In education, there are moments when the data stops us in our tracks. The recent Maths Horizons project has done just that. The report, widely discussed in the national press, revealed a troubling truth: many pupils in England are passing their maths GCSEs without having truly mastered basic numeracy. Skills like working with decimals, percentages, and averages, concepts most would consider essential for everyday life, are being skimmed over or misunderstood.
It’s an unsettling finding. Not because it reveals something entirely new, but because it confirms what many educators have long suspected: we are often teaching to the test, rather than to the learner.
This isn’t a critique of teachers or schools. On the contrary, it’s an acknowledgment of the immense pressures they face. Mainstream classrooms are under constant strain, time-limited, data-driven, and curriculum-heavy. The system is designed to prepare students to pass exams, and in doing so, it sometimes prioritises performance over understanding.
But here’s the bigger question: what happens when a learner gets through the system without ever really “getting it”? What happens when a pass doesn’t reflect deep comprehension, and a child walks away with a certificate, but without the confidence to use numbers in the real world?
And more importantly: what can we do differently in Alternative Provision?
Here, we have time. We have space. We can slow down to deepen understanding. In AP settings like ours, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to respond in a new way. One of the strengths of our model is the ability to adapt. Because our curriculum is bespoke, we can meet learners at their developmental level, not their chronological age or key stage. We are not bound by the pace of the mainstream. We can take our time. We can catch the gaps.
This flexibility is crucial in maths, where early misunderstandings can build up like a traffic jam, blocking a learner’s progress for years. If you never fully grasped place value in primary school, it’s likely you’ll struggle with decimals or long division later on. That’s why fundamental maths skills still matter, not just for exams, but for confidence, independence, and life.
We use best-fit assessment tools that look at specific strands of maths, from Place Value and Number to Shape, Space, and Measures. This allows us to build a real, nuanced profile of a learner’s mathematical understanding. They may be developing in one area while showing strength in another and that’s okay. It’s our job to identify and support both.
Our approach is mastery-based. Learners don’t move on until they’re secure. We repeat. We revisit. We build slowly. That’s how confidence grows.
Our use of a mastery-based curriculum helps ensure that learning happens gradually and securely. Concepts are introduced slowly, reinforced consistently, and only built upon when the learner is ready. There’s no rush. No racing through content. Just steady, meaningful progress.
This approach is underpinned by the concrete–pictorial–abstract (CPA) model. Learners begin with hands-on, concrete resources to explore mathematical concepts. When confident, they move on to visual representations, before finally tackling abstract numbers and symbols. This progression supports real understanding, not just rote memory.
Because we don’t just want learners to do the maths. We want them to understand why it works, how it connects, and when it matters. That’s the heart of mathematical fluency.
The Maths Horizons report shines a light on the dangers of focusing too heavily on exam techniques at the expense of core understanding. In Alternative Provision, we have a chance to rewrite that story. Our learners often come to us with negative experiences of school maths, disengagement, anxiety, or even shame.
We aim to replace that with curiosity and confidence. When a young person begins to understand something they’ve previously struggled with, really understand it, you can see the change. Shoulders drop. Eyes lift. A small smile appears. That “I can’t” becomes “I did.” And that moment matters more than any grade.
Our tutors are key to making this possible. Across our team, there is a shared commitment to slowing down, identifying misconceptions, and building firm foundations. Tutors adapt activities, scaffold tasks, and give learners room to grow. They create environments where mistakes are part of the process, not something to fear.
We believe that number sense isn’t optional. It’s a life skill. It underpins budgeting, time management, cooking, planning, and problem-solving. It builds decision-making and confidence in the world.
That’s why we’re so committed to getting the fundamentals right; not as a remedial step, but as a transformational one.
As we continue to develop and refine our curriculum, our priority is clear: we’re not just trying to cover content. We’re catching the gaps. To make learning meaningful. To give learners a chance to rebuild, re-engage, and reimagine what’s possible.
Because when a learner starts to believe in their own mathematical ability, when they move from fear to fluency it’s not just a skill that changes. It’s their whole sense of self.
Thanks for reading.
Head of Education
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