Activity handout to accompany the keynote at the Ofsted better mathematics conference.

1. Keynote information pack 1 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Better mathematics
conference
Spring 2015
Keynote session
Information pack
for
participants
This pack contains the information you will need to refer to during the activities.

2. Keynote information pack 2 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Achievement findings
Attainment has risen:
 at GCSE grades A*-C, due to a strong emphasis by schools
 at AS/A level with a huge increase in uptake.
In primary schools, attainment has:
 risen to 2012 in the EYFS with calculation the weakest; 2013 new ELGs
 stalled then recent rise at L2+ at KS1, but a declining trend at L3+
 stalled then recent rise at L4+ at KS2, and a rise at L5+.
Progress (2013 figures; 2011 figures in brackets)
88% (82%) of pupils made the expected 2 levels of progress KS1KS2 but:
 70% of L2c reach L4 compared with 91% of L2b; (58% cf 86% in 2011).
70% (62%) of pupils made the expected 3 levels of progress KS2KS4 but:
 58% of L4c reached grade C; (48% in 2011)
 only 29% of low attaining pupils made expected progress; (30% in 2011)
 over 31000 pupils who attained L5 at primary school got no better than grade C at GCSE;
of these 2700+ got grade D or lower.
Widening gaps (2013 figures; 2011 figures in brackets)
 Overall, 9% of pupils did not reach L2 at age 7, 15% did not reach L4 at age 11, and
30% of the cohort did not reach grade C at GCSE (cf 10%, 20% and 36% in 2011)
 FSM pupils did markedly worse than their peers on attainment at expected and higher
levels and on progress. The gaps generally widened with key stage.
Attainment FSM (%) Non-FSM (%) Expected progress FSM (%) Non-FSM (%)
KS1 L2+
L3+
85 (81)
12 (9)
94 (92)
27 (23)
KS1-2 84 (75) 90 (84)
KS2 L4+
L5+
77 (67)
27 (19)
88 (83)
47 (38)
KS2-4 54 (45) 76 (67)
GCSE C
A*/A
53 (42)
8 (6)
77 (68)
22 (21)
Achievement key concerns
1. Although attainment is generally rising, pupils are not made to think hard enough for
themselves. Pupils of all ages do too little problem solving and application of mathematics.
2. The percentage of pupils meeting expected standards falls at successive key stages.
Reaching the expected level in one key stage does not ensure meeting it at the next. This is
often due to a focus on meeting thresholds rather than securing essential foundations for the
next stage.
3. FSM pupils do far worse than their peers at all key stages, most markedly at Key Stage 4.
4. Low attainers are not helped soon enough to catch up, particularly in the EYFS and
Key Stage 1. No improvement in the proportion making expected progress KS2KS4.
5. High attainers not challenged enough from EYFS onwards.
6. Potential high attainers are being lost to AS/A level – the big uptake has come mainly from
pupils with GCSE A*/A.

3. Keynote information pack 3 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Teaching findings
 The best teaching develops conceptual understanding alongside pupils’ fluent recall of
knowledge and confidence in problem solving.
 In highly effective practice, teachers get ‘inside pupils’ heads’. They find out how pupils think
by observing pupils closely, listening carefully to what they say, and asking questions to
probe and extend their understanding, then adapting teaching accordingly.
 Too much teaching concentrates on the acquisition of disparate skills that enable pupils to
pass tests and examinations but do not equip them for the next stage of education, work and
life.
Aims of the National Curriculum
The three aims, summarised below, are consistent with Ofsted’s findings on effective teaching
and learning.
 Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, so that pupils develop conceptual
understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
 Reason mathematically
 Solve problems
Variation
 Wide variation between key stages and sets, especially in Key Stage 4 with high sets
receiving twice as much good teaching as low sets, where 14% is inadequate.
 Weakest teaching in Key Stage 3 (38% good or better and 12% inadequate).
 Strongest teaching in the EYFS and Years 5 and 6 with around three quarters good or
outstanding. Weaker in Key Stage 1 (particularly Year 1) than in Key Stage 2.
 Wide in-school variation causes uneven progress and gaps in achievement, even in good and
outstanding schools. Stronger staff are often deployed to key examination or test classes.
Leaders appear to accept that other pupils may need to make up ground in the future.
In 151 secondary schools,
 half had at least one lesson with inadequate teaching
 only two had consistently good or better teaching.
Changes to the inspection of teaching
 From September 2014, inspectors will not grade the quality of teaching in individual lessons.
 In evaluating the overall quality of teaching in a school (or in the subject for a mathematics
inspection), inspectors will consider strengths and weaknesses of teaching observed across a
broad range of lessons and other activities, placed in the context of other evidence of pupils’
learning and progress over time.
 The judgement on leadership and management will include use of performance management
and effectiveness of strategies to improve teaching, including account taken of the Teachers’
Standards.
Teaching key concerns
7. Wide in-school variation in teaching quality.
8. Conceptual understanding and problem solving are underemphasised.
a. Too often, teaching approaches focus on how, without understanding why, so that
pupils have insecure foundations on which to build future learning.
b. Many pupils spend too long working on straightforward questions, with problems
located at the ends of exercises or set as extension tasks, so that not all tackle them.
9. Circulating to check and probe each pupil’s understanding throughout the lesson and
adapting teaching accordingly are not strong enough.

