Springboard 4: Catch-up programme for children in Year 4

Using the materials

The materials provide support for the topics being taught. Teachers will, however, need to take into account the responses of their children and help their teaching assistants to adjust the session according to the progress the children make. In particular, assistants will need help with developing appropriate lines of questioning for the group. While the materials provide a firm structure for teaching assistants to follow, individual children will not all be at the same level of attainment in all their mathematical work. Some will need more help and opportunities for consolidation in some areas than in others.

The video sequences
The eight video sequences show ways in which catch-up sessions can be tackled. They show how the material should be broken down into small steps and demonstrate appropriate lines of questioning. Each sequence is based on the same teaching objectives as the corresponding session in these materials. While the content is very similar, the video sessions have been slightly amended, where necessary, to meet the specific needs of the children being filmed.

The National Numeracy Strategy is indebted to colleagues and children who made arrangements for, and took part in, the filming from Church Cowley First School, Oxford, St Luke's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Cambridge, Abbey Meadows Community Primary School (formerly Priory Junior School), Cambridge, and Rowanfield Junior School, Cheltenham. The NNS would also like to thank colleagues from the Hamilton Oxford Schools Partnership, Cambridgeshire County Council and Gloucestershire County Council for their help and co-operation.

Role of the teaching assistant
A high degree of continuity can be achieved if teaching assistants are able to work with children identified for the Springboard programme in the DML. The assistants will know the children and have a good idea of their achievements and any particular difficulties they have encountered. The teacher will, however, still need to brief the assistant and ensure that the materials are adjusted to meet the needs of the children concerned, particularly in the light of the progress they make in the DML. Although the session notes are detailed, they cannot cater exactly for a specific group of children. Funding for the initiative should allow the assistant to spend time discussing the session notes with the teacher and mapping out exactly what needs to be done and the best way to approach it.

The teaching assistant will work with the children in the two sessions in exactly the same way as s/he often does in the DML. The assistant must not lecture the children, but involve them through questioning and practical demonstration. Although s/he introduces and explains the activity sheet, it should be completed at another time, if this is appropriate and fits in with the on-going work. This is because the sessions are essentially oral. It is important that teachers know about and reinforce the progress children make in the sessions with the teaching assistant. A good way to ensure this is for the assistant to make brief entries on the feedback sheet after each session, ensuring that this vital information is recorded systematically.