Background

St. Matthew’s RC Primary School in Bishopbriggs is in a suburban area of East Dunbartonshire. It is part of the Turnbull High School cluster. It has a school roll of 274. This includes:

• 12 pupils (4%) in receipt of free school meals
• 35 pupils (13%) living in decile 1 of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)

Rationale

St. Matthew’s RC Primary is a leader in play and enquiry-based learning. Self-evaluation data showed a range of barriers for pupils. This included a need to build resilience when working independently and to improve recall skills.

It also highlighted the need to support learners to have a ‘can do’ mindset in maths. This was particularly evident in learners moving from the first to second level of Curriculum for Excellence (Primary 4 to Primary 5).

The senior leadership team (SLT) identified approaches to overcome these barriers. This included a more ‘hands on’ approach to support. The aim was to make knowledge and skills relevant to real-life experiences. This made learning more memorable by providing a concrete association.

The headteacher and maths champion joined the numeracy research group to share findings. Through research and professional reading they developed an intervention plan. The school quality improvement officer (QIO) and educational psychologist support this plan.

Attainment Scotland Funding

Pupil Equity Funding: £25,000 to £49,999

St. Matthew’s RC Primary School case study

The school used standardised assessments to compare learners’ chronological age and ‘maths age’. Pupils in P5 classes had, on average, a ‘maths age’ one month behind their chronological ages. Further analysis of this data identified a group of 16 pupils with significant gaps in their learning. Assessment confirmed an average gap of 11 months between their chronological age and their ‘maths age’.

Themed learning projects addressed specific gaps in knowledge and skills. Project themes reflect the learner’s interests and questions. They provided opportunities to interact with the local community and visit local businesses. Each six-week project recapped and reinforced skills and attention to course coverage.

For example: classes visited the local estate agent. They provided information about renting and buying in the local area and how home insurance works. They also participated in a ScotRail 'master class' on timetabling and travel while visiting Queen Street Station.

Play pedagogy permeates all aspects of this work through role play and active learning. Within the classroom, zones are set up such as technology and free play. Self-regulation and resilience building are part of the programme. Learning targets were reviewed and updated weekly. The programme included individual, group and whole class activities.

The maths champion provided professional learning using maths recovery approaches. This supported teacher knowledge and understanding.

Impact

The positive impact on teacher capacity and learner progression led to an expanded role for the maths champion. By focusing on capacity-building, the school was able to scale up its approach. This included team teaching, training, advice, and guidance. Team teaching gave teachers the opportunity to observe strategies in practice. This ensured clarity on the desired methods and a chance to model and evaluate new approaches. It also supported consistency, ensuring that all learners benefitted from high-quality teaching.

Quality assurance processes confirms that teachers have embraced these strategies.

Feedback from learners reflects findings from the data. They shared in their own words how maths has become more impactful:

"I think that the new way of teaching maths is better because we get to do our maths in a more fun way and get a variety of different things to do everyday"

"I like how it is information that I will need to use in everyday life"

"I like doing active maths targets. I like how our written task is linked to our theme".

Mathematics Assessment for Learning and Teaching (MaLT) have shown significant progress for learners. This is particularly evident for children in need of extra support. For example, the 16 pupils in P5 with a maths age 11 months behind their actual age.

After a seven-month period of intervention the same learners were three months ahead of their their chronological age. A few learners progressed as much as 38 months during same period.

The greatest progress was in learners who were the most delayed in their maths comprehension. This suggests the approach supported addressing gaps in learning.

Due to the success of the programme, the school extended the approach to include P5 to P7. They have also developed a play-based approach to support literacy. The impact has caught the attention of other schools within the authority. This approach has now been embedded in one other primary school, with plans to spread this practice.