1. What does it look like in Currie Nursery?
SEAL Maths
What does it look like in Currie Nursery?

2. Background of SEAL SEAL (Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning)
An authority priority in City of Edinburgh (and other local authorities across Scotland) with training and support materials for teachers
Whole school training for all teachers to build confidence and knowledge across the school
Focused training for specific stages (started with P1 in 2013/14 , and since P2, P3 and P4)
Pedagogy (way of teaching) based on years of international research
Initially used as an intervention “Maths Recovery”
Focus on understanding, strategies and mental agility
My experience – used as Support for Learning tool with P4 and P5, used it in P1 for 3 years and now in Nursery.

3. How do we encourage this?
An addition question:
How do we stop this?
Need to count this number of items
Counts from one
= 32
Starts at 27 and counts on in ones
Starts at 27, jumps up 3 to 30 then 2 more.
Finds then adds on the 20
How do we encourage this?

4. SEAL (Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning)
Stage 1 - Emergent
Stage 2 - Perceptual
Stage 3 - Figurative
Stage 4 - Counting-on
Stage 5 - Facile

5. Stage 1 - Emergent
Saying Forward/Backwards Number Word Sequence (FNWS/BNWS) to 20
Sequencing, recognising and identifying Numerals to 10
Engaging with concrete items (counters, rows of dots)
Feeling, seeing, hearing items as they count
Opportunities to count items in one and two collections
Lots of practise organising
Finger patterns 1-5, seen and unseen and double finger patterns 1-5

6. Stage 2 - Perceptual
FNWS and BNWS starting at different numbers (to 30)
Numbers before and after up to 30
Sequencing, recognising and identifying Numerals to 20 (with a focus on teen numerals)
Adding two collections of different coloured counters together – gradually screening first, then second, then both collections.
Screening some counters within a row
Partitioning visual patterns to 6, then to 10
Partition numbers to 10
Develop initial knowledge of equal groups and sharing

7. What does it look like in the classroom?
Rotation Format
3 lessons per week (the other two maths sessions are used to teach other areas of maths besides numeracy e.g. time, measure, shape, information handling)
Rotation of 3 activities - Teacher focus - Independent activity - Written activity/game to play with a partner
All activities matched to the SEAL planner – 1 hour lesson

8. What does it look like in Nursery?

9. Group Time
6 x groups – 1 adult to 10 children

10. Tracking learning in the Nursery - Learning Journals
We wanted to find out if…

11. What can you do at home?
Make maths fun! – don’t force it and don’t worry!
Check out the Noticeboard for the ‘Nursery Rhyme of the Week’ - sing songs, read stories.
Go on a number hunt - numbers on houses, buses, etc. – ‘I wonder what number will be on the next house? What number do you think was on the house before?’
Count steps, stairs – ‘How many steps do you think it will take to get to the shop?’
Give maths a real-life context

12. ‘Spinderella’ by Julia Donaldson
A story about the importance of numbers

13. What can you do at home?

14. How do we know it is working ?
Teacher evidence in learning journals
Standardised Tests Results
SEAL assessments
Pupil Focus groups
The pupil’s ability to
talk about their learning

15. Thank you for coming!
Any questions?