Numeracy is at the heart of everything we study. The logical processes we learn in Mathematics are skills which are transferrable for all future paths, academic or otherwise. Numeracy underpins the most complex of ideas and acts as a foundation of which we build upon as we progress through KS3.
At Theale Green School, we focus on numeracy skills in Year 7 and 8 through our Numeracy Ninja programme. Students are captivated on a journey of self-improvement as they progress through the Ninja Belts. How long until they reach the coveted Black Belt? Once they achieve it, can they maintain it as we raise the bar each week?
The programme focuses on key number skills including basic mental calculations, timestables and basic strategies that will be vital in order to make progress. They are given 5 minutes to answer as many questions as a possible and challenged to make improvements each and every lesson. We have found students relish the challenge and love seeing their progress they make each week.
In addition, we run a cohesive tutor programme which has a numeracy session once a fortnight. Students are encouraged to engage in the numeracy tasks and discuss their answers with their tutor group.
As a school, we focus on the coherence of methods with regard to elements of numeracy. These elements occur across a broad range of subject including Science, Geography, Business and many more. Teachers are carefully trained by the Maths department to support students with the methods they learn in their Maths lessons to avoid confusion or inconsistency.
