Incorporating Number Builders: South Ossett Infants School case study

Case Study: , South Ossett Infants Academy How incorporating Number Builders into daily maths practice has helped reduce teachers’ workload

About the school South Ossett Infants’ Academy is a small school in an affluent town in Yorkshire.

Although EAL and Pupil Premium numbers are low, as in many schools, SEND numbers are increasing year on year, making it harder for all to achieve the expected level of attainment. This is a successful school with high aspirations for pupils. In a recent Ofsted inspection, school leaders are commended for creating an ‘ambitious curriculum’:

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They have identified clearly what pupils should learn and the order in which they should learn it. Leaders have identified the subject specific vocabulary that they want pupils to learn. Leaders have taken recent action to make this clearer for children. Pupils enjoy their learning.1

How was Number Builders used? l Number Builders was used across the Autumn

Term as a whole class resource for pupils in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.

l Teachers used the lesson planning,

PowerPoints, activity sheets and manipulatives.

l The school doesn’t have a ‘core’ maths

scheme. Incorporating Number Builders into their daily maths practice has helped reduce workload, once teachers were familiar with the resources.

l Kim O’Connor, the school’s Key Stage 1

and Maths Lead, told us more about their experience of using Number Builders across the school.

1 South Ossett Infant Academy Ofsted School Report_December 2023

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Why did they decide to opt into the Number Builders trial?

Describing her reasons for signing up to trial the programme, Kim believed it would be beneficial for both staff and for pupils.

For staff, it offered a chance to update and refresh their professional practice. Staff turnover is low, and staff are experienced and confident maths teachers. While teachers ‘strive to be excellent in all areas of the curriculum’, this shouldn’t come at the expense of additional work. “We’re aware of teachers’ workload and work life balance.”

Adopting a programme means that staff can focus on teaching, not on planning and preparation.

For pupils, the emphasis on manipulatives provides a secure foundation to understanding maths concepts: “Whether it’s a new concept or recapping one you’ve taught before, it should be concrete before abstract, and at this age group using manipulatives gets the best results.”

Using the resources in a whole class setting Teachers began by reviewing their curriculum plans for the term, selecting the units from Number Builders that supported their learning objectives and outcomes for the duration of the trial. All taught the first unit, in which children were introduced to the n-bars. Kim described how the scheme provided the right balance of structure and flexibility:

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What I liked about this was that I could take the objective, the activity, and then decide how to use them, drawing on the bits that would work for us, rather than having to do it in a prescriptive way. If you were new, it would have the support to help and guide you, but because we’re an experienced team, it allowed us to tailor it and use it flexibly.

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The PowerPoint slides were used for whole class teaching at the start of the maths lesson. Teachers then used their own judgement to decide how closely to follow the scheme. In Foundation Stage, the teacher chose to adopt the scheme in its entirety, while in Year 1 and Year 2, it was used more flexibly. The manipulatives and activity cards were also set out on maths tables as part of ‘continuous provision’ for children to access independently.

What worked well about Number Builders?

Number Builders was effective in supporting both lower and higher attaining children.

While the majority of pupils succeed through ‘quality-first teaching’, a smaller proportion need additional support. It was these children who reached for the manipulatives without prompting when working independently. “They might be on the computer working and then go and get the n-bars to help them. They’d had the resources modelled, and used them in group activities.” During the trial, these children had made some important steps forward, with the resources building confidence in number bonds, place value and addition. One of the challenges the school has faced previously is the pressure to move on from the ‘concrete’ phase too fast. Because the scheme is clearly linked to manipulatives, the n-bars manipulatives have been particularly effective with the 20% of attainers working below expectations.

Higher attaining children in Year 1 and Year 2 were able to access the activity cards independently: when these were set out in the continuous provision area they elected to use them, thanks to the clear layout and visually engaging content. The additional teaching notes on the reverse meant that TAs or parent helpers could provide extra help when needed. “Not everyone has specialist knowledge, so it’s really helpful to have that extra support,” Kim noted. For TAs working with small groups, it’s ideal to have the notes readily available.

Number Builders is easy to use, and saved teachers’ time.

While devising their own maths programme in lieu of adopting a scheme means that the curriculum is tailored around the needs of their pupils, creating all the resources in-house is time-consuming. Once staff were familiar with the scheme, teachers relayed that it had saved them time, with Foundation Stage opting to adopt it as their core scheme. “The more they’ve used it, the more the workload reduces.”

Final thoughts Number Builders has helped develop confident, resilient mathematicians who’re not afraid to ‘have a go’.

Taking part in the Number Builders trial has been a positive experience for South Ossett Infants’ Academy. Children have enjoyed using it and, importantly, have elected to use it during independent work. It has helped develop confident, resilient mathematicians who’re not afraid to ‘have a go’. For staff, it’s saved time, and supported their own practice, complementing their teaching style.

When asked whether she would recommend it to other similar schools, Kim’s answer was a resounding yes.