Hear from Philip Bowden, a Year 4 teacher, Maths Lead and Phase Lead at Radipole Primary School in Weymouth, in the South of England, about how they use Sumdog to boost maths fluency in the classroom and at home.
About the school
Radipole Primary School is a mixed community school situated on a large rural site in North Weymouth. The pupil population is approximately 435 with 14% of pupils qualifying for Pupil Premium funding. The school has been using Sumdog for one year after another school recommended the platform during a local maths hub meeting.
Getting pupils excited about maths
One of the biggest challenges we faced at Radipole Primary was getting our pupils excited and engaged in maths practice. Prior to using Sumdog, we had used other EdTech platforms to support pupils’ maths learning, however, they felt dated and lacked a child-friendly interface. After speaking to a teacher from another school who suggested we try Sumdog, we were impressed with how fun and engaging the games were! The children particularly love the avatar, house and garden features, which motivates them to complete their maths work and earn coins to spend.
Boosting maths fluency in the classroom and at home
We primarily use Sumdog as a homework tool to set objectives for the upcoming week or for regular times tables practice. I create groups by ability and set regular challenges for pupils to complete at home. On additional practice days, we use Sumdog in class and set work using the White Rose Maths aligned curriculum as a general structure with a focus on problem solving and reasoning. At our school, teachers are encouraged to use Sumdog often and in short bursts to boost fluency and engagement in class. Teachers have found the diagnostic tool a helpful feature to identify strengths and weaknesses in learning and track pupils’ progress over time. We have also found using Sumdog for times tables recall to be highly effective and are keen to continue using it as we lead up to the Multiplication Tables Check in June.
Building pupils’ confidence in their maths ability
"Since implementing Sumdog, we have seen a significant improvement in children’s attitudes towards maths."
We’ve noticed that the multiple choice question format is less intimidating for pupils who struggle with confidence in their maths ability, this helps to reduce a sense of anxiety around maths overall. On days where our ICT suite is open during lunchtime, many pupils choose to go in and use Sumdog. Previously, children would never have wanted to practise maths in their free time. Similarly, with how quick and easy it is to set work on Sumdog, teachers now view homework in a much more positive way. Parents have also found Sumdog to be a great addition to their children's learning with pupils now voicing their excitement about maths.
