Developing Fluency with Multiplicative Reasoning at KS3 Work Groups

Who can take part?

This opportunity is for secondary schools in England. Each school nominates two KS3 teachers, including at least one experienced teacher. It is suitable for those who want to improve their own teaching and support improvements across their department.

What is involved?

This opportunity focuses on supporting students to develop a deep and connected understanding of multiplicative reasoning.

Working in a professional learning community, teachers will explore effective ways to teach multiplicative reasoning, share strategies and use carefully-designed classroom resources and guidance materials to improve their teaching.

One Work Group focuses on Year 7 content and is open to all secondary schools. A second Work Group, focused on Year 8 content, is for schools that took part in the Year 7 Work Group in 2024/25.

• You will strengthen students’ reasoning, fluency and confidence with multiplicative reasoning
• You will explore key structures and strategies for teaching multiplicative reasoning across KS3
• You will work with colleagues to plan and reflect on coherent, high-quality lessons
• You will improve understanding of how to support all students to think and communicate mathematically
• You will have access to high-quality classroom resources and guidance to ensure secure foundations for GCSE study

A pair of participant teachers from each school will join a Work Group; the pair should comprise at least one experienced teacher.

• NCP25-13a will focus on Year 7 content; this Work Group is available to all state-funded secondary schools.

• NCP25-13b will focus on Year 8 content; this Work Group is available to schools which participated in NCP24-14b

Developing Fluency with Multiplicative Reasoning in Key Stage 3 (Year 7) in Academic Year 2024/25. Participants are expected to attend the equivalent of three full days of workshops, and to complete school-based tasks between sessions. Workshops will be a blend of national and local sessions, and online and in-person provision.

Multiplicative Reasoning is a fundamental element of the Key Stage 3 mathematics curriculum, and an important foundation for much of the Key Stage 4 content. The centrally-produced resources are designed to support effective teaching of Multiplicative Reasoning through a series of core structures, laying foundations in Year 7 and then building on these within the Year 8 resources.

The resources comprise both classroom-facing slides and teacher guidance. Participants who actively engage with the teacher guidance and supporting materials will benefit most. Teachers are encouraged to generalise the pedagogical strategies they explore as part of this project, and embed them in their practice more widely, to meet the needs of all students.

For all participant schools there is also an expectation that the subject leader participates in a subject leader community (NCP25-15).