4. Keynote information pack 4 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Curriculum findings
 Key differences and inequalities extend beyond the teaching: they are rooted in the
curriculum and the ways in which schools promote or hamper progression in the learning of
mathematics.
 Progression is different from progress. Progress is the gain that pupils make in terms of
knowledge, skills and understanding between one point in time and another. Progression
describes the journey in the development of concepts and skills along a strand within
mathematics, drawing upon other strands and feeding into them as needed.
 The degree of emphasis on problem solving and conceptual understanding is a key
discriminator between good and weaker provision.
 Planning in primary is usually based on National Strategy materials. It is detailed, but tends
to lose the big picture of progression in strands of mathematics.
 In secondary, planning and schemes of work are commonly based on particular examination
specifications.
 Pupils’ curricular experiences are inconsistent and depend too much on the teacher they have
and the set/class they are in.
GCSE entry findings
 In 2011/12, nearly 90% of schools entered some or all pupils early for GCSE. Nationally, over
half of the cohort took GCSE early, with many pupils resitting it.
 Teaching commonly focuses on the next exam and includes much practice on exam-style
questions. This approach relies on pupils’ recall of disparate facts and methods.
 Higher sets are not always given enough time on hard topics
e.g. algebra, geometry, graphs – needed for AS/A level.
 Best practice for higher attainers is taking GCSE alongside
additional qualifications at the end of Y11.
A current concern (2014) is the use of multiple GCSE entry using different awarding bodies.
Curriculum key concerns
10.Problem solving is not emphasised enough in the curriculum.
11.Teachers are not clear enough about progression, so teaching is fragmented and does not
link concepts.
12.Pupils’ curricular experiences are inconsistent because:
a. teachers lack guidance and support on building conceptual understanding and
progression over time
b. teachers’ subject knowledge and pedagogic skills (subject expertise) vary. They are
not enhanced enough through subject-specific professional development and
guidance. Less experienced/non-specialist/temporary staff do not receive the specific
guidance and support they need.
13.Choices about GCSE entry and qualification pathways can limit pupils’ achievement and/or
drive short-termism in teaching approaches:
a. pupils entered early for GCSE generally attain less well after resits than do those
entered only once at the end of Year 11, and few pupils who gain GCSE grade A early
go on to resit with the aim of improving their grade
b. teaching focuses on exams, relying on pupils’ short-term memory, rather than on
progression and development of understanding
c. pupils are less well prepared for their future studies in mathematics and other
subjects, including resitting GCSE post-16.

5. Keynote information pack 5 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Leadership and management findings
 Stronger management practices particularly in secondary:
 monitoring of teaching (e.g. learning walk, work scrutiny)
 use of data to track progress and for intervention
 use of performance management to drive higher examination results.
 Whole-school policies may not work well for mathematics. For example, an assessment policy
might expect teachers to:
 assign an attainment grade to each piece of marked work
 mark one substantial piece of work periodically
 refer to the lesson objective when marking
 identify ‘next steps’ to help pupils improve their work.
 Best practice ensures that policies can be customised for mathematics in ways that reflect its
distinctive nature and thereby promote good teaching and learning.
 Enabling teachers to work together (e.g. on a calculation policy or guidance on progression in
algebra) supports consistency and improvement. However, teachers usually share ideas and
good practice informally, rather than record them in guidance, schemes of work, or policies.
Use of assessment data
 Primary schools have improved their use of assessment information to provide more focused
and timely intervention. The best schools:
 pick up quickly on misconceptions, difficulties and gaps
 intervene speedily to overcome them so that pupils do not fall behind.
 In secondary schools, interventions have tended to concentrate on practising topics for GCSE
examinations. Schools use assessment data to identify key groups of pupils, particularly at
the grade C/D borderline.
Leadership and management key concerns
14.Monitoring tends to focus on generic features rather than on pinpointing subject-specific
weaknesses or inconsistencies. It is not used strategically to improve teaching, learning or
the curriculum.
15.Some whole-school policies do not work well for mathematics.
16.Because sharing of good practice and provision of guidance are usually informal, only those
who are involved can benefit. Not capturing these informal interactions in writing means that
teachers who miss out or join the school later cannot benefit from them.
17.Despite increasingly sophisticated tracking and analyses that identify pupils who are
underachieving and topics/gaps where difficulties arise, schools rarely use such assessment
information to improve teaching or the curriculum.
18.Intervention, particularly for lower attainers, is not early enough to overcome gaps and build
a firm foundation for future learning. Gaps arising from misconceptions, absence, changing
teaching group or school are not systematically identified or narrowed.
19.Secondary schools rarely use intervention to overcome gaps in pupils’ understanding,
particularly in Key Stage 3, choosing instead to focus on examination preparation.

