Article for Equals Magazine December 2024

2 plus 2 equals “stupid” OR don't ask me, I don't want anything to do with maths!

The first part of the above statement was made by 10-year-old granddaughter when I asked her whether she enjoyed her maths lessons. The truth is she reluctantly goes to school and when she does, I'm sure she does not engage with or enjoy any part of her maths lessons. I have never heard her talk about maths, do any calculations or have seen any of her written maths work.

My granddaughter as an EHCP, is diagnosed with Autism, FASD, and ADHD. (FASD is Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). She reluctantly goes to her school and a good attendance would be 50%. She doesn't go to a mainstream school. My daughter runs a special school and is the process of extending the age range to include 11-16 children so as to give a place to my a granddaughter and several other year 6 children.

Right now, there are many other children like my granddaughter and there are many parents and carers struggling to know how they can get the best education for their child.

To introduce myself. I am a retired maths teacher who started teaching in 1978 and finished in 2016. I mainly taught in 11-16 state schools and was Head of Maths from 1990 to 2013. I have been a member of the Maths Association for most of my teaching career.  Also, I have marked external exams for many years. I marked KS3, GCSE and AO. Since retiring I've marked for Cambridge International doing a range of GCSE's and Singapore O level and for the International Baccalaureate (IB) working as a Diploma marker. I've worked for Cambridge as a judge, comparing the standards of exam papers of and marking of some other countries to those of Cambridge. I'd like to think that I've maintained an interest in mathematics.

I'm currently in my first year of an EdD (Doctor of Education or Professional Doctorate part time course at Birmingham City University (BCU)). The Area of Research stated on my offer letter is:

“Title: An exploration of maths curriculum access for learners with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in KS3 and KS4. A bounded case study of one local authority.”

The local authority is likely to be based very close to where I live as it has an active FASD parent support group and an active Branch of the Maths Association (Stoke and Staffordshire). However, the first year, probably two years of an EdD involve passing modules and research methods before progressing to the thesis stage.

Many of you will not be surprised to learn that there is very little work being done in the UK linking FASD and learning maths. Any work has been done has focused on early intervention at KS1 and KS2. Given that approx. 3% of pupils have FASD then this is a significant number of children. Its worth noting that currently a diagnosis of FASD is not recorded so actual numbers are not available from Government statistics.

Many of the sessions at the EQUALS conference in September focused on Dyscalculia which affects approx. 6% of pupils. There was a heavy emphasis on a practical, “hands on” approach. Similarly, pupils with FASD usually need 1-1 support and  to approach any maths learning through their interests such as music or poetry or storytelling (finding their brilliance and utilising it!). The traditional concept building approach that I worked with doesn't appear to work with these pupils as they cannot work with abstract concepts such as time or money and they can't retain concepts learnt in the traditional sense.

Together, Dyscalculia and FASD accounts for approx. 9% of school pupils. This is clearly a large number of pupils.

There is knowledge of the problem, not so much of a solution.

This is what Professor Barry Carpenter, who until he retired, was one the country's leading authorities on FASD.

“The neuroscience around this tells us that the teratogenic effects of alcohol on the brain in utero significantly affects the parietal lobe, which is the brain's centre for numeracy and mathematical computation.

Whilst there has been some level of progress in the education of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, we still have a long way to go on appropriate adaptations and accommodations within the curriculum. This is particularly so in the area of mathematics.”  

He goes on to say

“I wish you every success in your forthcoming research project and I shall look forward to reading of some of the outcomes. Most of all I know that children will benefit from this research because of the greater level of insight that you will be able to offer to teachers as a result of your work.”

There are other organisations that can help: The FASD network (provides support for parents usually through Parent groups.

This is a statement Maria wrote supporting my research focus.

It is run by Maria Catterick who was also kind enough to offer her support:

“I am Maria Catterick, founder and director of FASD Network UK. This is an award-winning organisation centred on raising awareness of the condition, providing training, and supporting thousands of families and practitioners to gain support and solutions for those with FASD. I am also a founding member of the FASD UK Alliance which networks all the FASD organisations across the UK. I authored one of the earliest UK books on FASD and have a background in social work and learning disabilities. I have also provided care for ten children with FASD as a foster carer”

Maria went on to say

As someone who has worked in the field of FASD for the past twenty years, I too can see the gap in research in this particular subject matter and witness the repeated frustrations of teachers, students and families alike at the lack of attainment of Maths GCSE's or practical life skills relating to maths time and money for people with FASD. This is a very common area of deficit for people with FASD, and so far, apart from the MILE programme used abroad, we have no tangible solutions to offer. Stephen is addressing this issue that has the potential to transform lives and outcomes.

There is also the National FASD website which offers lots of resources and links to materials. Besides raising awareness and providing information for parents and professionals another aim is the prevention, so educating potential mothers about the impact of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Their website and contact details are:

National FASD. https://nationalfasd.org.uk

The National Organisation for FASD, The Priory, High Street

Ware, Hertfordshire. SG12 9AL

England

Helpline:

So, in my initial reading and initial background research, a number of themes emerged:

·     In the UK there is a lack of recognition and policy on FASD from the UK government

·     It impacts a significant number of pupils

·     There is no link between learning maths and pupils with FASD in teacher training and limited awareness amongst serving teachers (although I have no direct evidence of the extent of that)

·     There is extreme difficulty for parents to get a diagnosis and then an EHCP

·     There is insufficient school places both in state schools and in specialist SEND schools

·     Most academies will give the response “we can't cater for their needs”

·     We do not have enough specialist maths teachers

There is some work being done in other countries relating to Learning Maths for pupils with FASD. This is mainly in New Zealand, USA and Canada. Maria mentioned the MILE (Maths Individualised Learning Experience) program which is in USA and focuses on pupils of a similar in age to our KS2. As the name suggests it relies heavily on 1-1 work and individualised intervention and support work.  I intend to investigate this further and see what is transferable to our school system and our teaching methods and curriculum approaches and materials.

The motivation for doing my research is to help inform the training of future maths teachers and to help with the in-service training of current teachers.

I am aware of the difficulty in recruiting and retaining specialist maths teachers. My daughter tells me that there are workers prepared to be trained to work with pupils in her school and that very often those pupils are working below the levels expected of the lowest levels of the National Curriculum. This level of attainment is echoed by those reporting a very low (if not zero) percentage of pass rate at GCSE. Given that this is one of the government's benchmarks for further education and employment it is a very worrying picture.

Stephen Butterfield. Msc, BEd (hons)

My contact details are:

07711 284599

Stephen.butterfield@mail.bcu.ac.uk