Oak National Academy

Being the Oak partner for both primary and secondary maths gave us chance to create resources which were consistent across the phases. The teams writing the lessons liaised regularly, so language and representations used are consistent when they need to be, and changes are managed carefully as concepts develop. Aspects of maths that are covered both in KS2 and KS3 are indicated in the titles of the KS3 lessons, so teachers are aware when there is an aspect of maths that should be familiar to pupils. This is where consistency and continuity in approaches are so important.

Whilst we weren’t writing resources for Early Years, we still consulted with Early Years experts so the resources could promote effective practice at the Early Years to KS1 transition. For example, the ‘Teacher Tip’ in the materials allowed us to communicate that many lessons at KS1 are best taught without displaying the slides, using them instead to set up and guide practical activity in the classroom.

We know that teachers of maths in all phases will benefit from how comprehensive the resources are, but also that teachers want to make materials bespoke to their classes. The resources we made are designed to provide a starting point for teachers’ planning, and they can then be adapted to meet the specific learning needs of pupils. Refinement might include something like removing elements from the slides. For example, a teacher might want to take out the dialogue between Oak characters on a slide; it’s there to encourage effective use of talk in lessons, but a teacher might feel that they want a different way to promote discussion between the pupils in their class. Contexts can also be changed to make the lesson more relevant, such as using weather data from the school’s own local area so pupils make connections between their maths and the real world.

We designed the resources so they can also be used for professional development in schools looking to explore and embed teaching for mastery approaches. Lesson materials could provide a stimulus for collaborative planning sessions, especially when paired with an exploration of the maths in the NCETM PD Materials. Teachers could also watch the videos together for an insight into the intent of the lesson. This could be followed by a discussion designed to support ECTs and less experienced maths teachers, as well as more experienced teachers who may be considering different approaches to teaching an aspect of the maths curriculum.