1. The Vision for Key Stage 3
Having spent a long time looking at the learning objectives for key stage 3 over
the summer, it became very clear that we spend the first three years of school
teaching two thirds of the GCSE course and yet we start key stage 4, with a
significant proportion of students still struggling to grasp or remember concepts
that we have covered.
As a result of this the scheme of work will be changing over the coming year(s),
with the curriculum for key stage 3 shrinking to 2/3 of it’s current size, thus
giving us the time to focus on deeper learning/understanding and the ability to
develop students as learners and mathematicians, rather than teaching them a
large volume of mathematics which they struggle to remember. This will also
give us more time within each scheme of work to actually allow students to take
ownership of their learning and further their understanding of mathematics,
exploring topics and playing with numbers, rather than ploughing through the
curriculum and expecting students to ‘remember’ topics.
In the year 2013/14 years 7 and 8 will not do any data handling. In 2014/15
none of key stage three will complete any data handling, as this will all be taught
in key stage 4. In taking data handling out of the curriculum we will have more
time to give students an opportunity to play with the mathematics that we teach
them and deepen their understanding of number, algebra and shape.
Teachers will be expected to plan their overviews carefully, linking all aspects of
mathematics together, and using a mixture of didactic lessons, investigations and
team games to build the confidence of students and encourage them to ‘have a
go’ even if they are unsure of where to start. Teachers are expected to complete
each investigation prior to the lesson so that they understand where the
investigation leads and if there are any issues that students may come across.
Currently a lot of students are reluctant to write anything down unless they
know what the answer will be or where the task is leading them, and our aim is
to reinforce the idea that it does not matter if you do not know where it will lead,
or if indeed you get it wrong; the important part of learning is to have a go and
not be afraid to fail.
When planning lessons it is key to think of a focus, what do you want students to
get out of this lesson? This focus does not necessarily have to be mathematical,
as we are developing students as learners as well as mathematicians. For
example, it is perfectly valid for your lesson focus to be for students to struggle
with a concept/investigation and come up with solutions themselves. It is the
teachers responsibility to plan sequences of lessons that encourage and enable
students to take intellectual risks, to work independently and with peers, to lead
discussions and make links between topics/with previous learning (e.g. algebraic
fractions – link back to what we already know about numerical fractions, how
will we simplify/add/subtract them?). It is also our aim to develop students as

2. competent mathematicians who understand the linguistics of mathematics, and
use this to develop the clarity of their explanations and justifications.
The order of topics in the schemes of work do not reflect the chapters of the text
book so teachers can use the books as a resource as and when it is appropriate to
do so. Each term I will ask for resources that people would recommend, and will
add them to the scheme of work so that they are centrally available. Currently
we all have good resources in our collections but do not always have time during
the year to share them effectively. By building a centralised resource bank for
each term’s scheme of work I aim to reduce the amount of time each member of
the team spends hunting for worksheets for each topic. If we feel that a
worksheet is particularly useful it will be put into the compulsory resources for
the term and I will ensure that there are enough copies for each student.
The content of the scheme of work for Year 9 has not changed this year although
the format has been changed to reflect the changes in Year 7 and 8. The content
is staying the same for this academic year as the students in Year 9 have already
covered the data handling topics in year 7 and 8, so it was thought prudent to
continue as normal for the year 2013/14. The scheme of work will change
properly for the next academic year.
Having said that, an important change in Year 9 taking place this year will be
after the end of year examinations. Following the examinations, students will be
given their GCSE target grade and we will begin the GCSE scheme of work. As yet
we have not decided which topics will be covered but Lisa and I will be planning
this carefully in order to give Year 9 a purposeful end to the year so that they can
have a positive start to Year 10. Effectively, Key Stage 4 will now begin at the
end of Year 9 in mathematics.
The changes in the curriculum for key stage three present us with an exciting
opportunity to develop the teaching and learning within our department, so that
we can support and encourage students in their journey towards independent
learning, not just in mathematics but across the whole school curriculum.
Notes on the schemes of work for Key Stage 3
The header for each scheme of work…
On each scheme of work will be the length of the term, and how many lessons
there will be in this particular term. However, the number of lessons does not
include any that are affected by the ‘dates to consider when planning’, which are
at the bottom of the scheme of work. These dates will be in your blue folders on
the yearly calendar so you will be able to see if your particular class will be
affected by any of the dates listed.
The header will also include an assessment date and any additional information
regarding the assessment (particularly important for year 9 in term one as some
of the topics will not be included on the assessment – use this when planning
your overview!).

