Langley Green Primary School, Sussex
About the School
Langley Green Primary School is a larger than average primary school with over 450 pupils. The school was formed following the closure of Langley Green Middle School and Langley Green First School, Crawley, in 2004.
In 2016/17, the school celebrated an above average scaled score of 105 in Maths and currently has 80% of KS2 pupils working at the expected standard in maths, putting them in the top 5% of schools nationally.
Deputy Head Teacher, Debra Lewis has led maths at Langley Green for the past 13 years. She discusses how Big Maths has helped improve mental arithmetic skills and resulted in better exam results.
The Challenge
“I identified that the children in school needed to improve their mental arithmetic skills. We tried many different approaches, but none of them brought measurable or significant impact. I heard great things about Big Maths from local schools, so decided to book a training day.
Since adopting the Big Maths approach, the children’s mental arithmetic skills have gone from strength to strength, which has impacted significantly on our standards and exam results.”
Favourite Features of Big Maths
Teachers at Langley Green shared their opinions of the best features of Big Maths:
“Children enjoy the active learning style and routine. Big Maths clearly identifies the next steps in their learning and clear progressions supports the pupils.”
“It’s great to be able to print off the weekly Big Maths Beat That! resources at a click of a button.”
“Big Maths offers a clear, systematic approach for teaching maths. The website and resources are excellent and short, snappy bursts of teaching Big Maths allows maximum impact and a high level of pupil engagement and enjoyment.”
What Do the Children Think?
Children are always eager to take part in CLIC sessions and know where their learning is heading and what they are aiming for.”
“Pupils love the timed Big Maths Beat That! Challenges. They love the jingle at the start and enjoy beating their own scores.”
“I observed one lesson where all the children were dancing in their seats during the introduction music – laughing and enjoying themselves. As soon as the timer started, every head was down and every child was focused, wanting to achieve the highest possible score they could.
What is the Biggest Benefit of Big Maths for Teachers?
“The online resources have saved me a lot of time. Clear planning is provided, which is great for both experienced teachers and teachers who are new to Big Maths.”
“Big Maths Beat That! Challenges are easy to print. Having names and previous scores already added saves around 30 minutes each week.”
How Has Accessing Big Maths Online Helped with Delivery?
“It is great to have fresh ideas for teaching each area. The teacher notes are easy to use, help with delivery, and can be easily adapted if you would like to add your own touch.”
“The resources and teacher notes are extremely helpful and give a strong guide to teaching Big Maths to your class.”
Managing Classes and Tracking Progress
“It is easy to set up your class and input data.”
“The tracking within Big Maths is fantastic for senior leadership and maths leads as it clearly shows progress and whole school strengths and areas for development are easily identified.”
Like what you hear?
Big Maths can easily be the way forward when it comes to teaching mathematics in your school. Contact us now to arrange a call to discuss your objectives. Take the first step towards changing the way you teach maths.