Embed a rich and engaging English and Maths Curriculum into your primary school...

We were excited to hold our first ever VIP Event at Madeleine Lindley bookshop this month to introduce our latest product - Focus English, and give Focus Maths users a recap and refresh of Focus Maths. The VIP Event was low-cost to ensure as many delegates as possible got the opportunity to attend.

The event provided insight into the strategy behind the products and a deeper explanation of how to use them. The morning session was led by our English consultant, Ros Ferrara, giving an insight into Focus English and offering a range of techniques to embed it into the school. The Focus Maths afternoon session was led by Clive Davies, and similarly talked about the thinking behind the Focus Maths product, which came out last year, and further discussed how to effectively embed Focus Maths into primary schools. 

What did we learn?

There was so much to learn! Both the Focus English and Focus Maths events looked at the various techniques used, the routes to achieving mastery and greater depth in both English and maths, and providing ideas and looking at the range of ways in which pupils' confidence can be increased.  Focus English offers a simple but effective approach to help the teacher to plan and deliver a curriculum that works for their individual pupils and the whole class. The easy-to-use layouts and the format of Focus English makes planning and delivery easier for the teacher too.

The Focus Maths event went through the Focus Maths product, discussing the routes to achieving greater depth and mastery in maths and recapping on the thinking behind Focus Maths and the methods used within it. Focus Maths supports schools to plan and deliver a maths curriculum that guarantees continuity and progression, giving teachers clarity and direction. At the event, Clive talked about metacognition and the impact of metacognition in the teaching of mathematics, and how this can be integrated into the Focus Maths curriculum.

Feedback from the Focus VIP Event

'Well structured - great ideas for writing/reading ops'

'Presented clearly, progressive way - exciting!'

'Focus on allowing children to read and actually enjoy a text instead of focusing on ticking boxes! Their understanding.' – does this make sense?

'Resources that are easy to access and clearly mapped.'

'The conference was well-paced and well prepared.'

'I really enjoyed the information about metacognition.'

'Subject knowledge of both people leading was excellent.'  

Future Events

We will be running a similar VIP event to showcase our popular Learning Challenge Curriculum in November.  This is being run from an outdoor classroom ‘The Ecohaus Room’ Boothroyd Primary Academy in West Yorkshire, which is part of the Focus-Trust. For more information on the VIP event, click here.