3. Numeracy Focus
This section will contain numeracy topics that students need to practice so that
they become second nature. These topics should be taught didactically and
students need to be drilled regularly in these to ensure that they can complete
calculations quickly without having to think about it. The reason for this style of
teaching for the numeracy topics is to ensure that students become
accomplished in these skills and can thus apply them to any situation in which
they are required. In doing this, students will be able to focus on the
problems/investigations at hand, rather than becoming bogged down in the
numeracy aspect of each task. Often students cannot access problems due to
poor numeracy skills, which sabotages lessons that you have carefully planned,
so the aim of the numeracy focus each term is to ensure that students can
confidently access more complex problems and get more out of problem solving
style questions.
Functional Skills
These tasks will either be from the textbook or worksheets that I will include on
the scheme of work. All functional tasks will be linked to topics that are being
covered in that particular term, so teachers must incorporate these when doing
their overview.
Compulsory Resources
These resources are resources that every student must complete so teachers
must ensure that they incorporate these into their planning.
Dates to be aware of when planning
I have gone through the calendar and these dates will affect either one or both
sides of the year. As yet I have not had time to add which side of the year is
affected, but hope to do so before the start of term.
Notes on the Scheme of work for Year 7 Term 1
During term 1 Vicky and Laura will not be timetabled to teach year 7 on each
side of the year and will be supporting all teachers to identify students who may
need extra support during year 7. Students will be taught in tutor groups until
half term. The assessment data will be used to mix up the students and ensure
that there is a balance of achievement from the first term in each class. At this
point Vicky and Laura will be allocated a class, giving five classes on each side of
the year. Through discussions with members of the team at the end of last year
it was not felt that having bigger classes with the numeracy students taken out
every fortnight was particularly successful for some students, and so we have
decided to have five classes on each side rather than four, thus making the class
sizes smaller. I am currently liaising with learning support, and we are working
towards students being offered numeracy intervention through learning
support, similar to the literacy support currently offered.

4. This is the only scheme of work where a start point will be specified, to ensure
that each member of year 7 has the same experience at the beginning of the year.
Please start with the algebra section, which should take 9/10 lessons in all.
Students should learn how to write basic algebra and find rules for sequences
prior to doing New York Cop and Around the Garden. These investigations are
designed to give students the opportunity to practice and apply what they have
learned and play with the mathematics involved. Students must be encouraged
to show their working neatly, drawing diagrams and enabling the reader of their
work to follow their train of thought. When doing these investigations it is often
a good idea to notify students that their peers will be marking it, so that they
take particular care with their presentation.
You will see on the second page of the scheme of work the chess timetable.
Michael Jacobs will be coming into your lessons during these times for half an
hour to teach the students how to play chess with your support. As the chess
lesson is only going to be for half of the lesson, it would be ideal to use the other
half of the lesson for numeracy practice. As soon as I have been sent the scheme
of work for the first term’s chess lessons I will forward it to you, as this may
inform your planning for numeracy.
Notes on the scheme of work for year 8 and 9 Term 1
There is no designated starting point for these schemes of work, so teachers are
expected to plan their overviews carefully and plan sequences of lessons that
encourage students to make links between topics.
There is a note on the header of the year 9 scheme of work about the test, please
bear this in mind when planning for year 9 as the first assessment will not
include any solving of equations, trial and improvement or plotting graphs.
We will be discussing the schemes of work during the inset time at the beginning
of term and training will be given throughout the year regarding investigations,
different approaches to teaching topics etc. Please do feel free to come and see
me or email me during the holidays if you require any further
information/guidance regarding key stage three.
I hope that this way of looking at key stage three is not too daunting for
everyone, but it really does follow on from the focus and direction that Kate has
given us over the last few years, and the way that it was organised made it very
easy for me to review it and put these changes into place.
I will be away from 24th August to 31st August but will check my emails as soon
as I get back! If you need to ask anything prior to this please feel free to text/call
me.
I hope you have all had a wonderful break.
Charlie