Ria Drabble serves as Primary Deputy Director of Pinnacle Learning Research School and is a Year 6 teacher at Broadfield Primary School, part of the Pinnacle Learning Trust. In this blog, she describes how an extra-curricular maths club, supported by A‑level maths students, has built resilience and aspirations in greater depth mathematicians in Year 6.
At Broadfield, significant effort has been dedicated to improving mathematical fluency skills. Through targeted assessments and repetitive practice of core competencies, we have observed dramatic improvements in children’s fluency. Alongside these gains, we are also prioritising the enhancement of reasoning and problem-solving skills. These aspects of mathematics are often more challenging to develop due to the multitude of skills they require. Word problems, in particular, present a barrier for pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL), who constitute a substantial proportion of our student body. For these learners, decoding and understanding the problem is often the initial hurdle.
In my own classroom, we have been working on “finding the maths” within word problems by identifying key terms that suggest specific calculations or how answers should be presented. For example, in the following SATs question: “Jules is making bunches of flowers. Each bunch must contain 16 flowers. Jules has 750 flowers. How many complete bunches of flowers can Jules make?” students need to recognise that the required calculation is 750/16. However, the inclusion of the term “complete” requires them to understand that the solution should only include the whole number part of the quotient, disregarding the remainder. Explicitly equating “complete” with the concept of a “whole number” is an essential teaching point.
Beyond this general instruction and exposure to problem-solving, we also have students classified as greater depth mathematicians, whose understanding of these skills surpasses that of their peers. Our School Development Plan (SDP) includes a specific focus on supporting such students, prompting us to explore additional strategies and activities to challenge them further. One initiative involved engaging our greater depth Year 6 mathematicians in the Primary Mathematics Challenge, followed by seeking support from the sixth form college. We reached out to identify potential volunteers willing to work with these advanced learners. Within weeks, two highly capable and enthusiastic Year 13 mathematics students, supported by their tutor, established an after-school mathematics club for this group. During these sessions, the Year 6 students tackled diverse problems and mathematical puzzles, guided by the expertise of their sixth form mentors. Observing the club, I noted that many recommendations from the Education Endowment Foundation’s Improving Mathematics in Key Stage 2 and 3 Guidance report were being implemented, particularly recommendation 3 and 5.
Recommendation 3 advises teachers to:
"Select genuine problem-solving tasks that pupils do not have well-rehearsed, ready-made methods to solve. Sometimes problem-solving is taken to mean routine questions set in context, or ‘word problems’, designed to illustrate the use of a specific method. But if students are only required to carry out a given procedure or algorithm to arrive at the solution, it is not really problem-solving; rather, it is just practicing the procedure."
Recommendation 5 details pupil independence and motivation and strongly links this to metacognition. It says that pupils who demonstrate metacognition in maths should:
“• examine existing knowledge to inform the selection of a particular approach to solving a mathematical task;• monitor whether the chosen approach has been successful; and then• deliberately change or continue the approach based on that evidence.”
These recommendations were exemplified within the club. The children were not merely rehearsing previously taught methods but were required to think creatively and approach problems from multiple angles. The environment fostered collaboration, support, and at times, healthy competition. Moreover, having mentors close in age to the students proved highly inspiring for the participants.
The skills developed in this club have begun to influence classroom problem-solving activities. These students demonstrate greater resilience when faced with problems lacking a clear starting point. This increased exposure to problem-solving tasks has also yielded measurable outcomes; participants in the club generally achieve higher scores on reasoning assessments compared to their greater depth peers who could not attend due to other commitments. While it is difficult to attribute these outcomes solely to the club due to the small cohort and limited timeframe, the findings are encouraging. The club has been enthusiastically received by the students involved, and they have expressed a strong desire to continue collaborating with the sixth form mentors.
