Management issues connected with implementing and running Wave 3 mathematics intervention at whole school and classroom levels are outlined.
Guidance on Leadership and management, Inclusion, Access strategies for mathematics, and School-self evaluation of Wave 3 mathematics provision is given.

These are illustrated through case studies and FAQs from schools in the pilot.

Frequently asked questions

1. Should I only use the materials with one child at a time?
2. However do we fit in Wave 3 with everything else?
3. How should we select the children for Wave 3 interventions?
4. I'm the SENCO, but my strengths are in literacy so what is my role in Wave 3 mathematics?
5. Will children be withdrawn from lessons or will Wave 3 interventions sometimes or always be kept within the class lesson?

1. Should I only use the materials with one child at a time?
Although the materials are intended to be used with targeted children identified as having specific errors and misconceptions, the materials are flexible. In pilot schools, sometimes they were used with small groups where children had common needs.

2. However do we fit in Wave 3 with everything else?
Some schools managed their Wave 3 intervention by using teaching assistant time previously deployed on non-specific in-class support for lower-attaining children in the daily mathematics lesson. Other schools used a range of strategies to give space for Wave 3 work, such as diverting some teaching assistant time from other subject areas to focus more on mathematics. In one pilot school every class did their daily mathematics lesson at the same time so that children with similar errors and misconceptions (from various year groups) could be grouped.

As the pilot progressed, many of the later teaching units included whole-class work linked to the errors and misconceptions, often with a challenge and problem-solving slant. This enabled teachers to weave Wave 3 work into the whole-class context.

3. How should we select the children for Wave 3 interventions?
It will be class teachers, in their day-to-day assessment during the daily mathematics lesson and in marking written work, who will note children's errors and misconceptions. They can use the questions in the third column of the tracking charts to confirm their diagnosis.

4. I'm the SENCO, but my strengths are in literacy so what is my role in Wave 3 mathematics?
You will have an overview of all the Wave 3 interventions in school (not just mathematics) and you will have the SEN Code of Practice in mind. You could coordinate staff who are involved, making sure that there is good communication throughout the school, and supporting class teachers in tracking children's progress so that the impact of your Wave 3 provision can be evaluated.

5. Will children be withdrawn from lessons or will Wave 3 interventions sometimes or always be kept within the class lesson?
Pilot schools said their practice varied considerably. In one school, when the teacher wanted to do the Wave 3 work, she stayed in the class working with the focus group while the teaching assistant supervised the rest of the class as they worked on the task the teacher had given them.

Schools where children were regularly withdrawn identified a problem with keeping the teacher informed of those children's progress; the children were also becoming out of touch with the whole-class work.