss out the zero.

In this first scenario, the learning is relatively small in the scheme of learning within Year 4 and could probably be fixed with a short focus on counting through zero before the Year 5 learning is layered on top. If you were teaching this class in Year 5, it would be helpful to know this but might not take much time to address it.

Here are the related National Curriculum programme of study statements:

• Year 4 - count backwards through zero to include negative numbers
• Year 5 - interpret negative numbers in context, count forwards and backwards with positive and negative whole numbers, including through zero

In the same Year 4 class, the children also took quite some time to learn their multiplication tables. As a result, they were not quite secure on using written multiplication by the end of the year. They could double numbers by partitioning / regrouping but not many children had secured a written strategy for multiplying any 2- or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number. They are now more secure with recalling multiplication facts, however.

In this second scenario, the learning of a written multiplication method takes time and rehearsal. Written multiplication is not often a ‘quick’ thing to teach. It is positive that the children’s multiplication fact recall is more secure, as this will help, but time still needs to be given within Year 5 to secure this learning before moving onto the Year 5 teaching.

Here are the related National Curriculum programme of study statements:

• Year 4 – multiply two-digit and three-digit numbers by a one-digit number using formal written layout
• Year 5 - multiply numbers up to 4 digits by a one- or two-digit number using a formal written method, including long multiplication for two-digit numbers

From the two scenarios above, the negative numbers issue is probably a smaller and easier gap to address. A short amount of time spent on recall and rehearsal of counting forwards and backwards through zero should be sufficient for the pupils to be ready for the Year 5 learning.

The written multiplication gap may take more work to close. Children will need to secure the method for multiplying a 2- or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number before attempting 4-digit numbers or multiplying by a 2-digit number. The overall maths plan may need to be adjusted to allow for additional time to secure this learning. Simply starting at the Year 5 pitch is unlikely to be helpful to many children and could even create bigger gaps in understanding.

The key is the Year 5 teacher having all this information so that they can plan accordingly before the point of teaching.

Back to our relay race analogy. Let’s explore ways that school leaders and maths subject leaders can enable effective handover to happen – passing the baton smoothly. Here are some ideas.

What might a maths leader do to support transition and handover?

1. ask current teachers to RAG rate their curriculum map or long-term plan to show the level of security and confidence with the learning for most children
2. ask teachers to specifically identify anything that was either not covered or didn’t go as well and so will need time given to it before new learning is layered on top
3. ask teachers to share specific pupil information including about attainment and progress, in whatever form your school uses
4. remind the next class teacher to adjust their medium and/or long-term plan for maths, considering the handover information they receive

The idea of using red, amber, and green to indicate coverage and security of learning is not new. Many schools do this towards the end of the academic year and use it to support handover and transition.

Here you can see a part of the Year 3 curriculum has been RAG rated. Place value has been identified as secure (green) for most pupils. Two areas have been highlighted red and need a further conversation, to allow the next teacher to understand why and what they might do to address the gaps. It also looks like both mental and written subtraction are not secure for some children.

The above is one big piece of the jigsaw at this time of year. We need to ensure that we handover the information we have to ensure that the learning continues smoothly.

But, as well as the handover conversations between teachers, and what the next teacher does with this information, there are other ways to smooth the transition for children and their maths learning. Here are three further ideas, focusing on reducing ‘lost learning’ over the summer and allowing children to pick up again smoothly from where they left off in the previous year group:

• Keep fluency sessions going until the end of term and then pick them up quickly again in September
• Offer ideas to parents and families for everyday maths, which include fun things they might like to try at home, including over the summer break
• Plan in reactivation of key learning in September

We’ve explored each of these further below:

Keep fluency sessions going until the end of term and then pick them up quickly again in September

We know the end of the summer term can become very busy with sports day, trips, plays and celebrations. Time for the maths curriculum can get squeezed. This is a challenge but if regular maths input is reduced, the period the children are not ‘doing’ maths is extended and we know the summer holidays are long. Therefore, even if a daily maths lesson becomes impossible, continuing to do a 10 – 15-minute maths fluency session regularly will help to keep the learning ticking over.

Fluency sessions need to be short and sharp, picking four or five concepts to do daily. Doing each concept for a couple of minutes and repeating these, making very small changes, will help to embed and secure learning.

What concepts might you choose?

Choose high value learning that ensures that they are ready for their next stage in education. Most curriculum plans start with number and place value in September, so include counting, place value and number magnitude. Having base facts at your fingertips is essential so practise those. Reasoning about what strategies to use to solve a calculation is also important. Despite what most people think, maths is not all about the correct answer. It is also about how the correct answer is achieved. In schools currently, I am seeing lots of examples of highly inefficient strategies being used, particularly in KS1 SATs papers, but the correct is answer eventually found. 

