September 2008
Friday 19 September 2008
Too much maths 'taught to test
Almost half of England's schools are not teaching mathematics well enough, putting too much emphasis on "teaching to the test", inspectors have said.
Thursday 04 September 2008
Welcome back!
This year is particularly exciting for us at Numicon and hopefully for the whole of Early Years and Primary Maths teaching. Firstly, it is our 10th anniversary! Your recommendations to other teachers/ practitioners/ parents have been the primary force growing the use of Numicon at grass-roots level.
Numicon is now used in over 5,000 schools in the UK and increasingly internationally – so thank you and please continue to tell everybody about the effects of your teaching with Numicon on children’s enjoyment of and achievement in maths!
Thanks to you, Numicon is starting gain greater recognition. It was great to feature strongly in Sir Peter Williams’ review; on describing Numicon and multi-sensory resources, the panel reported that “it would be regrettable if such clear enhancements to the learning process for those struggling with mathematics were not readily available in all schools” (p54). It is also fantastic to be supporting the Every Child Counts development phase and to see the outstanding results of the children that used Numicon and the multi-sensory approach in the pilot phase.
We continue to see training and support as a vital part of what we do; we have grown our team of independent Numicon accredited trainers and we are currently working with the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Maths (NCETM) to develop a Quality Standard for maths CPD. Our DVD and Training resource “Working with Numicon” has proved particularly popular and complements our “live” training.
We are bringing out two exciting new products this year that are a response to your feedback. "Closing the Gap” is our long awaited non-age specific Special Needs kit that should really help all of you working with pupils of any age who are struggling with fundamental number ideas. “1st Steps with Numicon - At Home Kit” is our much improved kit for parents and carers of 3-5s with more playful activities for children and with notes for parents to help to explain the mathematical importance of the activities.
Have a great year enjoying the children and your maths teaching. Please remember that we are always happy to help with your questions and really appreciate hearing how you get on.
