SHINE maths teaching aid helps schools improve attainment

Three primary schools have reported significant improvements in their maths results after using a SHINE-funded diagnostic assessment to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and target teaching more precisely.

Schools say the assessment has transformed the way they plan lessons and interventions, helping more pupils reach – and exceed – the expected standard in mathematics.

Developed by Joanne de Groot, winner of SHINE’s 2025 Let Teachers SHINE competition, the Diagnostic Maths Assessment tool is designed to help teachers measure primary school children’s strengths and weaknesses across ten key curriculum areas.

Joanne initially developed the tool for use in her own class; she was frustrated that the existing assessments gave no diagnostic information to inform future class teaching.

“At best, the available assessments gave only a question level analysis for each pupil, which didn’t help class teaching at all; at worst, they gave no diagnostic information whatsoever,” Jayne said.

Seeing the success of the tool, her school asked her to develop something for each KS2 year group.

Then, with SHINE’s support, the project was expanded into other primary schools.

Impact highlights

• Two schools that had recorded below-national-average attainment over the previous three years achieved results above the national average for pupils reaching the expected standard in 2025. The percentage of pupils who were “secondary ready” in KS2 SATS rose by 2% and 28% respectively.
• In the third school, which had consistently achieved strong results, the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth by more than 20% compared with previous years
• Schools have used the diagnostic to reshape classroom teaching, target small-group intervention and improve transition between year groups.
• Following last year’s improved results in maths, one participating school has already repeated the diagnostic with its next Year 6 cohort to guide teaching and intervention.

By pinpointing misconceptions and gaps in understanding, the assessment enables schools to tailor classroom teaching and interventions to the areas that will have the greatest impact.

One participating headteacher explained how the assessment changed practice at their school. “Our results had been falling year on year for three years and we had nothing diagnostic to show us where the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills were. This diagnostic gave us the confidence to focus our intervention where it was going to have the most impact on pupils’ understanding and levels of achievement.”

The assessment revealed what the school described as “massive gaps” in pupils’ mathematical understanding, prompting changes not only to intervention programmes but also to everyday classroom teaching.

Schools report that one of the greatest strengths of the assessment is the way it informs professional conversations between teachers.

The assessment has also strengthened transition between year groups.

“The spider web diagram of the individual child really informs us as teachers where the gaps are for that child and begins to inform what they need next.”

The first test scores following implementation provide encouraging evidence of promise.

Across the three participating schools, results improved markedly compared with previous years.

In two schools where the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard had remained below the national average for the previous three years, 2025 outcomes moved above the national average.

Meanwhile, the third school, where attainment was already comparatively strong, saw a notable increase in the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in mathematics.

One school’s improvement was particularly striking. “In last year’s cohort no pupils were performing at above the expected level by the end of KS1; after this new approach, 26% of the cohort went up to secondary school above the expected level in maths.”

Encouraged by those outcomes, the schools are already using the diagnostic again with new groups of pupils, including in younger age groups, where gaps can be spotted and addressed at an earlier stage.

One Year 4 teacher at Our Lady of Pity RC Primary School said: “The results allow us to identify gaps in knowledge across the year group and focus groups in specific areas.”

Unlike previous assessments, which often required hours of manual analysis, the diagnostic provides an overview of patterns across a whole class of pupils, making it easier for leaders to identify priorities for curriculum development.

The information is also shared with parents, helping them understand where children need additional practice and enabling families to better understand the specific areas where their children may need support.

Looking ahead

Following a recommendation by a maths education consultant, there are several large groups of schools in discussions about taking up the programme, dramatically increasing the number of children it reaches.

As the programme grows faster than expected, a new website is now being created, supported by additional funding from SHINE.

The project is an example of the impact teachers can deliver in a relatively short space of time, if given the support and resources they need.