What might a fluency session look like?

Let’s consider a Y4 class.

Concept 1: Counting

You could reach for a trusty counting stick or have a slide ready and rehearse counting in different intervals – bigger intervals, skip counting, decimal steps. Think about what the class need to practise to further strengthen their understanding of the number system or multiplication tables. Ensure you don’t always start at the start with zero; vary the starting point and count both forward and backwards.

Some examples:

Concept 2: Place value

As with the counting, the number range could vary so it includes the fluency range for Year 4 – four-digit numbers and decimals to two decimal places.

The focus is on constructing and deconstructing numbers so there is a good understanding about how numbers can be manipulated.

Emphasise the flexible regrouping of numbers as demonstrated here; 318 is 3 hundreds, 1 ten and eight ones but it can also be 2 hundreds, 11 tens and 8 ones.

This understanding is essential to fully understanding formal written strategies. For more about the links between place value understanding and understanding written methods, read Can’t calculate? Could place value be the culprit?

Concept 3: Magnitude of number

Children can find estimating along empty number lines or scales tricky. The first thing to secure is the usefulness of benchmarks. When introducing a new number range, always identify the midpoint (middle) first, and then the quartiles. Once these are known, ask the children to identify a mystery number. They will need the benchmarks to be able reason about their chosen numbers.

In addition, when discussing mystery numbers, as well as asking for sensible suggestions, also ask for silly suggestions – getting the children to give non-examples with reasoning is equally as beneficial – and everyone loves a silly answer.

Concept 4: Base facts

When rehearsing base facts, don’t be scared to go back to the basics. Revisiting bonds to and within ten is a good starting point and they can be quickly built back up to the age-appropriate fluency range.

3 + 7 = 10, so 0.3 + 0.7 = 1.0, and 3,000 + 7,000 = 10,000.

It is important that children see the link between the base facts and how these are used in the broader number range.

A quick and resource-free way to rehearse addition facts is to play ‘tennis’. You pick a target number, for example 14. You serve an imaginary ‘ball’ to your class saying a number, for example 9. They then return the imaginary ‘ball’ back to you saying the number that added to your number makes to target number so in this case the class would say 5. You then return the ‘ball’ saying another number, for example 3 and the class would return the ball saying 11 and so on.

The next time, you could play ‘tennis’ again with a linked target number such as 140, 1400 or 1.4. Make explicit links back to the base facts rehearsed earlier to ensure connections are made.

If you want to rehearse and explore multiplication facts, using this or a similar practice scaffold can support pupils making links. The idea with these is that you complete one part of the scaffold, and the children complete the rest.

I might give the multiplication fact in the middle as 7 x 6 = __ and ask pupils to complete the other sections. This version includes key vocabulary and a ‘tell me something else…’ box. This is useful because you can encourage children to be creative and show off their knowledge.

Here is a similar scaffold:

Concept 5: Strategy choice

When faced with a calculation, it is important not only to calculate it correctly but also consider the most appropriate strategy, giving time to discuss the most efficient way to solve a calculation.

Let’s take an example from the 2022 KS2 SATs, maths arithmetic paper (Q 6):  

6.48 + 8.6 = ___

It is within the Year 4 fluency range so could be part of the Year 4 fluency session.

This simple structure encourages children to think about multiple ways to solve the same calculation and consider the most accurate and efficient strategy for them. The idea is that you put the calculation in the centre and think of up to four different ways to solve it.

What four strategies would you choose? Which one do you think is the most efficient and accurate for you?

Read more about fluency sessions.

What ideas could be shared with parents and families for everyday maths, including fun things they might like to try at home over the summer break?

As we have already mentioned, the summer holiday is long and during this time, children will not have maths lessons, and we wouldn’t want them to! However, we might want them to continue to have opportunities to think mathematically.

Planning a day trip, or holiday outing

There are many decisions to make when planning an outing. As a parent myself, I wouldn’t want my children planning every trip, but even if the adult decides the destination, there are still lots of other aspects to discuss, agree and plan:

• time – What time do we want to arrive? What time will we need to leave home to arrive at x time? How long will we be there?
• money – Cost of tickets, amount for lunch, snacks or treats, or saving pocket money for the the gift shop?
• measures – How far away is it? What is the best route?
• spatial thinking – following a map

Playing a board game

Most board games support mathematical learning. Track games are particularly great at supporting counting, but many also support problem solving. Even in simple games such as Ludo or dominoes, there is an element of strategy – deciding when to start the next counter, considering the position of other people’s counters, considering the matching dominoes in your hand that link together, for example.

In games such as Monopoly, Cluedo and Ticket to Ride, many problems need solving and working strategically or systematically are important skills that can be developed, as well as guessing and checking, or visualising. All play can have mathematical connotations.

