Self-Study Tasks
Use the mathematics plans that focus on the 4 operations to identify mastery tasks. Can you suggest any additional mastery tasks for those sessions?
Year 3
Addition
Using partitioning, add two-digit numbers.
E.g. 57 + 28 = 50 + 7 + 28 = 85
Subtraction
Using bar graphs, calculate the missing number.
E.g. 80.
42 | ? = 38
Multiplication
Using a your times tables, fill in the blank spaces on a number line
E.g. 6 9 ? 15 18 ? ? = 12, 21, 24
Division
Rearrange multiplication sequences into division sequences
E.g. 3 x 4 = 12 ? / ? = ? = 12 / 3 = 4
Read Five Myths of Mastery in Mathematics. Answer the questions below.
How is a school financed?
State schools receive funding through their local authority or directly from the government. The most common are community schools, owned and funded all by their local authorities; foundation and voluntary schools, funded by the central government via the local education authority; academies and free schools, funded by the central government, meaning that they have control over how they spend it and grammar schools, funded by the government. (GOV.UK, 2021).
The finance a school receives can vary depending on a number of factors, including deprivation, students in care, the number of children in school etc. Each school gets financed under the common funding scheme ran by DfE. They state that sustainable schools should be funded according to the relative need of their pupils, in a way that enables social disadvantage effects to be substantial, whilst also stating that sustainable schools should be funded on a consistent and fair basis, taking full account of the needs of pupils. Schools in a more deprived area can receive extra funding , as well as schools with looked-after children or schools with children often leaving and joining. Also, if there are students with prior attainment problems or have English as an additional language, the school may also receive extra funding to help, i.e., extra teaching assistants or tutors (The School Run, 2021). Finally, the more children that are in the school, the more money the school receives.
At Nicol Mere, there is a catch up premium worth £80 per child, totalling £31,000. The school has to prove how this is spent. There is also a tutor programme, which is a government-funded, sector-led initiative to support schools to address the impact of COVID-19 school closures on pupils' learning. They also have a budget with a vision of monitoring and triangulation which then links to SIP (system investment plan). This outlines the school's educational priorities and budget plans.
How do schools serve local communities?
Schools serve their local communities by councillors working collaboratively with schools to make sure that children attending have the best possible educational outcomes. (Local Government Association, 2015). By having this working relationship between the council and schools, a significant contribution can be made to creating the right environment to improve children's outcomes. Additionally, schools can help their local communities by sharing the use of their facilities. Some schools hire out their sports halls, fields, classrooms etc. to groups in the local community to help out. These groups include local sporting teams and scouts/brownies. The decision to hire out the facilities of the school is the school’s Board of Governors. The school is also very interactive with the local care home, Garswood House. Here, the school choir perform for the home's residents, as well as making Christmas cards and letters for them, and in return the home's residents gift the children with presents.
Ultimately, schools help serve disadvantaged communities by helping raise educational standards and closing the attainment gap between high and low-income backgrounds. Partnerships with the local community help the school to become an informal community centre. These centres can bring resources and recreation for children and adults. Having a good relationship between the school and local community can help encourage job opportunities at the school, with teachers and other staff.
At your school, investigate: how teachers contribute to the wider life of the school, how the school communicates with parents/carers, whether there is a PTA or similar organisation. Use the school website as a starting point and also consider how you could contribute to the wider life of a school.
There are many different after-school clubs that are run by different teachers (Nicol Mere School, 2021). These give pupils the opportunity to experience new things they might not be able to do outside of school, such as art and sporting skills. Teachers also contribute by participating in fundraising for school discos, bingo, reward trips and leaver's day, so that the children don't have to pay a lot towards the activities themselves, as the school is in a deprived area. As well as this, teachers participate in dressing up for engaging learning opportunities to make the days as fun as possible for the pupils. Teachers volunteer to help on day and residential school trips, giving children the opportunities to have fun doing exciting and rare activities. The school uses newsletters and their Facebook page to communicate with parents and carers, as well as Dojo messaging services and emails between parents and teachers.
Mentor-Led Discussion
How your teachers contribute to the wider life of the school
During our group discussion, we talked about the role teachers can have when contributing to their school's wider life. We discussed how at Nicol Mere the teachers are heavily involved in fundraising for the children's leavers party, especially in regards to the school being located in a deprived area, and how this this fundraising eases the stress of children providing money. We also touched upon how involved the teachers are in school trips and curriculum days at the school, where the teachers volunteer to help out and support the school by taking part in the activities themselves.
