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Yr 1 maths - what if anything should I expect from the school

13 replies

ijustwant8hours · 02/03/2013 13:48

Ds is good at arithmetic. As an example he can do written methods for four digit addition and subtraction (with carrying / borrowing etc) and is starting to build methods for long multiplication. He is very good at mental arithmetic too. He isn't a maths genius or anything, he is just very engaged and likes doing sums so he has practised a lot!

His teacher noticed last term and mentioned how good at maths he was, she said that she would try to encourage him at school, set him differentiated work etc she also said that she had spoken to the schools maths specialist teacher.

Apart from a couple of bits of homework there hasn't been much evidence of him doing anything different - should I expect anything from the school or carry on doing what I am, which is do maths with him at home if he wants to and not worry about what he is doing at school?

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sittinginthesun · 02/03/2013 15:31

I'm no expert, but I guess it depends on the school.

Both my dcs are bright at maths (not wildly advanced, but good at manipulating numbers).

The year 1 teacher spotted it with ds1 and told me she would set harder work for him and two classmates. I saw no evidence at all in year 1 or 2, although ds1 would mention that he loved maths.

Come year 3, he was moved up to the top set of year 4. He's in year 4 now, and is working in year 6.

Just had a very similar conversation with the same year 1 teacher about ds2. He is advanced, working ahead of the top of the top group. I would expect a similar path, all being well.

It depends on how much you trust the school. I see very very little evidence of maths work for ds2 (maths homework maybe once every three weeks), and I'm not teaching ds2 extension work at home, other than times tables and fun stuff we chat about in the car.

(Ds1 gets weekly maths homework - I just read it after he'd finished it, and would have struggled with the last 4 questions. Not my strongest area. Grin)

sittinginthesun · 02/03/2013 15:34

Sorry, the main thing I am saying is that the school were setting harder work, and pushing them, but I just didn't see it because it was just done quietly in class in infants. Makes a great change from all the bragging and comparing reading levels.Grin

ijustwant8hours · 02/03/2013 18:07

Thanks Sitting, the school seem to make a big song and dance about reading but never seem to mention maths. I will just let them get on with it I think!

OP posts:
sittinginthesun · 02/03/2013 20:24

It does make me smile that there is a thread with over a hundred posts about early reading, and just us talking about maths.Wink

Ferguson · 02/03/2013 22:17

Hi - retired TA (male) here :

I don't have much to contribute, other than to say that in my experience most schools do have great difficulty in accommodating pupils with skills that exceed the average for any given age group. A lot of resources go into SEN and trying to raise the standards for weaker pupils, but although the G&T label (gifted and talented) is bandied about, I don't know that many children actually get special treatment as a result.

If DS is working with groups two years ahead of his peers, then you are fortunate that the teachers have at least responded to his needs to that extent.

Depending on the size of the school, it may be that there is no real Maths specialist available, and the class teacher knows just enough to teach to the required Year 6 average ability, and not much more.

It must be embarrassing for a teacher to realise that a pupil knows more about a topic than they do, and this used to happen particularly in ICT years ago, (say 20 years) when the average teacher was terrified of computers, which were quite new in schools then. My own DS began learning to program a primitive computer at the age of 6. By the time he was in Yr 6 he was starting up the school network each morning, and helped the HT learn a new word processor program (because that was what we used at home.) But when he went to grammar school what they were doing in ICT then was baby stuff compared to what he could have done.

If you can contact a maths specialist at a local secondary school, they might be able to advise you of avenues to boost Maths experience, and some secondary schools do run special Maths weekend workshops for people we might rudely call 'boffins'. Quite possibly there might be info on the web from Johnny Ball, Carol Vorderman or Rachel Riley and suchlike.

As well as being able to DO advanced Maths exercises, I think it is also essential that the whole process is fully UNDERSTOOD by a pupil, and that he isn't merely performing to a learnt (but not understood) formula.

Ferguson · 02/03/2013 22:24

Sorry! - just re-read 'sitting's' post and realised it's not OP's child who is working in an older group - apologies!

learnandsay · 02/03/2013 22:49

I don't know how little the average teacher knows about maths but I would have thought that even she would know more than a six year old.

sittinginthesun · 02/03/2013 22:58

Ferguson - in our school, I am told that they have an extension group for the more advanced year 6s and a secondary teacher visits. DS1 is quite in awe of the "top table", and gets very competitive with times tables tests etc against them.

