Pre‑Teaching at Our School

Pre‑teaching plays a crucial role in enabling our pupils—particularly those with SEND, those working well below age‑related expectations, and pupils with gaps in foundational knowledge—to access whole‑class teaching confidently and successfully.

Pre‑teaching is delivered before the main sequence of learning and is tightly linked to the upcoming content in the White Rose Maths small steps and our Foundational Knowledge Skills Progression. This ensures that pupils receive the building blocks they need before they encounter new learning in class.

Purpose of Pre‑Teaching

Pre‑teaching aims to:

• Strengthen foundational knowledge necessary for new learning
• Introduce key vocabulary using consistent structures
• Familiarise pupils with manipulatives and representations they will use in the lesson
• Remove barriers to participation in whole‑class discussion
• Build confidence for engagement in the “My Turn – Our Turn – Your Turn” learning sequence

Pre‑teaching is not extra work—it is essential access for learners who need smaller steps, more repetition or enhanced scaffolding.

How Pre‑Teaching Works in Our School

1. Identifying pupils who need pre‑teaching

Teachers use:

• White Rose End‑of‑Block tests to check prior knowledge
• Ongoing classroom AFL
• Mini‑whiteboard responses
• Observations during partner talk and guided practice
• Information from SEND plans

These assessments determine which foundational concepts, outlined in our progression document, require reinforcement or re‑teaching.

2. Using TA Hub for Pre‑Teaching

We use TA Hub resources to deliver structured, scaffolded pre‑teaching, especially for:

• Children working towards the expected standard
• Pupils with SEND
• Children working significantly below age‑related expectations

TA Hub materials break learning down into smaller, more manageable steps, aligning with your school’s adaptive teaching principles of flexibility and responsive support.

These resources include:

• Simplified versions of White Rose tasks
• Scaffolded models
• Vocabulary breakdowns
• Visual prompts
• Manipulative‑rich activities

3. Pre‑teaching vocabulary and language

Before a new block or lesson, children are introduced to:

• Key vocabulary
• Definitions
• Sentence stems
• Frayer Models
• Example and non‑example images
• Talk structures

This ensures they can fully participate in mathematical talk during whole‑class instruction.

4. Pre‑teaching manipulatives and representations

Children explore:

• Base 10
• Place value counters
• Tens frames
• Rekenreks
• Number lines
• Numicon
• Cuisenaire rods
• Fraction walls

The focus is on ensuring pupils understand how the representation works and how it will help with the upcoming learning.

What Happens During Pre‑Teaching Sessions

Pre‑teaching sessions typically include:

• Review of foundational content from previous year groups (using your progression document)
• Introduction to new vocabulary using a Frayer Model
• Fluency practice
• Exploration of manipulatives
• Worked examples from the next White Rose lesson
• Partner talk practice with sentence stems
• Small, manageable reasoning questions

These sessions are short, focused and carefully planned so pupils arrive to the main lesson ready and confident.

Impact of Pre‑Teaching

Pre‑teaching:

• Allows pupils to access whole‑class teaching more independently
• Reduces cognitive load
• Builds confidence and participation
• Increases success during "Your Turn" tasks
• Strengthens long‑term retention
• Helps SEND pupils and disadvantaged pupils keep up, not catch up

Pre‑teaching is particularly important in a school like ours, where many pupils start with weaker early mathematical foundations and benefit from additional structured support.

How Pre‑Teaching Links to Teaching for Mastery

Pre‑teaching strengthens the mastery principles by:

• Ensuring coherence through secure small steps
• Using high‑quality representations before new learning
• Supporting fluency with number facts
• Preparing pupils for variation and reasoning tasks
• Encouraging mathematical thinking through oral rehearsal

It ensures that all children, regardless of starting point, can benefit fully from a mastery curriculum