How the school serves the community, especially in light of Covid
Instead of their usually performance in the care home, the Nicol Mere choir performed at the gates of Garswood House for it's residents, mindful of COVID. As well as this, Nicol Mere has maintained it's contact with local universities, opting for online virtual placement instead of the usual in-person placement, offering a unique insight for teaching students into how and why the school is run the way it is.
How the school communicates with parents/carers and how it creates effective relationships with them
During our group call, we discussed how the school maintains contact with the parents and carers of the children through emails, Facebook and Dojo messaging. In the current situation, parents have not had the opportunity to meet their children's teacher's face-to-face, and so the teachers held phone calls to the parents to give that bit of reassurance.
Questions:
What is your interpretation of mastery?
Mastery refers to children developing a secure, meaningful and long-term understanding of topics and subjects that they learn (NCETM, 2021). Mastery is acquired through building knowledge steadily on previously learnt topics to gain a deep and clear understanding, with increasing confidence of answering questions regarding the particular topic. With an appropriate learning environment, children can progressively master different skills within the basic and specific areas of a subject, and then confidently move onto more advanced material (Stripp, 2016).
How can you adapt teaching to ensure that all pupils' needs are met?
Teaching can be based on an adaptable lesson plan that includes activities for all abilities of children. For lower ability children, interventions can be held to make sure they are up to date with their maths skills, with assistance being given to them during lessons by additional staff. For higher ability children, who grasp concepts quickly, extension activities with sophisticated questions can be included in lessons to advance their learning further. To really engage children in maximising their learning capabilities, all areas of VAK learning is adopted, giving opportunities to each child to learn in a way that suits them.
What features does a curriculum that encourages mastery have?
Mastery in the curriculum is shown by children learning different skills and topics securely and confidently. In-depth knowledge is secured by reviewing previous work, building on prior learning. Each area of the curriculum must be introduced to the children through engaging and useful activities, taught thoroughly by knowledgeable teachers. Both conceptual and procedural knowledge must be reviewed and applied through mastery activities and questioning in a range of contexts. Teachers must reinforce the expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards, with most children progressing through the curriculum content at the same pace, with those progressing slower being helped through intervention and additional support.
What is variation theory?
Variation (VT) is a way of analysing and planning teaching and learning activities, focussing on what changes and stays the same, and what effects this can have. Variation theory is “The provision of sufficient difference between two examples to allow learners to make comparisons, contrasts, and generalisations. Variation provides learners with the opportunity to identify distinctiveness and to retain this in situations of complexity. Variation theory suggests that learning is linked to the ability of progressively accommodating difference through a process of discernment.” (IGI Global, 2021).
What should a textbook contain if it is encouraging of mastery?
A textbook encouraging mastery should be high-quality, supporting both the learner and teacher. Textbooks should offer both conceptual and procedural knowledge that relates to previously learnt skills, and should help guide teachers on how to support children in their learning. Examples should be offered to help the learner better understand a specific concept and consolidate new knowledge. Teachers should use textbooks that have relevant content to their lessons and ensure that they are constantly building on this to help children develop mastery of a topic/skill. Textbooks shouldn't be a replacement for teaching, but a support tool.
References
GOV,UK, 2021. Types of school [online]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/types-of-school [Accessed 25 January 2021].
IGI GLOBAL, 2021. What is Variation Theory [online]. Available from: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/variation-theory/63598 [Accessed 26 January 2021].
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION, 2015, Local councillors and schools [online]. Available from: https://www.cfgs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Local-councillors-and-schools-using-community-leadership-to-improve-schools.pdf [Accessed 25 January 2021].
NICOL MERE SCHOOL, 2021. After School Clubs [online]. Available from: https://www.nicolmere.wigan.sch.uk/after-school-club [Accessed 25 January 2021].
STRIPP, C., 2016. What is teaching for mastery in maths? [online]. Available from: https://schoolsweek.co.uk/what-is-teaching-for-mastery-in-maths/ [Accessed 26 January 2021].
THE SCHOOLS RUN, 2021. The National Funding Formula for schools explained [online]. Available from: https://www.theschoolrun.com/national-funding-formula-for-schools-explained [Accessed 25 January 2021].