Ofsted’s series of subject reports continues to be published. Suzanne O’Connell looks at what inspectors had to say and their recommendations when it comes to the teaching and delivery of maths and history.
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Ofsted continues to publish its subject reports building on the 11 subject research reviews it published in-between 2021 and 2023 (see Ofsted 2021, 2023a). Last year, we looked at the findings and lessons to learn from the first of these subject reports, which focused on science.
In July, two more reports were released – mathematics and history (Ofsted, 2023b, 2023c). Both reports record improvements since Ofsted’s last in-depth reviews of these subjects with detailed findings from primary and secondary schools as well as recommendations.
The reports are recommended reading for subject leaders and their teams. They reflect what Ofsted considers to be quality education in these subjects and as such should not be ignored by schools, especially those anticipating an inspection. However, it should also be kept in mind that there have been disagreements about some of the points and recommendations.
For example, the Association of Mathematics Education Teachers put together its own table of concerns stemming from the maths research review. As the new report is based upon the review’s findings, we can only assume that they have similar reservations about some of those conclusions too.
Each report also comes with a disclaimer from Ofsted: “When we inspect schools, we evaluate them against the criteria in the school inspection handbooks. Inspectors will not use our findings in this report as a ‘checklist’ when they are inspecting schools. We know that there are many different ways that schools can put together and teach a high-quality … curriculum.”
When it comes to primary phase, there are common strands in both reports. Specifically, that subjects in the early and primary years should focus on establishing the foundation for later subject teaching. Mastery of basic concepts that can be built on throughout secondary education is the overwhelming principle promoted by inspectors.
The mathematics subject report
Overall, the main messages from Ofsted’s subject report into maths are positive. The picture has improved since they last reported 11 years ago. This thematic report is based upon 50 visits by inspectors to schools between September 2021 and November 2022.
Co-ordinating mathematical success (Ofsted, 2023b) is the second subject report to be published and follows the mathematics research review published in 2021 (Ofsted, 2023a). There is much for senior leaders to celebrate here in terms of the improvements made and the comments that the report writers make.
School leaders are praised for:
There is praise for the increased level of curriculum development that teachers now receive with much of this coming from the Maths Hubs. This additional training and knowledge must extend beyond the more experienced subject-specialists to include the other adults working in the classroom.
The authors regard the use of published commercial schemes as a positive development while pointing out that multi-academy trusts may have their own “home-grown” schemes. The NCETM’s “ready-to-progress” criteria is looked on favourably and reference is made to the use of “knowledge organisers” for sharing information with parents.
Different types of knowledge
Knowledge in mathematics is broken down into three separate types:
Declarative knowledge: Inspectors are complementary about pupils’ knowledge of times-tables but less impressed by their knowledge of number bonds. The report states: “Many schools’ curriculums identified and sequenced mathematical vocabulary, sentence stems and speaking frames. Much of this was committed to memory.” The preferred approach is one of consistency and mastery.
Procedural knowledge: These are the methods that pupils are taught, and inspectors are keen that pupils develop “automaticity” and are provided with the methods they will need for later stages in the curriculum. It also includes the ways in which written work is set out. Inspectors see the use of the “bar model” as a positive development (see further information). Procedural fluency enables older primary students to be able to choose the correct method to use.
Conditional knowledge: This refers to problem-solving and the report is keen to emphasise the importance of pupils being taught models and learning not being incidental or the result of guess work.
Meeting the needs of pupils
The mathematics research review comments: “Many pupils with SEND benefit from explicit, systematic instruction and from practice in using declarative and procedural knowledge.”
The report writers emphasise a “keep up, not catch up” approach and refer to effective examples of additional help such as pre-teaching and same-day interventions.
It is acknowledged that there might be some pupils who would benefit from being in groups with pupils of a similar level of attainment to learn different content practised using different tasks.
Pedagogy
The report writers emphasise the importance of consistency across the school and praise the use of the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, the use of routines and effective questioning. They are critical of pupils with behavioural needs having gaps in their books – seeing this as part of a “vicious circle”. They are supportive of table arrangements where the pupils face the teacher.
There is an emphasis on the need for practice. This, however, should also be accompanied by checks to make sure pupils are developing “automaticity” before moving on. There is criticism of workbooks which include “distracting pictures”. There is also reference to NCETM’s Mastering Number programme for younger pupils and the importance of “choral response” as low-stakes practice.
The report writers refer positively to the use of “live marking”, whole-class feedback and same-day marking feeding into short interventions in the afternoon. They are positive about the use of technology for testing and are supportive of benchmarks for proficiency of 80% accuracy, preferring this to “meeting age-related expectations”.
Systems at school level
The report writers are supportive of the use of Maths Hubs and note the progress that has been made by schools in providing the curriculum guidance needed for staff and CPD. They do however suggest that observation focuses too much on observable features of teaching rather than on pupils’ understanding. It is noted that schools still channel resources into year 2 and 6 – for example setting and smaller class sizes were relatively common in these year groups.
Recommendations
For the curriculum, recommendations for primary schools include:
For pedagogy and assessment, recommendations for all schools include:
Wider recommendations for primary schools include:
The history subject report
Ofsted reports improvements in the position of history with “trends towards its erosion” being reversed. This history thematic report draws on inspections of 50 schools between July 2022 and April 2023.
The report, Rich encounters with the past (Ofsted, 2023c), praises schools for:
However, concerns continue to be raised about:
History is taught in timetabled lessons – usually one full afternoon a week in half-termly blocks, alternating with geography. Schools have moved away from planning a topic-based approach and history is being taught as a separate subject. The report writers criticise schools where the aims for history are too broad and there is a lack of detail, particularly when planning for reception children.
Schools are praised for identifying important concepts and planning a learning journey so that these are developed into more complex concepts over time.
There is criticism of schools that only focus on the superficial rather than teaching the “richer, more connected knowledge of past societies for pupils”.
The report recognises the complexity of developing disciplinary knowledge and accepts that there is likely to be a focus on sources and evidence. However, too simplistic an approach can lead to misunderstandings about what it is to be a historian.
The use of story in history teaching gets a thumbs up, including its use in reception but teachers are warned about expecting pupils to answer historical questions without having sufficient knowledge which often leaves them guessing. Teachers need to be clear about what they want pupils to know and revisit previous curriculum objectives.
CPD is available for subject leaders, but the report warns that it is rare for teachers to have received training on how pupils make progress in history – this raised complications when it came to assessing pupils. History subject leaders were given very little additional time to carry out their roles.
Recommendations
Suzanne O’Connell is a freelance education writer and a former primary school headteacher. Read her previous articles for Headteacher Update via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/suzanne-oconnell
Headteacher Update Autumn Term Edition 2023
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