Finding ‘Maths Everywhere’

Doing tasks such as setting the table or putting toys away in the correct place have mathematical value. Our Herts for Learning ‘Maths Everywhere’ resources are perfect for giving ideas. They range from Reception to Year 6 in focus, but all could be adapted to make them appropriate to different ages of children within the same family or group.

The ‘Maths Everywhere’ cards make simple suggestions. Above are just 3 of the set. The first is about collecting, sorting, and counting objects. For younger children this is particularly helpful as they involve skills such as matching, subitising and classifying.

Plan in reactivation of key learning in September

Fluency sessions were a key aspect in their success. Starting with fluency slides that the teacher used in the summer term is one way to begin fluency in September. They will be familiar, and we already know that they cover the key concepts needed for the autumn term. Children will instantly feel successful, and success often breads more success!

Returning to our relay race analogy one last time...

The whole focus of this blog has been about smoothing the journey of learning for children, through effective handover and transition, and identifying ways to reduce the ‘lost learning’.

To recap and summarise the main strategies and ideas suggested within this blog:

To support transition and handover:

1. Ask current teachers to RAG rate their curriculum map or long-term plan to show the level of security and confidence with the learning for most children.
2. Ask teachers to specifically identify anything that was either not covered or didn’t go as well and so will need time given to it before new learning is layered on top.
3. Ask teachers to share specific pupil information including about attainment and progress, in whatever form your school uses.
4. Remind the next class teacher to adjust their medium and/or long-term plan for maths, considering the handover information they receive.

And three further ideas, focusing on reducing ‘lost learning’ over the summer and allowing children to pick up again smoothly from where they left off in the previous year group:

• keep fluency sessions going until the end of term and then pick them up quickly again in September.
• offer ideas to parents and families for everyday maths, which include fun things they might like to try at home, including over the summer break.
• plan in reactivation of key learning in September. 

References

Department for Education (2013) The national curriculum in England: key stages 1 and 2 framework document. 

Available at: Gov.UK: National curriculum in England: primary curriculum (Accessed: 30 June 2022).

September Primary Symposium INSET: Stronger in Knowledge Together, Friday 4th September 2023, Stevenage

This cost effective, full-day, face-to-face, cross-curricular INSET day for primary teaching staff will provide you with the opportunity to select key areas for your staff to develop to meet the needs and requirements as a school. 

Our workshops programme includes the option for your staff to attend sessions on reading, phonics, spelling, oracy, mathematics, Early Years, assessment, foundation subjects, curriculum planning, sequencing and accelerating the progress of disadvantaged learners.

Find out more: September Primary Symposium INSET: Stronger in Knowledge Together

When considering end of Key Stage 1 teacher assessment judgements, evidence from the statutory KS1 maths tests will form part of the evidence base for each child.

Let’s delve into this statement from the Teacher Assessment Framework:

The pupil can add and subtract any 2 two-digit numbers using an efficient strategy, explaining their method verbally, in pictures or using apparatus.

Let’s consider this alongside question 17 from the 2023 KS1 arithmetic paper:

First, let’s see how long it takes to solve this using a one-to-one correspondence counting method…

I’ve sped up the video because it took 2 minutes 9 seconds to reach a solution.

This is plenty of time for a child using this method to become distracted in a busy classroom, resulting in an error being made. Plus, I’ve lined my dots up nicely – this is hard to do with so many to draw!

Possible points of error for children using this method:

1. drawing the incorrect number of dots

2. crossing out the incorrect number of dots

3. counting the incorrect number of dots remaining

If a child used this method and DID get the answer correct, would we be able to include this as evidence of this TAF statement being secure? I would suggest not as it lacks efficiency.

When analysing 2022 SATs papers with teachers this time last year, we came across plenty of examples of this very method being used for questions such as this:

If this is a child’s ‘go to’ method, it becomes even more problematic when having to employ it in a wider context, where there are more things to consider.

For example, here, for question 23 in the 2023 KS1 reasoning paper:

We could have a situation here where a child is having to:

• decide which coin set to start with (let’s say they choose to start with Ben’s)
• consider the value of each coin and draw the relevant number of dots (50 dots and 2 dots and 2 dots and 10 dots and another 1 dot)
• interpret that they need to find the difference, not add the two amounts (the word more has the potential to throw them here)
• cross out the number of dots representing Sita’s money (50 dots and 5 dots and another 20 dots)
• count each remaining dots to find the difference.

That is a HUGE amount of cognitive load and there are so many potential points of error.

What can we do to ensure children really can ‘add and subtract any 2 two-digit numbers using an efficient strategy, explaining their method verbally, in pictures or using apparatus’.

For questions like those considered so far, where there is no regrouping required to subtract, let’s explore some more efficient methods where a solid understanding of place value can be applied.

