At Wimborne Primary School, we mainly follow Hamilton’s progressive short blocks. Our pedagogically sound sequences of lessons ensure consistent mastery progression while avoiding the well-evidenced disadvantages of long blocks. Our progressive short maths blocks provide a loose spiral curriculum, allowing children to revisit each topic in a fairly short time span. This ensures children’s confidence is boosted by regular encounters with a specific skill or concept, and also that there is not the exasperating need for re-teaching when some of the children forget what was taught some months ago!

Our spiral short blocks carry many advantages:

Memory

Children struggle to really remember all the content of a particular block if that topic is not re-visited for another 5 or 6 months. Re-teaching is time-wasting and can be soul-destroying. Revisiting indubitably prevents the necessity.

Order

In maths, more than in many subjects, the order in which we teach things matters. Shorter blocks take a more skill-based approach to the order in which specific mathematical topics are covered.

Readiness

Some mathematical subjects need to be introduced to children in short bursts, so that no-one has time to get discouraged. Later in the year, we can to re-visit these, by which time our previous teaching will have had time to bed down, and we are likely to find children much more receptive to the learning required.

Boredom

It is almost impossible to prevent both teachers and children from getting bored as long blocks wind on. There is a certain amount of time after which it is really good to get a break with a different topic.

We use MyMaths, Times Tables Rock Stars and Sumdog to enhance the children's learning.  Please follow the links below to access these websites.  If your child does not have their logins, please see your child's class teacher.