Pearson Schools Blog

Matt Parker is a renowned stand-up comedian and maths author, with a popular YouTube channel attracting almost one million subscribers. Originally a maths teacher from Australia, Matt now lives and works in the UK. His new book, Humble Pi, is a Number 1 Bestseller. 

Following Matt’s recent appearance on Pearson’s The Right Angle Podcast, Subject Lead and Podcast Host Nicola Woodford-Smith, reflects on their discussion and shares learnings on ways that teachers can foster a passion for maths among learners – not least by encouraging acceptance of mistakes and failures.

The Special Educational Needs Assessments Standards Committee (SASC) in 2019 defined Dyscalculia as: “A specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities.”

Dr Ems Lord, Director of the University of Cambridge’s award-winning Maths outreach programme NRICH and recent The Right Angle podcast guest, discusses the how and why of parental engagement in Maths learning.

In the most recent episode of The Right Angle podcast, our guest – Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE – discusses forgotten mathematicians and myth-busting gendered attitudes to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). 

We are excited to hear more from the child prodigy and new Countdown host, who is taking on the role while Rachel Riley is on maternity leave, about her upcoming book She’s in CTRL and her aspirations for the future of maths…

When it comes to low-stakes assessment, the consensus is that it is assessment which is not pass or fail, does not cause added stress or anxiety for pupils (Bain, 2004) (children can make mistakes without a penalty) and aims to get children to retrieve information. This blog looks at how Maths Flex can be used for low-stakes assessment.

On 27 January we held a webinar to share advice from our authors, Tony Staneff and Josh Lury, about how to use Power Maths flexibly in response to the current situation. Many children are not going into each new unit at the usual, expected starting point, and the volume of missed learning is variable. Please watch the webinar if you have time (it’s 1 hour). Otherwise, this blog is designed to sum up some key points.

When it comes to low-stakes assessment, the consensus is that it is assessment which is not pass or fail, does not cause added stress or anxiety for pupils (Bain, 2004) (children can make mistakes without a penalty) and aims to get children to retrieve information. This blog looks at how Abacus can be used for low-stakes assessment.

Teachers sometimes ask how they can provide extra challenge for children who complete their independent practice quickly. Alongside the need to engage and stretch all learners, there may also be a practical consideration about class management, and the need for the teacher to support those whose understanding isn’t secure. Here are some suggestions to help ensure all children are appropriately challenged, as you work with the Power Maths resources.

Did you know you can send Abacus resources for children to access via their own logins? This might be invaluable when children miss lessons through illness or having to isolate at home, but it could also help you with setting homework or providing access to digital resources on devices in school.

This blog takes a quick look at the resources you might want to share and how to do it.