Another relevant TAF statement here is: ‘The pupil can partition any two-digit number into different combinations of tens and ones…’

Children need to understand ‘numbers within numbers’ – the parts and the whole.

Let’s revisit the first question above and explore some more efficient methods.

How can we get children to really see this?

Children can’t use the equipment in the test but this will support with visualisation of what is actually happening here when we take away part of the 94.

Connections between the abstract calculation, equipment and familiar part whole representations develop and secure understanding.

Language is important. Talking it through during modelling and independent practice ensures connection between the number names and the place value of each part.

We have ninety-four.

That’s 9 tens and 4 ones.

We take away 4 tens.

Now we have 5 tens and 4 ones.

That’s fifty-four.

Colours could be used to highlight the parts, alongside a speaking frame (as above):

This method could be represented pictorially:

Language remains important here too when considering the tens and ones.

These take much less time than drawing all the dots and they become even quicker once understood and the move can be made to purely mental calculation. Plus, there’s much less chance of error if number fact knowledge is secure.

Looking ahead to Key Stage 2

This is ok while understanding is developing but application to larger numbers would be cumbersome and it returns to being error-prone. Pictorially recording in this way should be a stepping stone to generalised understanding of how this method can be applied to larger numbers, taking into account place value:

Secure understanding of part whole relationships, tens and ones, and how to partition numbers flexibly will enable pupils to tackle problems across the curriculum in KS2 when they begin to work with a larger range of place values.

We certainly wouldn’t want to be relying on drawing dots to solve this one:

The HFL Education End of Key Stage 1 Mathematics Assessment Toolkit has been updated to include question level analysis materials and question-by-question TAF links for the 2023 KS1 SATs papers.

Contact the HFL Primary Maths Team at primarymaths@hfleducation.org to discuss in-school support for making accurate teacher assessment judgements at the end of KS1.

Looking to develop pupils’ accuracy and efficiency in calculation as pupils move from KS1 to KS2 in your school?

Find out more about our Making Flexible and Fluent Calculators project

To keep up to date: Join our Primary Subject Leaders’ mailing list

To subscribe to our blogs: Get our blogs straight to your inbox

References:

• 2018/19 teacher assessment frameworks at the end of key stage 1 for use from the 2018/19 academic year onwards
• 2022 Key Stage 2 mathematics paper 1: arithmetic
• 2023 Key Stage 1 mathematics paper 1: arithmetic
• 2023 Key Stage 1 mathematics paper 1: reasoning

Contains material developed by the Standards and Testing Agency for 2022 and 2023 national curriculum assessments and licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0.

At the beginning of the Summer Term, Oak View welcomed Monika Koziara from HCC for a waste education visit. We began the morning with an assembly for Years 3 and 4. The children were engaged from the outset and were able to answer many of Monika’s questions using their own experiences and understanding. Monika’s questions were incredibly insightful and pulled out not only what the children already knew but also some misconceptions they had regarding waste management.

For example, one of the children mentioned incinerators after looking at a picture prompt in the presentation and stated that they believed that’s where the rubbish went to be burnt and that burning caused pollution to be released into the air. Monika’s follow up to this surprised many of the children (and even some of the adults)! She explained that although the burning of our waste releases various ‘naughties’, as technology improves, incinerators are more and more capable of dealing with the release of these chemicals by trapping them and stopping them before they go into the air. In fact, what we see being released into the air isn’t smoke but steam which can be used to generate electricity.

Another shock to the children was that the UK wouldn’t be creating any more landfills because we are running out of space and it isn’t sustainable. Even more shocking was that meant all our rubbish would have to be taken out of Hertfordshire (because we don’t have any incinerators in Hertfordshire yet).

We then discussed climate change and the release of methane adding to this. The children were very knowledgeable and understood some of the larger impacts climate change is having on our world. This linked in very nicely with the workshop sections – ‘So what can WE do about it?’

The children staying for this section had a chance to reflect on this during a movement break before their practical activity.

We chose Year 4 to take part in the practical activity this year as it links very nicely with their Science unit: ‘Animals and their habitats’. Particularly the curriculum objective: ‘recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.’

Monika linked this incredibly well in terms of the land needed for incinerators and landfills, but also the harm that rubbish can cause to our wildlife.

The children were then able to discuss the different materials that daily items were made of and did a sorting activity to see what we would do if we wanted to rid ourselves of particular items. The children not only enjoyed the ‘hands on’ approach of this activity but thought hard about what they would do with each item. The following were their key takeaways from this session:

• pringles cans can’t be recycled (apart from the lid) because they are made of too many different materials
• when in doubt, throw it out (black bin) otherwise entire lorries of waste may not be able to be recycled
• old worn-out clothing that isn’t fit for donating can be recycled at recycling centres
• paper can only be recycled a set number of times as it begins to lose its integrity – egg cartons are usually the last form paper takes on

Needless to say, the session was incredibly informative, and the children (and adults) gained a lot from it.

