How the Primary Maths Series Achieves Deeper Attainment in the Mastery Classroom

Maths — No Problem! explains the impact of its Primary Series on pupils and teachers

How does the Primary Series of textbooks and workbooks help children learn maths?

One of the keys to successful learning is pupil engagement. The Primary Series is designed from the ground up to engage pupils. It uses a spiral approach to learning that encourages active, curious participation.

Tasks and activities are designed to be easy starting points for pupils that build to more challenging components.

For advanced learners, the textbooks also contain non-routine questions that help to develop their higher-order thinking skills.

Why are workbooks necessary to the MNP approach?

The workbooks are an integral part of the maths mastery process as a resource that helps pupils retain the concepts they are learning.

Instead of relying on rote, procedural memorisation, workbooks encourage pupils to articulate their thinking as they work through problems and experiment with their approach.

It is a form of self-guided review that gives children deep, sustainable conceptual understanding while helping teachers assess how pupils are grasping the material.

Does the Primary Series work with other learning resources?

Maths mastery starts with hands-on learning. Based on a concrete, pictorial, abstract (CPA) approach, the use of concrete manipulative resources like Dienes blocks help children understand concepts at the physical level.

Journaling resources give children a place to self-assess and review what they’ve learnt during the lesson. Drawing and describing their thinking gives teachers a window into pupil progress.

How does it help teachers in the classroom?

The Primary Series textbooks and workbooks are fully aligned with 2014 English national curriculum and recommended by the DfE.

Each lesson starts with an anchor task and unfolds step by step through exploration, discussion and practice, going conceptually deeper as pupils progress. They are designed to give pupils an active role in their learning.

This structure takes the guesswork out of lesson planning while giving teachers more time to do what they do best: guide and assess their pupils’ learning.

What is the evidence that this series works?

The Primary Series is built on evidence-based pedagogical research and has been successfully implemented in schools across the UK and beyond. As part of the MNP Accredited Schools Programme, Heathfields Primary School shared their experience.

Assistant headteacher Rebecca Keeling said, “Maths — No Problem! has had a significant impact on our results this year with 76% of children who took the test achieving the national standard – a 26% increase in our results from 2016.”

What resources are available to schools during the implementation process?

Change is never easy. That’s why the Primary Series is paired with world-class training, informed advice, and support that is tailored to the needs of each specific school.

Working with the MNP Primary Series, educators receive full access to online teacher guides and professional development videos that walk them through the maths mastery implementation process.

What are the expected outcomes?

Schools using MNP have seen attainment levels and maths standards increase across the board.

Specialist and non-specialist teachers gain confidence in their practice while pupils develop a deep, lasting understanding of mathematical concepts through improved problem solving and critical thinking skills – skills that translate beyond the maths classroom to their other school subjects.

Find out more about the Primary Series at mathsnoproblem.com/teach-primary or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).