What is involved?

Transition from KS2 to KS3 has been repeatedly identified as a hiatus point for many students. One of the issues noted is that schools often focus on pastoral transition rather than curriculum transition. In the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic, this disconnect has perhaps been heightened, and will continue to have impact for a number of years.

The Work Group focuses on curriculum and pedagogical knowledge across the KS2-3 transition from Years 5 – 8. Through cross-phase collaboration, primary participants gain a deeper understanding of how the maths in the primary curriculum develops in KS3, and secondary participants deepen their understanding of the KS2 curriculum and how key concepts are developed and represented at KS2. The combination of this curriculum and pedagogical understanding allows schools to work together to ensure continuity in experience for students as they move from KS2 to KS3. The longer-term aim of these Work Groups is that there is a change in transition practice in participating schools, leading to a sustained improvement in transition in maths and perhaps beyond. 

Participants are expected to attend the equivalent of three full days of workshops and to complete school-based tasks between sessions.

What does the programme cover?

Participants have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across KS2 and KS3 by working on mathematical tasks together, reflecting on the resulting activity and learning. The programme comprises: 

• whole group sessions involving collaboration on different aspects of curriculum and/or pedagogy  
• high-quality PD resources to support a more coherent KS2-KS3 transition, with themes including oracy, algebraic thinking and multiplicative reasoning  
• class-based sessions to see the resources in use with students  
• school-based tasks to try new approaches with participants’ own students and opportunities for reflection on how the approaches promoted impact on students.  

Work Group Leads aim to hold sessions in KS2 and KS3 settings, offering the chance to see the tasks in the context of a classroom.

Who can take part?

The intended participants are those who teach and/or have responsibility for the curriculum in Years 5-8. Participants may be subject leaders or teachers with responsibility for transition in a school. All the approaches used in sessions are in line with the NCETM’s Essence of Mathematics Teaching for Mastery, although some schools will not have engaged with teaching for mastery programmes before becoming part of a Years 5-8 Continuity Work Group. 

What is the cost?

The Years 5-8 Continuity project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

I have a better understanding of how children’s knowledge and learning of algebra develops from primary to secondary and how I can therefore help to build on this in primary to better prepare them.

Year 5-8 Continuity Participant
2021

“When I develop the scheme of learning for next year, I will be including tasks that allow the students to think and also placing key visualisations into the document alongside questions for staff to use which promote reasoning from the students” – secondary participant