"Maths Makes Sense is an inspirational way of teaching maths. Inspirational for so many reasons: the strong methodology which ensures every child learns and understands maths; the high level of training and practical support for teachers from the materials; the way even very complex maths is made simple and effortless to children - it has been one of the best decisions I ever made."

Greg Wallace Headteacher

Frequently Asked Questions

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• Does Maths Makes Sense cover all the Renewed Primary Framework objectives for Mathematics?
• We set our children for numeracy. How would we manage this within Maths Makes Sense?
• What support does Maths Makes Sense give for different abilities?
• How does Maths Makes Sense help teachers to assess children's progress?
• Is there support for schools not following the National Curriculum?
• What is Direct Instruction?
• What are the advantages of seating the children in rows?
• I am not sure about using cups - why does the system use them?
• When do children stop using the cups?

Does Maths Makes Sense cover all the Renewed Primary Framework objectives for Mathematics?

Yes. Maths Makes Sense covers all the maths your pupils need to have learned by the end of Primary school. The programme is supported by clear charts matching to the Framework so you can easily integrate your maths teaching with Maths Makes Sense into your Framework planning.

We set our children for numeracy. How would we manage this within Maths Makes Sense?

The Maths Makes Sense programme is highly flexible, and is completely compatible with ability sets. The most important factor for teaching with Maths Makes Sense is that all children understand what they have learned before they move on. The extensive use of mixed ability partner work within Maths Makes Sense is a powerful way of boosting children's progress even within sets.

What support does Maths Makes Sense give for different abilities?

Challenge is built into daily lessons. The teacher also supports differentiation through close monitoring of children during the lessons to ensure appropriate levels of support for success with their work. Children work in mixed ability pairs, which clarifies and deepens each child's understanding.

How does Maths Makes Sense help teachers to assess children's progress?

Maths Makes Sense supports assessment fully. Clear objectives and matching assessment questions are included for each daily lesson, providing the teacher with straightforward guidance on assessing children's progress.

The Progress Books also provide clear evidence of progress, and these are an ongoing record of progress that children take with them through primary school, to consolidate and embed their learning. They have ownership of these and they form a real and lasting record of their own achievement.

Is there support for schools not teaching the National Curriculum?

Yes. Maths Makes Sense provides clear links directly to other curriculums for ease of planning - including Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence and 5-14 Guidelines, the Northern Ireland Curriculum and the Curriculum for Wales.

What is Direct Instruction?

The teacher is placed at the centre of the Maths Makes Sense learning system. Direct instruction is when the teacher is working with the whole class and using exaggerated gestures and speech to introduce maths concepts in clear and directed way to the children - so there can be no confusion and children gain a deep understanding of what is being taught.

What are the advantages of seating the children in rows?

As with all suggestions for classroom management in the Maths Makes Sense Programme this is really just plain common sense - it is not compulsory and it is of course up to the individual teacher to organise their classroom as best suits them.

However, the reasoning behind our recommendation that children sit in rows is that when the teacher is undertaking direct instruction all the children can clearly see what the teacher is doing. It also enables easy partner work and teacher monitoring of the whole class.

I am not sure about using cups - why does the system use them?

The cups could be replaced by any concrete object - they are not the maths system, they just help children visualise the maths. We have chosen cups because they are easy for children to manipulate and they are safe to use in the classroom.

Maths Makes Sense pupils very quickly become used to using cups so that they stop thinking about them and start thinking with them; so when they are no longer using them they are still in the background waiting to come to the rescue when confusion comes into sight. This is a very important aspect of the learning system: it must develop memorable images.

When do children stop using the cups?

The answer to this sounds strange. It is very soon and never!

Maths Makes Sense is unique and uses a consistent approach to learning maths - a learning system comprising:

1. actions and objects leading to
2. visualised actions and objects leading to
3. visualised actions and symbolic objects leading to
4. complete understanding.

Children often move on from physically using the cups for their maths, to simply visualising cups - and when ultimately they achieve a fully rounded understanding of a mathematical idea, they won't be thinking in terms of cups at all. However the learning path is rarely even or smooth, so for some mathematical ideas children may continue to use the idea of cups, or the cups themselves, for some time. The cups are a tried and tested way of providing children with a solid foundation from which to refresh, consolidate and complete their mathematical understanding.