We also wanted to include our ‘Teacher Top Tips’ for planning your session:

1. each Hertfordshire school is entitled to one free visit per school year
2. book ahead – the visits get booked up a few months in advance – so look ahead at when this visit would be best and reach out to book.
3. Monika will pitch the presentation at whichever level suits your children – let her know in advance which year groups will be at the assembly and which will take place in the workshop
4. the videos played use YouTube – so worth asking for them in advance to download or ensuring you will be able to use YouTube on the day
5. a hall space is really helpful to allow the children to move freely during the workshop
6. a couple of follow up resources completed in class following the presentation helped the children to think more critically about what they had learned
7. this workshop can link well to the Science topics of ‘Animals and their habitats’, ‘Materials and properties’ and ‘Changes of materials’ across the primary year groups. It links nicely to Forest school activities and the Eco-schools Green Flag accreditation as well. More information on Eco-Schools can be found here.

Bookings for visit can be made through Monika Koziara at Monika.Koziara@hertfordshire.gov.uk and more information regarding recycling for schools in Herfordshire can be found at the Eco Schools website:

Eco Schools: What is Eco Schools

Sarah Taylor (Year 4 Teacher Oak View Primary and Nursery) and Siobhan Stuart (HFL Primary Science Adviser)

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 email Charlotte Jackson charlotte.jackson@hfleducation.org

It is almost 30 years since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In 1992, I was at secondary school in Hertfordshire and remember writing to Boutros Boutros-Ghali in an English lesson urging him to lead the world to a legally binding solution to the escalating environmental crisis. I was a forthright teenager, focused on righting global injustices from racism, to poverty, to environmental degradation. I remember feeling let down when I realised that the failings of Rio were about wealth and who should foot the bill for environmental protections. It felt like a real missed opportunity when world leaders agreed to continue thrashing out agreements in a series of conferences. Fast forward 30 years and much has happened, but disappointingly little has changed on finding global consensus to what has now become a climate emergency. We are now up to the 26th conference following Rio and whilst progress has been made, we are yet to reach global consensus. In my own life, I am now the mum to a teenager the same age as I was when the Rio Earth Summit happened. I am lucky in that he attends a Hertfordshire school who are very pro-environmental action, and he is engaged in COP26, but I can’t help feeling he will feel let down by global leaders on this agenda, just as I was back in 1992.

I want to be optimistic about COP26; but the cynic in me is telling me not to put my faith in world leaders and feel disappointment for a 26th time. Rather, I should concentrate on positively influence change through my role at HfL. I work for HfL because I love our moral purpose and I have learned in my post as Director of Business Services that it is possible to inspire positive action across a number of agendas. I’ve learned that this is the truly great bit about the job, but I have to look beyond the high level of effort and focus to keep the plates spinning. It is only when I challenge myself to go that extra mile that I find the truly inspirational element of my role - the chance to make change and measure that change. Of course, the world needs decisive action and a positive outcome from COP26, but it also needs every organisational leader to be championing this agenda. It will take every leader to look beyond the high level of effort and focus going into their role and go that extra mile to inspire change that matters and will have a positive impact. The impact that we can have as governors is not just in reducing carbon emissions, but in inspiring young minds. We need to lead the way and create the next generation of environmental stewards and advocates. Let’s not hang all our hopes on COP26 and risk another generation feeling let down by world leaders as they didn’t grasp a key opportunity. Let’s show children and young people that we all have a role to play in this agenda and local action will accelerate our path to carbon neutrality.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Covid remains a huge challenge in schools, settings and trusts, and the operational demands are not reducing. I recognise that so many school leaders are exhausted and close to burn-out and driving the environmental agenda in your school, setting or trust right now probably feels like an agenda too far. However, just as children and young people have one-shot at education, many scientists believe that is the last chance to stem irreversible and damaging climate change. Whilst schools, settings and trusts continue to manage the challenges of Covid, an even greater challenge is growing that requires positive action right here, right now.

I believe that there are three immediate steps that Boards should be seeking to take:

1. Establish how you as a Board will plan, monitor and implement environmental action going forward. What can be achieved within the existing resource envelope and what will require additional investment from HCC and DfE? How can you ensure that the climate crisis remains on the agenda and that progress against targets is being made? Following discussion, set challenging yet achievable time-bound goals. For example, HCC and HfL have both signed-up to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030;
2. Set up a Climate Committee (consisting of students, staff and governors) to explore what your school can do to make a difference and report into the Governing Board;
3. Adopt an environmental action statement and publish it your website, we have provided a model template in the Governance pages of Climate Change and Sustainability on The Grid - just scroll down to the model template. Ensure you include specific environmental actions within your school development plan priorities.

