Improve your Year 7 students' understanding of mental calculation in maths by focusing on establishing strong base facts and using them to solve more complex calculations.
Our popular Fluent and Flexible Calculators is an in-class intervention which addresses the foundational skills in maths which can hold back their progress throughout the whole of secondary unless robustly addressed early on. The programme supports students in developing their knowledge and application of additive skills, which are the gateway to pupils' success in multiplication and beyond. It aims to improve students’ understanding of mental calculation by focusing on establishing strong base fact knowledge and combining it with rich, flexible strategies to help pupils solve calculations efficiently and accurately.
How does Fluent & Flexible Foundations help students and teachers?
• Addresses basic gaps in number manipulation which typically restricts mathematical fluency, increasing confidence and number proficiency for learners.
• Explicitly teaches a range of mental calculation strategies and provides a shared language and approach.
• Helps pupils solve simple calculations quickly and enables them to tackle more complex problems without relying too much on written methods.
• Can be delivered either within your existing maths curriculum in lessons, or as a discrete intervention with resources and training provided so that even non-specialists or untrained teachers can successfully deliver the programme.
How does Fluent & Flexible Foundations work?
A bespoke programme for your cohort of pupils is created to be delivered over a 6-to 8 week period.
The programme is structured as follows:
• Starts with a short, easy-to-administer, diagnostic assessment to identify at learner-level their fluency issues and strategy gaps.
• Live online CPD training for staff to understand the principles and the practice with access to additional online learning resources to support the live training.
• Sessions delivered as part of lessons or as discrete sessions. Staff are provided with comprehensive teaching guides and teaching PowerPoints alongside scaffolded independent practice resources
• End of intervention assessment to chart progress.
What is the impact of Fluent & Flexible foundations?
Following successful pilots with schools, the Fluent & Flexible programme is currently undertaking a large-scale national trial with the EEF, the results of which will be published in 2027. Our previous internal data suggested gains of up to 10 months’ progress for KS3 students involved in the programme.
By explicitly teaching a range of strategies students develop greater speed, confidence and fluency in the fundamentals of calculations which then allows them to meet the higher challenge of secondary maths without cognitive load being occupied on the relatively simple number skills.
From the assessments I noticed that students were over reliant on the column method and number bonds in some cases were extremely limited, but when completing the exit assessments, I noticed more make 10, doubles and the use of base facts. Going forward we will include the teaching of these strategies for our lower groups as a definite and make a point of including ‘I can do this another way’ for higher groups as the norm.
Ormiston Venture Academy, Great Yarmouth
How do I sign up to the programme?
Our next cohort for the Fluent & Flexible Foundations programme is running in September 2026.
The cost of the programme is £450 which allows for a maximum of two delegates.
