Hear from Mark Hyslop, a P7 Classroom Teacher and ICT co-ordinator at Nether Robertland Primary in East Ayrshire, Scotland about how they use Sumdog in their school.
About the school
Nether Robertland Primary School is a non-denominational school. It serves the communities of Stewarton, all children living in surrounding rural areas. 305 children. There are currently 12 classes. The majority of children live in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) data zones 7-10 and have been using Sumdog in their school for many years to support their learners.
Why did you choose Sumdog?
We were looking for fun, interactive maths games that kept our pupil’s attention, alongside additinal resources to assist with the assessment of our pupils. We also wanted something that we could manage the subscription cost of, that had the most beneficial impact on learning and teaching. I think East Ayrshire were doing a pilot and I was interested in trying it, my class really liked the games.
Boosting maths fluency in the classroom
We use a mixture of online games, teaching tools, classroom games and textbook work to teach our curriculum. I use Sumdog to practise times tables skills fairly regularly. Also as an assessment tool at the end of start of units of work. We also use it as a diagnostic tool to gauge pupil’s abilities in numeracy and maths. I occastionally use it to take part in the East Ayrshire contents and to set up contests between classes.
“Staff regularly use Sumdog from P3-7 in a variety of ways to teach and motivate children in a wide variety of mathematical concepts.”
The assessments are particularly beneficial. Every two to three weeks, I use Sumdog to conduct summative assessments without labelling them as tests. This reduces anxiety, especially for pupils with additional support needs (ASN), who might find traditional assessments overwhelming.
How is Sumdog received in your school?
As a teacher, I especially like the games, the choice of activies and the variety of topics available. The contents, competitions and colour coded times table skills charts are also very useful.
All pupils seem to really enjoy Sumdog throughout the school. They really like the variety of games and comparing themselves against their peers in the class and school as a whole.
