By the end of the autumn term we were groaning at the thought of planning maths in planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time. We were all in agreement: the maths wasn’t working and the spark had gone. And if we were feeling like this about teaching maths, what message were we giving to our children about learning it?
Like many schools, we had adopted a maths scheme. If I’m honest, this was initially as a bit of a prop when the EYFS framework changed and we were grappling with interpreting the new wording in the maths early learning goal. We felt it would help us to get a better understanding of the shift in focus and newly-worded objectives. We were lured into the scheme with some free training and planning, which sold it to us. But I have since come to really regret that decision.
When you have a scheme, you are delivering what it says for each week, day in, day out. It doesn’t matter whether your children already know it, or, worse, haven’t understood it. The cost is great; it means that you stop thinking as a teacher, you stop reflecting about what your children already know, and show that they have an interest in.
Ultimately, you are no longer tailoring your lesson to your children. We should be continually making adjustments to our teaching, rather than simply following what it says on the planning sheets.
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As an early years teacher, I crave that creativity and connection to what is relevant to the children. When we consider learning in maths, it has to be relevant because that is exactly how young children make sense of it.
Young children’s maths begins with real-life situations: calculating when they engage with toys, snacks, friends, judging length and distance as they build, play and create. These things are meaningful to them. They are not developing the same skills by sitting in front of a PowerPoint barking facts back at the teacher.
We decided that we need to have some flexibility, and losing the straitjacket of the scheme has been so liberating.
I have enjoyed maths so much more over the past few weeks and it is no surprise that the children have too. We are still on a journey with maths - I have yet to tweak and iron out plans for the longer term - but I find the change exciting. We are remembering that we are creative, skilled and reflective teachers who importantly are still learning ourselves.
Life beyond the scheme
So what are the practical changes that we have made? We have essentially started to adjust the short-term planning to ensure that it is more appropriate and engaging to the children.
We have added more practical application activities and created scenarios for the children to problem-solve: sharing sweets, for example, or keeping score of target games.
We are practising the essential skill of subitising so much more, and modelling this through all aspects of maths: using 5 frames, composition and, crucially, calculation. I had massively underestimated the importance of the skill of subitising, so we have increased this in our teaching. We now prioritise subitising over counting so that the children can be more efficient in calculating.
We have also thought about the cognitive load and reduced this by removing things like multi-coloured compare bears, and replacing them with counters and natural stones which are all sorted by one colour.
I feel so positive about the changes that we have made so far. Here are my top tips:
- When planning, look at the objectives but ensure that this is the focus rather than the activity.
- Have the confidence to adjust the pace for your children, especially if they need more time on a concept.
- Reflect on your maths resources: do you need to reduce the cognitive load?
- Ensure that any teaching fits with EYFS principles: if it isn’t meaningful, hands-on and engaging, it is probably no good.
- Keep questioning yourself and encourage your team to reflect so that you can improve.
- Ensure that you and your whole team have really good subject knowledge. Does everyone understand the maths concepts and vocabulary.
Helen Pinnington is the early years foundation lead at St Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School in Bedhampton, Hampshire. She has been working with EYMaths, other providers are available.
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