6. Keynote information pack 6 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
The recommendations for schools from Mathematics: made to measure
Schools should:
 tackle in-school inconsistency of teaching, making more good or outstanding, so that
every pupil receives a good mathematics education
 increase the emphasis on problem solving across the mathematics curriculum
 develop the expertise of staff:
 in choosing teaching approaches and activities that foster pupils’ deeper
understanding, including through the use of practical resources, visual images and
information and communication technology
 in checking and probing pupils’ understanding during the lesson, and adapting
teaching accordingly
 in understanding the progression in strands of mathematics over time, so that they
know the key knowledge and skills that underpin each stage of learning
 ensuring policies and guidance are backed up by professional development for staff
to aid consistency and effective implementation
 sharpen the mathematical focus of monitoring and data analysis by senior and subject
leaders and use the information gathered to improve teaching and the curriculum.
In addition, primary schools should:
 refocus attention on:
 improving pupils’ progress from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to Year 2
to increase the attainment of the most able
 acting early to secure the essential knowledge and skills of the least able.
In addition, secondary schools should:
 ensure examination and curricular policies meet all pupils’ best interests, stopping
reliance on the use of resit examinations, and securing good depth and breadth of study
at the higher tier GCSE.
The importance of subject knowledge and pedagogic skills (subject expertise)
Subject knowledge and pedagogic skills underpin the development of:
 conceptual understanding, knowledge and skills to build fluency and accuracy
 problem solving and reasoning
 progression and links.
Subject knowledge and pedagogic skills are necessary for:
 anticipating, spotting and overcoming misconceptions
 observing, listening, questioning to assess learning and adapt teaching.

7. Keynote information pack 7 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Planning actions for your priorities
Select one short-term priority and one long-term priority for which you can start to devise
actions today.
To inform your selection, refer to:
 the key concerns you highlighted
 the recommendations for schools you highlighted
 your school’s mathematics improvement plan.
For each priority, specify precisely:
 the actions you will take, including coaching and targeted professional development, and
how you will monitor their quality, providing support and challenge as needed
 what you expect the impact of successful actions to look like and by when, and how you
will evaluate this.
Examples of priorities
Short-term priorities:
 raise attainment by the end of reception to ensure all pupils are well prepared for Key
Stage 1
 raise attainment at GCSE grades A*/A by improving qualification pathways and transition
from KS3 to GCSE
Long-term priority:
 ensure teaching focuses on conceptual development
Planning involves thinking about:
 where to start (for example, calculation/Y7)
 agreeing approaches, including professional development
 monitoring through the subject leader checking that conceptual approaches are being
planned and used well
 evaluating through subject discussions with pupils to check their understanding.
Further planning
When you are back at school, you may find it helpful to:
 look in detail at your school’s information/data to explore whether other areas of national
concern might also be priorities for your school
 continue to work together on your improvement plan for mathematics.

8. Keynote information pack 8 of 8 Ofsted’s Better mathematics conference 2015
Points to think about
How well do your FSM pupils, and others supported by the Pupil Premium, achieve?
When do they start to lose ground?
What choices do you make about staff deployment in your school?
How do you pinpoint and tackle specific weaknesses in teaching (including temporary, part-time
and non-specialist staff)?
Why does your school do work scrutiny?
In your school, what is the relative emphasis on:
 improving the quality of work pupils are given to promote their understanding
 improving marking?
How mathematically friendly are your whole-school policies?
Do the priorities in your mathematics improvement plan include all three of the areas:
 teaching and learning
 curriculum
 leadership and management?
Do the priorities in your mathematics improvement plan include the recommendations you
highlighted?
Key documents for reference and links
 Mathematics: made to measure (110159), Ofsted, May 2012;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/110159
 Mathematics: understanding the score (070063), Ofsted, September 2008;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/070063
 Good practice in primary mathematics: evidence from 20 successful schools (110140),
Ofsted, November 2011; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/110140
 The Pupil Premium (130016), Ofsted, February 2013; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/130016
 Ofsted’s mathematics web page
www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/our-expert-knowledge/mathematics
 School inspection handbook, Ofsted, 2014; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/school-inspection-
handbook
 National Curriculum programmes of study, DfE, 2013;
www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum
 Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2012;
www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/reviewofstandards/a00205581/teachers-
standards1-sep-2012
 The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM);
www.ncetm.org.uk