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Bernie Westacott

@berniewestacott.bsky.social

1K followers 970 following 180 posts

Full time 1973-2012 Head of Maths. Now Part time intervention teacher. Introduced Singapore Maths in school 2006. Independent consultant 2012 - current. Oxford University Press maths consultant 2015-2020. Teach Monster game maths consultant 2020 - current.

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Aug 10

The separate videos of the vlog I did with @mrbartonmaths
(on Twitter) in 2018 can now be found here in a Playlist on my YouTube channel t.co/umIiJkywrx

Craig Barton and me

Craig Barton's one and only vlog was with me. Introducing Craig to all the manipulatives!

t.co

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Aug 1

..I mentioned that bar models in helping UK children to solve word problems are often undervalued because the problems are too easy and do not need bar models. However, these below (first two are Primary 2/UK Y3 age and the second two are Primary 3/UK Y4 age) from Singapore maths competition might!

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Aug 1

Great to meet with OCR staff Amy Dai @miss-agd.bsky.social Sarah Gotting and Mary Fisher online yesterday to discuss the feasibility of 'maths mastery' approaches, including manipulatives and bar models, being integrated into GCSE maths examinations. Lots of issues with this and much to discuss...

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jul 21

Made me chuckle!

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jul 18

A new UK study which has tracked nearly 6,000 children for more than a decade has provided solid evidence about what parenting style is associated with the best outcomes. And the answer is: “authoritative”. seed.natcen.ac.uk?_ga=2.107965...

SEED

seed.natcen.ac.uk

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jul 13

View of the Victoria Nile from the Black Lantern restaurant, Bujagali, Uganda. An evening of relaxation after a full-on week with schools out here.??

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jul 13

1/n Thought we had done our last Jinja Educational Trust (JET) trip, but they persuaded me and Karen to go again. We have spent the week travelling into JET schools, some 'off road' a long way from Jinja. Lots to share: children are stunning - so calm, focussed and well-behaved.

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jul 5

Using algebra tiles app to help Y10 understand what 'completing the square' looks like as we work on calculating intercepts on axes and turning points.

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 30

and @mathspadnicola.bsky.social

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 30

This is still one of my favourite videos I have made. A presentation I did for ‪@lasalleed.bsky.social‬ in 2023. Using @mathspadjames.bsky.social Decimals Blocks app. Fractals in action. I love apps that enable users to zoom in and out and to appreciate scale and connections.

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 28

Thank you, Amanda!

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 28

Huge shout out to @draustinmaths.com for her resources free online. These were so useful for Y10 consolidation and practice this week. They are so well constructed 😍

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 18

Great question from a Singapore Maths competition for Primary 6. Requires a careful and systematic approach and also has triangular numbers within that analysis.😍

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 16

Great problem solving for Y3 and Y4 pupils. I also use some of these questions for my Y2 Maths Enrichment Club.

The Mathematical Association @mathematicala.bsky.social · Jun 16

The FMC starts today! For children aged 7-9. Schools can still take part in the challenge by Friday 27th June - bookings close on Wednesday 25th June. buff.ly/NrZM8fL

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · Jun 14

‘Learning that does not last was never really learning, it was mere exposure’. Another cracker from @markmccourt.bsky.social. In my role as an intervention teacher and as a tutor preparing pupils for GCSE I see this issue day in, day out.

Mark McCourt @markmccourt.bsky.social · Jun 14

NEW BLOG: We Taught It. They Forgot It. We Moved On.

www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 31

It has been interesting helping some of our Y3 and Y4 pupils look at ways of solving these sorts of problems - this one is taken from a Grade 3 international maths competition.

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 30

Lovely❤️

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 26

Very excited to be asked to go out to Uganda this summer holiday to help the Jinja Educational Trust jinjaedtrust.com once again. They have recently taken on several new schools, so there is an increased need for support and training. Just booked flights 😁

Home

jinjaedtrust.com

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 25

Great to hear. I use a mix of BrainingCamp and Polypad. It makes such a difference to be able to work through the actual questions then use variation to focus on the key concepts and takeaways. All the best, Bernie

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 20

Early number and counting are complex. I love this overview of key elements of the number and counting trajectory from @gfletchy Progression of Early Number and Counting youtu.be/BX9RH8MLOp8?si… via @YouTube

Progression of Early Number and Counting

YouTube video by Graham Fletcher (gfletchy)

https://youtu.be/BX9RH8MLOp8?si…

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 20

The disastrous periodic 'revolution' so beloved of snake oil salesmen i.e. politicians et al desperate to leave a legacy - which they do, but mostly not in a good way 😱 - as opposed to the careful 'evolution' model of other successful jurisdictions. As always, Mark hits the nail bang on the head!

Mark McCourt @markmccourt.bsky.social · May 11

NEW BLOG: Educational Amnesia: Why England Is Sleepwalking into a Scottish Mistake

www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

Emaths - Educational Amnesia: Why England Is Sleepwalking into a Scottish Mistake

Resources and support for improving mathematics education in schools and colleges

www.emaths.co.uk

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 19

(2) This made it possible to change 5 groups (bits of paper) with 2 items in each to 2 groups (bits of paper) with 5 items in each; to have concrete groups of 0 items; and to set puzzles to move items to form equal groups when they were not equal.

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 19

(1) When we first introduced the Singapore maths pedagogy into our school in 2006, we realised very quickly how we needed to concretise the 'groups' in 'groups and items' as bits of paper. This made the groups something distinct from the items and they could be manipulated.

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 18

The words of a wise man who knows a LOT about teaching and learning.Too often I see an overcrowded maths programme being gone through at a ridiculous pace leaving many pupils trailing in its wake.

Mark McCourt @markmccourt.bsky.social · May 18

NEW BLOG: Why wise teachers slow down

emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

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Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 15

Using MS Whiteboard to make interactive prepared online apps to model directly content in the WRMH scheme. This unit from Y3 Autumn has the the videos, the workbook pages and links to app boards I have already set up and stored via links/codes.

Bernie Westacott @berniewestacott.bsky.social · May 13

Working with Y3 and Y4 Maths Clubs this week: as well as some UK First Maths Challenge questions, I will also share some Grade 2 and 3 problems from Singapore Maths competitions such as these: Grade 2 then Grade 3 - medium difficulty from the middle section of the papers. #UKMathsChat #MathsToday