This year, three cohorts of learners took part in a trial of the Adapted Mastery Approach for Functional Skills Maths Level 1. As we wrap up the academic year, we caught up with one of the teachers involved in the trial to hear her thoughts on how it went.

Q:What stood out about using the Adapted Mastery Approach?

A:“A lot of the content was more visual, which really helped learners who prefer images—especially when tackling topics like fractions. I also noticed that the order of topics was different from how I’d usually teach, but it actually made sense. It helped show how different areas of maths link together.”

Q:Did you see any changes in learners’ confidence?

A:“Definitely. It was great to see learners gaining confidence, especially when they started moving away from using scaffolding techniques like ratio tables and percentage bars. Choosing not to rely on those tools anymore showed they were feeling more secure in their understanding.”

Q:Did the approach make you rethink your teaching?

A:“It did make me reflect on how I usually teach and the order I follow. Some of the new sequencing worked better—some didn’t. One challenge was the number of practical tasks. While they were useful, not all of them suited our adult learners. We had to adapt parts that didn’t quite fit.”

Q:Would you use this approach again?

A:“I’d definitely use some of it again. It didn’t cover every topic, so I had to add in a few extra bits, but I’d reuse a lot of the resources. I really liked how each topic included exam-style questions—it’s great for learners to start practising those right from the beginning.”

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