Hedgepig · 03/03/2013 07:40

Do you have any idea how they organise maths lessons in class ?. In our school they have mixed years and 4 groups for maths and literacy (the children sit in different groups based in ability for each and each group has a differentiated task within the class). So a yr1 child may be sitting with some of the Yrs2 if that us the most suitable group. But its quite low key so unless your child tells you which group they are in you wouldn't know.

But the teacher shouldn't be put out if you just ask her what's happened since your last conversation Grin

PastSellByDate · 03/03/2013 08:28

Hi Ijustwant8hours

I'm just a Mum and our school is smallish (single form) - so things may be very different elsewhere, but basically little is done for advanced pupils where we are. Although it would be lovely for the school to identify talented pupils and foster that talent, I suspect that frequently there just isn't the time or resources for that small minority of advanced pupils. I would suggest that you encourage maths as much as you can at home.

In terms of what should be covered by year - try looking at Campaign for Real Education's Maths Curriculum: www.cre.org.uk/docs/primary_maths_curriculum.pdf which will outline what should be covered & mastered by year/ age.

The draft proposed national curriculum for maths is also now out for consultation: media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/m/mathematics%20-%20key%20stages%201%20and%202.pdf

In terms of extension activities you can do at home:

Cambridge University has designed an enrichment website for maths called nrich: nrich.maths.org/frontpage - if you select lower primary there are materials there for thinking about/ playing with that will get them thinking way beyond addition/ subtraction and working on problem solving and observation.

There are some excellent websites:

Woodlands Junior School Mathszone: resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/

Crickweb KS1 numeracy: www.crickweb.co.uk/ks1numeracy.html

Ambelside Primary: www.amblesideprimaryschool.co.uk/Learning-Zone/Maths-Zone.html

Cool Maths games for kids: www.coolmath-games.com/

BBC Bitesize KS1: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/

Multiplication dot com: www.multiplication.com/

Mumsnet learning has a link to mahtschamps -which has a number of games arranged by age group (5-7/ 7-9/ 9-11): www.mathschamps.co.uk/#home

I've also come across a daily newsletter (The Mathematics Daily) about maths in primary & secondary school which occasionally has some real gems for primary age children. I've found it useful to sign up to this: paper.li/NathalieFytrou/mathematics. It's an interesting mix of US/ UK/ French maths news.

HTH

ijustwant8hours · 03/03/2013 09:42

Thank you so much for all those resources! I will have a look throughThanks

OP posts:
inthesark · 03/03/2013 12:40

I don't think there is any harm in a quick ask, just about how he's getting on. Your DS is pretty advanced for Yr1 - which doesn't mean necessarily that he should be always pushing forward through the curriculum, but that he should be getting some problems which make him think, along the lines of the nrich stuff mentioned above.

As well as all the resources above, you could also look at Life of Fred. It's an American homeschool book, but you can get it mail order over here. It's a (bonkers) narrative, about maths, with a few questions. If you start at the beginning, the maths would be v easy for him but it introduces other interesting things like set theory very early on. We have started doing it with DD (who is getting fed up with rote maths at school) and she loves it. Our plan was to do it weekly but she's asking to do it twice daily. And I've learnt stuff from it too, already, and we're only on book one. Grin

Sommink · 03/03/2013 22:50

My dds school have a traffic light system in class, so she is not aware that she is doing work any different then the other children (shes in reception) but the teachers have her as a green learner in reading, writing and maths.

When they break off into their learning groups the teachers know which children are on which level in each area, so for example the class was doing adding the other day, most children were asked questions using the numbers 1-10, my dd was using the numbers 1-25, they are not as yet split into the different ability levels as they don't want children at either end of the learning spectrum to feel singled out.

I wasn't told this information, i just happened to go into class to ask them to change her reading book as we read her school book every night as part of our routine and got onto the conversation about her been on the green light for reading, which i was surprised about.

Maybe something similar is going on at your school which they have not made you aware of?

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