The KS3 (11-14) content can be found in the Mathematics programme of study:KS3. From Complete Mathematics, Annotated KS3 Curriculum Changes is annotated clearly with changes that were made in this programme of study.
Also From NCETM the DfE has published new guidance -written by the NCETM’s Secondary Team to support the teaching of maths at Key Stage 3. This guidance offers a detailed ordering of the maths that students need to learn from the beginning of Year 7 until the end of Year 9.
Comprehensive coverage of KS3 content can be found from the following sources.
Also included on this page, you will find Transition resources for the transition from KS2 to KS3.
From NCETM comes a Mathematics glossary for teachers in Key Stages 1 to 3. Also from NCETM comes the very valuable Secondary Assessment Materials which have been written to support teachers in assessing students at KS3. Examples of questions, tasks and activities are mapped against the key mathematical skills and concepts within the KS3 Programme of Study.
On Dr Frost Maths choose KS2/3/4 from the resources view or select the White Rose Maths course, this covers Year 5 through to Year 11 and also a one year GCSE resit. See also the secondary resources from White Rose Maths.
Access is freely available for all the schemes of learning and assessments. Looking at the schemes of learning you will see additional resources to download, for example, the very valuable Complete Secondary Small Steps document. The National Curriculum Progression document shows how the White Rose Maths curriculum links to the Key Stage 3 and 4 National Curriculum.
On Transum Mathematics, you can also see resources linked to the White Rose Schemes of Learning as well as to areas of the National Curriculum.
On Transum Mathematics there is a clear Topic Index for Teachers also, for students a Maths Map with numerous activities to support their learning. You can also search by the Key Stage 3 curriculum content; selecting Algebra for example takes you to a page with the KS3 content statements for Algebra. Select any statement for several resources picked out which are related to that statement.
The following sites can all be easily searched by topic:
- Standards Unit
- mr barton maths Maths Topic Index Page
- BBC Bitesize KS3
- MathsBot.com GCSE Resources, GCSE Exam Style Questions, GCSE Revision Grid and Practice GCSE Papers all allow a choice of topic
- Dr Austin Maths – Number
- Transum Maths Map for Students
- Transum KS3 links to curriculum statements and suggested activities
- Andy Lutwyche – Number
- White Rose Secondary Resources
- Open Middle – use the tabs at the top for topic areas by age
- Math HTML5 PhET sims by topic see PhET Sims – Index.
- Curriculum for Wales: Diving Deeper (scroll down for English) with chapters on place value, negative numbers and fractions.
- Curriculum for Wales: Calculation Guide-pdf or note the Word version also.
- Dr Frost Maths KS3/KS4 Key Skills Number
- OCR Section Check-in tests
- AQA Topic Tests – Number
- maths4everyone an extensive library of excellent resources
- NCETM Secondary Assessment Materials
- CIMT, and from Nathan Day all the CIMT practice books merged into one searchable, fully-indexed, 2100-page PDF
- Colin Foster – Mathematical Etudes (scroll down for etudes by topic)
Older, but still with many useful examples – see these Exemplification Examples which were written by the National Strategies for the then Secondary Framework for Teaching Mathematics. The examples illustrate what students should be able to do within a particular strand of objectives by the end of each year. Examples are in the four categories number, algebra, statistics and geometry and include examples for Year 7, 8 and 9. There are many excellent examples here still relevant for KS3.
- Number (includes Ratio and Proportion)
- Algebra
- Geometry
- Probability and Statistics
Maths Challenge questions are an excellent resource at any time – not just for preparation for the competitions, particularly with the increased requirement for problem-solving skills at all levels. It is possible to access Maths Challenge questions by topic for Junior, Intermediate and Senior from Dr Frosts’s wonderful website full of outstanding resources.
Staying with the Maths Challenges, see this post, Challenge prompts which provides just what the title says, a video prompt for students trying Maths Challenge questions. Several papers are covered for the Junior (JMC 2014-2019) and Intermediate (IMC 2015-2017) Mathematical Challenges.
From Nrich, their Secondary Curriculum page includes a mapping document and advice.
From AQA on all about Maths, check the KS3 tests for Years 7, 8 and 9. These provide a large bank of assessment questions designed to be accessible to students of any ability; very helpful test analysers are available for each test. To access these tests and analysers as well as other resources on All About Maths, AQA’s free Maths portal, you will need to register. All About Maths is for teachers who offer, or are considering offering AQA maths qualifications.
Also relevant for KS3-KS4, check AQA’a excellent Bridging the Gap resources.
KS3 resources are available from Pearson Edexcel. Go to Pearson Edexcel’s Teaching and learning materials and look under key stage 3 support. These interactive resources include suggested starters, key skill objectives & manipulative ideas to engage learners.
OCR’s planning and teaching resources for GCSE include many resources relevant for KS3. These include the excellent Check In tests which are very useful in KS3, consider the language of functions, for example, the first questions could be used with students as young as Year 7. Full details of the Check in tests can be found in the Teachers’ Guide. Each test is of a similar format in that Questions 1-5 cover procedural calculations (AO1), questions 6-8 require the ability to reason and communicate mathematically (AO2) and questions 9-10 relate to problem-solving tasks (AO3). There is also an extension task. Very usefully the Check in tests are also available in Word Format.
Transition Resources
The many useful resources from OCR have already been mentioned; also available from OCR are transition guides. See for example this Equations Transition Guide which is very clear on the differences in the demand and approach at the different key stages. Each transition guide includes the relevant checkpoint tasks, in the Equations transition guide these activities focus on solving equations in one variable including those that require some rearrangement.
For the transition from KS2 to KS3 see MEI’s transition resources including an excellent series of webinars. The webinars explore curriculum and pedagogical continuity across the KS2 to 3 transition and look at the Primary Maths Guidance Document. The guidance for Year 6 is a valuable document for looking at the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 and includes example assessment questions for each of the ready-to-progress criteria.
NCETM has produced an extensive library of resources offering support with the Primary Guidance documents. This includes 79 PowerPoints, these focus on the ready-to-progress criteria in the DfE maths guidance for KS1 and KS2. These can usefully be viewed by topic or by year.
You can find NCETM guidance videos on YouTube.
NCETM’s Checkpoints are diagnostic activities designed to help teachers assess the understanding students have on leaving primary school. You can see three examples of Checkpoints activities and teachers of Year 7 can download the first Checkpoints activities using their school or organisation name and email address. There will be further Checkpoint activities published, enough for three Checkpoints a week across the school year.
Also available from MEI’s transition resources, Calculator Crunch is an annual challenge with activities that provide extra practice for Year 6s and 7s in key areas of the maths curriculum. The resources remain available for use at any time.