#schoolgovernor

#schoolgovernance

#cop26

Continued Professional Development – What is it?

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS) states that early years practitioners must “undertake professional development opportunities to ensure they offer quality learning and development experiences for children that continually improves.” 

This is often referred to as continuous professional development (CPD) and it is the responsibility of each individual childminder to ensure they keep informed with current theory and practice to provide the best learning environment for the children. CPD can include access to training leading to formal qualifications or short course training. 

The Ofsted Early Years inspection handbook states that inspectors look for evidence of “teaching and learning through effective systems for supervision, rigorous performance management and appropriate professional development”.

How can I achieve this?

This could focus on improving your knowledge and skills in some key areas, identified through your own self-evaluation or Ofsted recommendations. As well as attending training you can include other activities that increase knowledge, for example reading professional journals, attending professional networks, visiting other early year’s providers or taking part in local projects.

For CPD to be effective it should be well planned and take into account your personal development needs that will support the actions in your plans to improve practice to further benefit children in your care.

When should I do this?

It is recommended that you review your training needs annually, identify key statutory training and note dates of when this needs renewing, review any gaps in knowledge of the early years foundation stage and any new areas where you may wish to increase your knowledge. This may be a particular area of learning or to meet the needs of the children.

Children join our settings with a unique set of skills and abilities. Some children are fortunate enough to have a home language other than English. Natasha DaSilva from HfL’s Early Years Team takes us through her experience of working with one particular child who was at early stages of learning English and highlights strategies that can be helpful when working with children for whom English is not their first language:

Ahead of lock down I had a mixed Early Years class of 25 children. Among these, 14 children were learning English as an additional language (EAL). There was a range of home languages spoken, and while I had a large group of Bangla speaking children, all of them were at varying levels of English proficiency on entry to school. At our handover meeting ahead of home visits our attention was drawn to one of the children with EAL who stood out as needing additional support.

Child N, a summer born girl, learning English as an additional language, had been to Nursery and was from a family already known to school but had not yet begun using English language at school. Interactions between school and home were limited.

Cultural values and expectations

When we arrived at her home visit she was engaged in a play date with an English-speaking neighbour of the same age. Both children played together smiling, nodding and drawing alongside each other but with little oral communication. On entry to the home mum apologised for her “not speaking good English” and I instantly felt her insecurities around the situation. I sat down with the girls drawing alongside them and commenting on their play, while my TA spoke to child N’s mum, who responded with an offer of tea and food. I kindly refused but the disheartened look on mum’s face quickly encouraged me to change my mind. On return from the kitchen she brought a range of cooked delights and some juice and placed them on a small table in the middle of a rug. The girls both took a biscuit and sat on the floor around the table, following their lead I also sat down on the rug to join them. N’s mum smiled, sat on the floor next to us and offered us a drink. It was clear that our willingness to join her routine had meant so much to her; she wanted to make us feel welcome and by accepting we, in turn, helped her to feel more comfortable. 

Giving time for silence

When joining the class in September I rarely heard N speak, neither to me nor to her peers. She would frequently make her way to either the snack or play dough table, initially sitting alongside two other girls who spoke the same home language as her. Observations made on N in the first few weeks of settling showed little evidence of spoken language, but there were many examples of her use of non-verbal communication to share her cognitive understanding; making eye contact with peers, smiling and offering objects for others use. She would pour out cereal for others and take turns with playdoh tools independently and this led me to assume she was happy in the setting and that she understood some of the rules of play.

As we moved through the autumn term my colleague and I had many conversations about N, discussing how we could better support her language development and how we could encourage her to engage more readily with other groups of children. She would often join us at an activity with a smile if we asked her to, but rarely chose to join in voluntarily and shied away from language opportunities within a group. We asked the two girls with the same home language to talk to her using their first language to encourage her to participate in group play. Her response to their Bangla invite was to laugh and shake her head, the girls explained, “She doesn’t talk to us, and she is just laughing.”

Following the NALDIC stages of Early Bilingual learning we were able to identify that she was at the non-verbal stage of additional language learning. As a team we decided to continue to play alongside her using language to commentate our actions, name and describe objects but not put pressure on her to join in with play.

Create opportunities to find out more about the cultural routines and home life experiences of your cohort. Valuing and building trust with the family can help children to settle more quickly. Try to accept offers of hospitality during home visits if you can. This can go a long way towards building the relationship of trust.

