Adaptive teaching is a key goal for all teachers. Gill Shearsby-Fox shares five ways adaptive teaching methods can be used to improve primary maths provision as we work to ensure no child is left behind
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There has been a lot of talk about the importance of adaptive teaching, but what do we mean by this and how can it be used in the maths classroom to ensure you are creating confident, fluent mathematicians?

The fifth of the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2011) says that we should strive to “adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils”. It details an expectation for teachers to differentiate appropriately and to use and evaluate a range of teaching approaches, taking into account pupils’ learning needs.

This ideology is reflected in the aims of the primary maths curriculum, which itself states: “The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage.” (DfE, 2021)

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