The end of the year – and it's time for some creative compliance
(Image with thanks to William Gray)
As we approach the end of the school year as a Reception teacher in an English system, thoughts are turning (hopefully for one of the first times) to the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) and our assessments of these. The mathematics number goal, as I am sure all of you working in Reception know, contains the contentious statement:
· Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts. (DfE 2014:14)
Firstly, there is no research evidence that such “automatic recall” is either achievable for the majority of 4- and 5-year-olds, or that it is indicative of future mathematical success. Although both of these should be the objectives of an effective assessment goal, in fact, what we are assessing here is not useful.
Secondly, fluency (one of three important aims of the National Curriculum, along with reasoning and problems solving, that a Reception child has yet to begin) is not synonymous with “automatic recall”. For something to be automatic it is “done or occurring spontaneously, without conscious thought or attention” (online dictionary). Fluency is defined in the National Curriculum as follows:
“ (…) pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.” (DfE 2014)
Without thought or attention is not something we would want to encourage mathematically in our youngest children, when we are working with and building from their previous knowledge to establish deep understanding. To imply that a four- or five-year-old should have recourse to abstract number facts “without thought or attention” implies a drilling of abstract number facts, particularly when this section goes on to say: “without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids”. For four- and five-year-olds this is not appropriate. Furthermore, whilst some children might be able to do this, stressing abstract recall without a meaningful context is likely to further disadvantage some children, including younger, summer-born children.
Thirdly, we know that undue emphasis on this section of this one goal in order to tick ‘achieved’, leads to a narrowing of the mathematics curriculum offered our youngest children, and a lack of attention on what we know does matter: namely, spatial reasoning. (EEF, 2019 https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Projects/Evaluation_Reports/Early_Years_Foundation_Stage_Profile_(EYFSP)_Reforms.pdf). This situation is exacerbated as we have no assessment point at the end of the Foundation Stage for shape and space. This lack in the current ELGs directly contradicts research evidence that early spatial skills are predictive of later mathematical achievement (Hawes & Ansari 2020) and that teaching these improves mathematics in general, including number understanding (Cheng & Mix 2014; Hawes et al. 2017). Spatial mathematics education also has potential for improving attitudes to mathematics and school readiness (Verdine et al. 2017) as well as being a route to improving mathematics achievement (Verdine et al. 2017:102).
(Image with thanks to Julie Herlihy)
So, what do we do? These are some suggestions
· Discuss this situation with your colleagues, particularly those in Y1. Remind them of what you have been working on in order to establish later fluency (eg. using a wide range of structured and unstructured resources, varying context, subitising, hiding games etc).
· Remain committed to wide, rich mathematics where “automatic recall” does not take precedence, but is a consequence of this work, and accept this will happen better later.
· Remember – and remind all colleagues - that these are ‘best fit’ goals. It is possible for children to achieve these without achieving every single item. That is why they are written as a paragraph and not a bulleted list that is ticked off.
· Inform yourself and your colleagues about what research says is important – confidence and competence with early number, linking quantities and numerals and importantly working spatially and with pattern. In other blogs I have described games that I have found effective, as well as here: https://www.atm.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Journals/MT277/02.pdf The Early Childhood Mathematics Group site is helpful in particular with the importance of spatial reasoning: https://earlymaths.org/spatial-reasoning/
I continue to be contacted for support in helping children achieve this particular number goal from educators who have clearly spent a lot of time working on much effective teaching to support their children's early number understanding. At this point, stop. Professionally assess the situation. Be creatively compliant. Remember that the ELGs are about accountability rather than assessment, so tick the goal as achieved and focus on what is not only important but statutory:
“Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding - such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting - children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.” (DfE, 2014: 10)
And remind everyone of this from the DfE:
“Your child will mostly be taught through games and play.”
Have a great summer term, enjoying all your mathematical moments with your children.
Helen's book 'Playful Mathematics for Children 3 to 7' was published in March 2022 by Sage/Corwin and won the Nursery World Professional Book of the Year later that year. It is available from most booksellers: https://brownsbfs.co.uk/Product/Williams-Helen-J/Playful-mathematics---for-children-3-to-7/9781529755152
References
Cheng, Y. & Mix, K.S. (2014). Spatial training improves children’s mathematics ability. Journal of Cognition and Development, 15(1) 2-11. doi: 10.1080/15248372.2012.725186
Hawes, Z., Moss, J., Caswell, B., Naqvi, S. & MacKinnon,S. (2017). Enhancing children’s spatial and numerical skills through a dynamic spatial approach to early geometry instruction: effects of a 32 week intervention. Cognition and Instruction, 35(3), 236-264. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2017.1323902
Hawes, Z. & Ansari. D. (2020). What explains the relationship between spatial and mathematical skills? A review of evidence from brain and behavior. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 27, 465-482.
Verdine, B.N., Golinkoff, R. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K. & Newcombe, N. S. (2017) Links between Spatial and Mathematical Skills across the Preschool Years. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82, no. 1 (March): 1–150. doi: 10.1111/mono.12285