Introducing, Freckle Spots! In this three-part series we’re breaking down our latest primary maths practice programme, Freckle. You may be wondering how it works, how it can engage pupils in the classroom whilst nurturing their numeracy skills, and lastly how it can support teachers. This series will address all of those lingering questions you may have alongside examples of how it has already been implemented in the classroom successfully.

What is Freckle?

Freckle’s learning platform combines leading, research-backed educational practices with common core and key focus skills-aligned content, which facilitates math practice. This results in a rigorous, evidence-based curriculum that supports the growth of all pupils when used as a primary or supplementary classroom resource.

Freckle’s purpose

Freckle’s purpose is to help teachers reach every pupil at their own level in Maths. It allows educators to identify each pupils individual numeracy level and deliver “just-right” practice in line with the national curriculum. Catherine Magee, a member of the SLT at St Comgall’s has been exploring Freckle with her class throughout the year to support efficient learning, independent practice, and whole-class instruction. Doing this, she has documented her Freckle spots; exemplifying why Freckle is not only favoured by the teachers at her school, but also by the children.

How it works

Freckle is flexible, it captivates every learner with differentiated practice, and is designed to be both teacher-led and student-paced. You can assign specific math exercises based on year group-level standards, and also for students who require practice outside of their year level. Freckle can provide self-paced practice that continuously adapts as students progress. Rather than simply having a teacher stand in front of a class and deliver instructions for pupils to follow, Freckle encourages a collaborative effort between pupil and teacher giving pupils that independence to set their own weekly targets with an incentive of earning coins to spend at the shop – a super motivator! As seen below Catherine, shows just how empowering it is for pupils to take ownership of their weekly targets.

Reach pupils at their level

When pupils do the work, they learn, whether it’s self-paced or teacher-assigned. Freckle offers support to both pupils and teachers. When participating in independent maths practice, or if an educator is occupied with a pupil whilst another requires assistance, Freckle can bridge that gap between students waiting around and potentially becoming distracted or demotivated and teachers becoming overwhelmed with multiple pending requests. During adaptive maths practice, both parties can benefit from utilising the built-in hints feature – which can be accessed by clicking on the lightbulb icon on the right-hand side of the screen. This will then prompt a hint to appear, which will provide clues for approaching a particular question if a pupil is struggling to answer it, as Catherine demonstrates with her pupil below.

Read more about how schools have successfully implemented Freckle as a learning tool to support maths engagement.
Watch previous Freckle webinars and find out more about upcoming events here.