Not long in to the second half of the autumn term during singing registration in the afternoon, my TA sang N’s name, as always, and she responded by singing her name back!  We were both shocked and excited but not sure whether to praise her for her contribution or to treat it matter-of-factly. As I looked over to her she made eye contact with me and I gave her a proud smile. She returned the smile but quickly bowed her head shyly. Nevertheless, she had a bounce in her step all afternoon.

Make sure that all practitioners working with children with EAL in the early years understand the different stages in which children with an additional language learn to speak. This ensures that children are given time to progress in language as and when they are ready. Giving children these opportunities helps practitioners to make accurate assessment and planning to cater for each individuals language needs.  

“The silent period is not something that we as teachers should feel threatened by. It is a natural part of second language acquisition and EAL learners will vary in the amount of time that they are silent.”

(EAL in the Daylight 2019)

Using communication with parents and building opportunities through play

As the term progressed N began to join in more readily with group role play opportunities, echoing words she heard from other children, answering yes or shaking her head in response to questions or comments but was still reluctant to engage in conversation orally. In her parent review meeting mum explained that at home she has begun using English words to communicate with her dad, who speaks in English at work, and has started talking to shop keepers when they are shopping. Following this, we created a supermarket in our role play area to see if this would encourage her to transfer her home experiences to her play. The next Monday morning, when entering school N instantly noticed the supermarket role play. She excitedly put her coat away and went straight to scanning food and placing it into a basket. I approached the shop and sat on the floor and she welcomed me in to her play “you mummy” she laughed and placed a doll in my lap. The role play continued, almost all morning. As other children joined I deliberately left the play to observe. Sometime later she came to get me, pointing to the dolly and giving me a carton of milk. Through taking account of the knowledge gained from this short interaction, with her parents we were able to offer opportunities that matched her cognitive functioning in a way that allowed her to practise language rehearsal in her own time.

Ensure that parents of EAL learners have a voice and recognise their value in building their child’s learning story.

The importance of language play

In the Spring term N began engaging in small world activities and sensory challenges with a wider range of children, She remained reluctant to verbally join in with conversation but would laugh alongside her peers and observations demonstrated that her concentration had improved, looking more frequently and for longer periods into others faces of her peers as they spoke, which we assumed was helping her to establish contextual meaning. We also noticed that she began to gravitate closer to the front of the carpet at story time and would excitedly join in with story repetition more often. 

Look for cues that children are beginning to attune to English, joining in with games, following instructions and the use of non-verbal communication.

At N’s spring review meeting both school and parents noted such a change in N’s enthusiasm for school. She was talking at home about the friends she had made and her confidence in school was growing. Targets were agreed with her parents for her to continue taking risks in new learning situations and to begin sharing her own ideas with others. 

A key action for supporting settling your EAL children is give them time to play in rich environments that challenge their cognitive ability but give time for them to absorb and explore language.

N did not return to school following the Covid-19 closures and will not re-join until year 1. While positive foundations were put into place to build secure relationships with home, I suspect that further nurture and encouragement will be needed to rebuild her confidence in taking language risks in a new environment and with new staff in September.

Further reading

naldic.org.uk

The silent period

So here I am dragging up my memories from my time in daycare in the 1970s and 80s! Back then some children who were early drop-offs had breakfast which was normally porridge or toast and marmite. Children would have a lunch at 11.30am and then tea at 4pm. We didn’t have any snack times in between or, I am a bit horrified to say, any access to water or drinks. If it was very hot outside we would bring out some drinks for the children, but I don’t remember having anything in the rooms.

In one of my nurseries, as my room was upstairs in a house, we had a lift from the kitchen and the cook would put our lunch in it down in the kitchen, but sometimes forget to press the button to send it up to us. We couldn’t ‘call’ it so would have to rattle the doors our end and shout down to Vera the cook and hope she heard us! As a staff team of two with a family group of 8 children from around a year old to 5 years, we would sit with the children and eat a lunch ourselves. The dishes would be on the table and we would serve each child. We would help the little ones and the olders would use knives and forks and be independent. We always had cloth tablecloths which were washed after every meal as we had a lovely laundry lady called Eve.

When we were putting children down for a sleep in the sleeping bags on the floor after lunch, Eve would pop her head round the door and ask if we wanted a cuppa. She would then bring it round for us while we sat on the floor stroking children’s eyebrows till they went to sleep. At tea time again we sat with the children and ate some tea.  This was usually bread or crackers and sandwich fillings; marmite, sandwich spread, lemon curd, jam, and again when they were able to, the children would spread their own butter and choice of filling. It was always a very social time with lots of chat from us and the children.

