Some secondary pupils still find it hard to judge the size of numbers, work with place value or connect fractions, decimals and percentages. They may have different gaps hidden beneath a similar score, so use individual assessment tasks before forming a group.

Distinguish the barrier

Check understanding of:

• magnitude and ordering;

• place value in whole numbers and decimals;

• fractions, decimals and percentage equivalence;

• estimation and reasonableness;

• number-line position;

• multiplicative and additive relationships.

Ask pupils to explain and represent their thinking. A pupil who misreads a decimal does not necessarily need the same teaching as a pupil who can read it but cannot judge its magnitude.

Select the earliest useful starting point

Group pupils only where they share an insecure relationship that blocks current mathematics. Do not restart the entire primary curriculum. Link the intervention to present secondary content while making the missing foundation explicit.

A teaching sequence might move from a visual comparison or number line, to a diagram or table, to symbolic notation and then to an unfamiliar problem. Use age-respectful examples involving measures, money, scale, fractions, decimals and percentages.

Plan the intervention

Record the target, baseline, delivery pattern, review date and exit criteria. A typical pattern is two to four pupils, two or three sessions of 20 to 30 minutes a week. How long it runs depends on how far back the gap goes. Decide where it fits in the timetable and when you'll review progress; many schools review after six to eight weeks, and rotating the slot stops pupils missing the same lesson each time. Use one coherent representation long enough for pupils to understand the structure, then compare it with other representations and gradually reduce support.

Monitor transfer

Review unfamiliar examples and ordinary maths work. Track whether pupils estimate, compare, explain and use the relationship independently. If the group reveals different gaps, separate the teaching rather than adding more unrelated content.

Resources and guidance

• EEF: Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3 provides free evidence-informed guidance on representations, problem solving and intervention.

• NCETM secondary resources provide free curriculum materials that can support carefully planned teaching.

• Success@Arithmetic Number Sense (paid) is described for Year 3 and older pupils needing support with the number system and number facts. Confirm that its level, training and delivery model suit the secondary pupils concerned.

A branded programme is not automatically required. The assessed starting point and staff expertise should determine provision.

Talamo has no commercial relationship with any of the organisations named here. We suggest them only because we think they could be useful to schools.