A Guide To The New Maths National Curriculum Changes
A publication by 10ticks
Contents Introduction What are the biggest changes with the new Curriculum? What are the reasons behind these changes? How best to prepare for the new Curriculum? How can we help you through the transition period?
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Introduction: In this report I am hoping to give you a clear understanding of the new National Curriculum that is set to come in next year for Primary Schools. As with anything the key is to be prepared for the changes, otherwise it is the students who will suffer most, as they have to try to adapt to a new more rigorous Curriculum. I will outline the main changes to the Curriculum, the goverment’s reasons for these changes and how you can prepare for these. There are even some free resources at the end of this report to help you with the transition period. At 10ticks we have been mapping Curricula to countries all over the world , so have gained a huge amount of experience in helping teachers deal with these changes.
“You can have the ‘best’ curriculum in the world, but if you don’t train the teachers, then inevitably, it will be doomed to failure.” Ian Fisher
Chapter 1: What are the biggest changes with the new Curriculum?
Chapter 1: what are the biggest changes set to come in with the new curriculum?
After having a look at the new National Curriculum it is clear there are going to be a lot of changes in a short amount of time! For primary schools, Years 1, 3, 4 and 5 are all going to have to be taught the new Curriculum from September 2014. This will cause particular issues for Years 4/5 who will not have the benefit of being taught the skills directly before them, but jumping blind into the new rigorous set of skills.
• Five-year-olds to be taught fractions for the first time, for a solid grounding at an early age in preparation for algebra and more complex arithmetic. • The new curriculum states that nine-year- olds must be taught times tables to 12, with more emphasis on the skills of mathematical modelling and problem solving. • There is much more emphasis on greater rigour, and promoting efficient written methods of long multiplication and division.
• As widely reported, the removal of calculator and other ICT devices is encouraged as strong written and mental strategies should be developed. • By age seven, pupils should know “number bonds” up to 20. These are simple addition and subtraction facts that pupils should be able to recognise and use instantly (e.g. 9+9=18 or 16-7=9).
The Curriculum covers fewer topics but in greater depth and has much higher expectations overall
Core features of the new Curriculum Mathematical reasoning - Focused mathematics talk should remain central to your mathematics lessons Problem Solving - Pupils can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems by increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions Conceptual Understanding - Pupils should become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including thorough varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
Chapter two: What are the reasons behind these changes?
“The main reasons for introducing a national curriculum is to standardise teaching, putting continuity across schools, and so that each maths department doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel.” Ian Fisher
Chapter 2: What are the reasons behind these changes?
The main reasons for introducing a National Curriculum is to standardise teaching, putting continuity across schools, and so that each maths department doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Arguments range from, a more transient population needs this to support their children, to publishers can put more effort into, and therefore get better quality from, their resources.
• The government states that “Employers, universities and colleges are often dissatisfied with school leavers’ literacy and numeracy……. We believe making GCSEs and A levels more rigorous will prepare students properly for life after school”
• The government also mentions how the UK needs to compete better with countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, which are consistently ranked amongst the top countries in the world when it comes to numeracy and literacy. That means students will now be compared directly with these countries rather than just previous year’s results.
Chapter 2: What are the reasons behind these changes?
This is an argument Australians are debating fiercely as they strive to get a national curriculum established. A lot of countries, such as Canada, who do not have a national curriculum, perform better than most in international league tables!
What can history tell us? The very first introduction of the national curriculum here in the 1980s lasted 3 years before being changed, followed by a further stable period of 10 years. In Malaysia their first draft of a national curriculum lasted 8 years without change, South Africa’s first draft 6 years. Basically new curricula don’t last long!
Chapter Three: How best to prepare for the new Curriculum
“Learning the mechanical methods this year may help with being thrown into the deep end next year and help your pupils (and you) survive!� Ian Fisher
Chapter three: How best to prepare for the new Curriculum
What would I be doing in a Primary School? Well, this year gives you a bit of leeway. The four rules are going to be taught quite mechanically. Vertical addition and subtraction will be the cornerstone, so start teaching it this way within the number boundaries that pupils are comfortable with, then when they are catapulted into the tens or hundreds of thousands next year, the method will be familiar and pupils will only have to deal with the increasing complexity of the number system. Likewise for short and long multiplication. Year 5 have to multiply a 4-digit number by a 1 or 2-digit number. So again work through the process with small numbers, with which they are familiar and work upwards. And repeat with division. Learning the mechanical methods this year may help with being thrown into the deep end next year and help your pupils (and you) survive!
Chapter four: How can we help you through the transition period?
Take advantage of real-time branding opportunities.
“I look forward to using many of the sheets. I have already used the blot addition and subtraction sheets with my year 5’s. One of whom not known for her enthusiasm for Numeracy said “Can I take the sheet home and finish them for homework please.” Thanks again,” Ann Chappell St. Philip’s Primary School, Cambridge.
“Many thanks for the excellent disc supplied recently, a most impressive collection of resources.” Mr Lord, East Haddon C.E. Primary
10ticks Maths Resources Our resources are brilliant for reinforcing the skills that your students are ALREADY working on. They encourage creative thinking, poblem solving and allow students to expand their thinking skills. Use the worksheets as a resource that supplements a rich and varied programme where your students can explore, engage, investigate, play and learn in a variety of different ways and different formats. So use the worksheets for 5 minutes per lesson, 20 minutes per week. Fit them around your students’ time for investigative and trial and error learning. Use them to cover teacher absence, for lesson starters, for homework or for testing knowledge. You are the expert, YOU decide. We have 4 main types of worksheets Traditional Exercises – These are great for consolidating basic skills taught in class Investigations – Students can explore mathematics at their own pace and find the methods that suit them best Puzzles – These involve key concepts that centre on fundamental mathematical skills Games – Fun ways of reinforcing key skills without the monotony of repetitive exercise
Thank you for reading our white paper report, we hope you found it useful. Your free resources are available in your User Area underneath the link for this White Paper Report. We will also be doing a live presentation on the new Curriculum with a Q&A session, we will email you to confirm the dates Email: info@10ticks.co.uk Phone: 01204557596