At All Saints we test the students for their numeracy three times a year, once at the start of the year, once at the start of the spring term and then a final time. This is to allow us to track the progress that is made by your child throughout their time here at All Saints. The students will take these tests electronically so as to give us instant feedback on how they have performed. The average test should take the students around 15 to 20 minutes and is comprised of 24 questions. The questions scale with the student’s attainment, so if a student is getting more questions correct, they get harder, whereas if a student is struggling more and more they get easier until the program finds an appropriate level for the student. Once complete, we receive lots of different bits of information, which dictate our next steps with your child. How this works is outlined below.
Numeracy at All Saints OLD
After each numeracy test we will be sending home a report for you to be able to see how your student has performed on their numeracy test. An example is below.
The image above shows how the various bits of information are presented to yourselves. The scale shows whether they are performing below, at or above average as dictated by the bullet point on the scale. It all shows their PR (percentile rank and range) which compares their score to that of scores of students nationally. It also provides you with the raw score your child received, the Scaled Score. At glance value, this letter will tell you how they are performing, how they compare nationally and what their raw score is.
We use this data to look at which level of support your child needs. At school we have 4 categories that we use – Urgent Intervention, Intervention, On Watch, At/Above Benchmark. Each one receives a separate approach to best support your child’s development. If your child is placed on urgent intervention or standard intervention you will be notified of the level of support your child is receiving. Those on urgent intervention will receive bespoke lessons, with small class sizes, which are tailored to their needs as well as support their curriculum development. Those on intervention receive extra support sessions before school as well as opportunities in and out of lesson for boosting key numeracy skills.
Your support with this process is greatly appreciated. In the first instance, ensuring that your child is at school every day makes it much easier for us to execute the testing phase. Making a note of when testing occurs so that you can ask your child about it and engage with us that way is also very supportive. Finally, all students will be set homework on Sparx maths (Visit Sparx Maths) and ensuring that they complete this weekly will go a long way in strengthening their numeracy skills particularly if they are on one of our intervention schemes, which utilizes Sparx. If you have any further questions or need more guidance please do not hesitate to get in touch with the mathematics department at All Saints.
We are committed to raising the standards of numeracy of all students, so that they enhance the ability to use numeracy skills effectively in all areas of the curriculum. We strive to ensure that all pupils are equipped with skills to cope confidently with the demands of further education, employment and adult life.
Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in mathematics but also taught and harnessed in other areas of our curriculum offer. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands the understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables. (Framework for Teaching Mathematics – Years 7 to 9 – DfES)
Our aims are:
- To ensure consistency of practice including methods, vocabulary, notation etc. within the mathematics department and across all other areas of our curriculum offer
- To insist on high quality teaching and learning
- To explore and support with areas for collaboration between subjects
- To develop and maintain the skills of numeracy across the school
- To assist the transfer of mathematical skills to other subjects and apply problem solving techniques
We strive to develop pupil confidence in four key areas:
Mental Arithmetic Techniques
Opportunities for students to develop mental strategies for calculations should be given and pupils should be encouraged to estimate answers to calculations before they start so that they can check whether their answers are correct, including when using a calculator.
Written Calculations
We teach all pupils unique ways designed to help learn formal written calculation to solve specific maths questions within topics across our KS3 and KS4 curriculums.
Vocabulary
We ensure that through high quality teaching and learning that pupils are able to:
- Use sophisticated mathematical language
- Discuss words which have multiple meaning such as volume, product etc
- Use and understand a variety of vocabulary that has the same meaning (multiply, product)
Transfer of Skills
The mathematics department will deliver the National Curriculum knowledge and skills. Where appropriate they will make references to the applications of Mathematics in other subject areas and where possible give contexts to topics. The transfer of skills is something that students find difficult; this is why it is imperative that mathematics is taught consistently across the school.