So what has changed in the years following? Snack time has come in and we offer our children a snack mid-morning or in the afternoon. Another memory of mine from working in a nursery school in the mid-1990s was having sandwiches and milk cartoon on a rolling snack format. Children would come along when they were ready and help themselves. One child would be chosen towards the end of the allotted time to go round the nursery and the garden with a coloured disk calling out for any child who hadn’t has snack that it was closing soon. That eventually metamorphasised into a sit-down snack in our small groups and it was usually biscuits and milk cartoon or water to drink.  Oh, the joy of a Maryland chocolate cookie or a pink wafer mid-morning!

In the 2000s that changed again with the emphasis on healthy eating to fruit or cheese and crackers. Children used to peel their own satsumas or a half banana, and enjoyed the fun of the adult using an apple corer and leaving the core with the stalk sticking up in the corner and we all used to sing happy Thursday (or whatever day it was!) to us and pretend to blow out the stalk candle! I remember trying to encourage a reluctant fruit eater by saying it was an ice cream apple or satsuma piece and getting the child to just lick it as a first step. This eventually worked and the child began to actually eat pieces of fruit. Mum was so pleased!

These snack times were very social and I used to talk to the children about all sorts of things, my cat, what I needed to buy in Tesco’s, what I was doing later. It’s so important to see snack and meals as a time for conversation, really low key chit-chat as that is how children learn firstly language, but then how to wait, to take turns in the conversation, feel valued for something they have said, and to learn to have a conversation with another child.

Another element of our snack times were Makaton signs. We used them all the time for all the children so that if a child came into our group that had limited language skills for any reason, there was a way to communicate and no child felt singled out as we were all doing signs. This supported all our children with SEND and especially a child with very little English who had just come over to this country and was very difficult to settle. I remember the first time she signed for biscuit, I wanted to shout from the rooftops but played it very cool and calm so as not to overwhelm her and offered her the biscuit box. The smile and relief on her face that someone had understood her was amazing.

So since I have been an EYC and visiting lots of different preschools, nurseries and schools over the last 13 years I have seen snack time change again from a formal sit down together snack sometimes as whole groups which can look a bit like an Oliver Twist scenario with long lines of tables and children, small group adult led snack, or rolling snack stations with children helping themselves.

There are advantages and disadvantages with either a sit down or a rolling snack. One promotes independence and doesn’t interrupt children’s play, the other promotes a social occasion with an adult supporting and lots of language. There really isn’t any right or wrong, Ofsted don’t mind which scenario you use as long as it is meeting the needs of your children. Of course this will change with each new cohort coming through. What worked last term/year, may not work now and you will have to change.

Thinking about meal times (lunch or cooked nursery tea) these are usually always sitting down with a member of staff. You may have meals brought to you already served on plates or have a trolley where you serve from a dish. Again it’s important for children to learn how to be independent, serve themselves and use a knife and fork when they are ready.

One thing we all learned for the Cultural Capital All About Me workshop recently is that we must know the child’s ‘frame of reference’ when they arrive with us. What are mealtimes like for them at home? Are they grazers who wander about with food, do the family all sit with plates or trays on the knees and watch TV while eating, or are they a ‘sit at the table’ family? No one is judging here, we just need to know so we know what the child experiences are and we can expand on that frame of reference so they understand how other people eat their meals and what is expected at preschool or nursery or in the wider world. It might be that you are teaching children how to eat when in a shared space. This may take a while but clear rules and boundaries must be communicated and expectations followed through.

Of course we need to talk about allergies, medical, cultural, and dietary needs here too. How do you ensure that these are followed and that every person including cover/bank staff are fully aware of each child’s needs? I have seen different colour place mats to indicate which children need particular foods which seems to work well. You may have your own methods, just make sure everyone knows what they are.

Lastly, or should really have been firstly, we think about nutrition. I have listed below some websites with menus and guidance on the balance of vitamins minerals protein etc that children need and an article which give interesting historical insights into how children have been fed over the years, and how successive governments and acts of parliament have changed what has been offered to children in schools and settings.

As part of my NNEB training back in the 1970s we learned how to cook for children and also what the correct balance of nutrients are. It seems that this isn’t covered these days in early years courses, it certainly wasn’t when I taught level 1 and level 3 courses in the mid-noughties. If we understand the correct balance between proteins, fats, carbohydrates etc., it makes it easier to plan and provide a balanced diet. It is my personal opinion that we feed our children far too much on occasion.  Plus many of us are not much good at portion sizes which is maybe why we have an obesity problem in the UK. Have a look at the Eat Better Start Better resources below to find out more about portion control for young children.

So let’s enjoy our snack and meal times with young children and see them for the important social occasions they are with a myriad of opportunity to ‘teach’ many different things while we enjoy something tasty.

Gillard D (2003) Food for Thought: child nutrition, the school dinner and the food industry

Government guidance on menus for EY

Eat Better Start Better

Jamie Oliver:

www.jamieoliver.com/galleries/gallery/#!0

www.jamieoliver.com/get-kids-cooking