Creative Maths Workshops - Primary Schools in Northern Ireland

All of our maths workshops have been carefully designed to put into context and actively promote the keystones of the Northern Ireland Curriculum. 

Tapping into pupils’ own creativity, our unashamedly fun workshops engage, motivate and, crucially, challenge the children and young people we work with, providing them with meaningful contexts in which to practise their skills.

Our workshops have been specifically developed to support the Curriculum in the following ways:

• To support the accurate use of mathematical knowledge and concepts.
• To support the use of mathematics to solve problems and make decisions.
• To support the development of methods and strategies, including mental mathematics.
• To provide opportunities for pupils to explore ideas, make and test predictions and think creatively.
• To provide opportunities for pupils to read and interpret, organise and present information in mathematical formats.
• To support the use of mathematical understanding and language to ask and answer questions, talk about and discuss ideas and explain ways of working.

Find out more and view the full range of workshops on our website www.ascreatives.com or www.ascreatives.com/maths-primary-ireland/

The Pirate’s Challenge (P1 - P7)

When Captain Richard Morgan arrives at school, he’ll be more than a little confused - because just a few hours beforehand he’ll have been on his pirate vessel, The Good Ship Mathematics, in the middle of the Caribbean! Swept to your school by a Time Tornado, he’ll need the pupils’ help to get back to his own time and place. Are they up to the Challenge? And it’s a Challenge that will test their understanding of number, shape and direction to the max. 

CSI: Maths

A series of challenging mysteries to engage your students and get them thinking logically 

CSI: Michaela Maths  (P4 - P7)
If it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of one of her teammates, Michaela Maths, one of Britain’s most promising young athletes, would be dead – slain by an unseen hand! The police are baffled by the dastardly deed – and want the children’s help in solving it. Having been introduced to the crime, the suspects and their possible motives, pupils will work in teams on a carousel probing a range of mathematical skills. Taken together, these lead to the suspects being eliminated, one by one – until, if all the calculations are correct, the criminal is unmasked. 

CSI: Tunes - Maths and the Murky World of Music (P3 - P7) 
Music industry mogul Harry Wilson has made more than a few enemies in his time - and now one of them has succeeded in making life difficult for him! So who was it who hacked into Harry's precious database, deleting all his business contacts in one fell swoop? Means, motive and opportunity will all have to be factored in as pupils investigate this calculated act of sabotage. Was it Viola de Clerc, the classical violinist? DJ Grime, the garage specialist - or popster Betty B? Boy band Heaven Sent are in the mix as well, as is New Punk exponent Polly Ester - not forgetting Country and Western star Jake Carew!

This exciting and fast-paced workshop invites pupils to pit their wits against the criminal by using their data handling and number skills to reveal his - or her - identity.

CSI: Storyland (P1 - P3)
With the help of the elves, the Shoemaker’s fortunes have been restored – and all is well in Storyland. Until, that is, his precious last is stolen! Which of his neighbours could have taken it? After using storytelling techniques to introduce pupils to the crime and the suspects, we'll share with them a range of clues left at the scene. They'll then use their sorting and numeracy skills to reveal the identity of the miscreant! Was it Goldilocks, the Billy Goats Gruff, Little Miss Muffet, the Little Pigs or Red Riding Hood? It’s up to you to find out!

CSI: Bake-Off (P4 - P7)
All is not well in the world of the Bake Off – one of the judges, Saul Pinewood, has had food poisoning – and he knows it wasn’t an accident! He’s narrowed the field down to six suspects – and hopes that pupils can use their understanding of fractions, percentages and measurements to help him take the final step.

CSI: Ancient Greek Maths (P4 - P7)
Mount Olympus is in turmoil – because someone has stolen Zeus’s thunderbolt! We're on the trail of the culprit – but need your help to put all the pieces together as you collate and interpret the data. Mixing maths with mythology, this is definitely one of our more challenging workshops!

CSI: Saxon Maths (P4 - P6)
Alfred the Great has burnt the cakes … or has he? Test your understanding of number, shape and time as you help right the wrongs of history – and work out who framed him!

CSI: Olympics (P6 - P7)
This exciting new addition to our CSI: Maths range has been designed to support you in capitalising on the interest in the Rio Olympics and engage your pupils in some undercover maths. The team of Olympians from the tiny country of Berellia is in turmoil. They're all cyclists, you see - and someone has sabotaged each and every one of their bikes! So children will have to delve deep into the murky underworld of the velodrome as they survey the crime scene, examine the evidence and sift through the suspects - all in a bid to crack The Case of the Criminal Cyclists!

The Race into Space (P1 - P7)

The search is on for Britain’s next astronaut – and Major Tom wants your pupils help in selecting the best person for the job. He’s found six well-suited candidates, all with different qualifications – but it’s up to you to decide which one will win The Race into Space!  

After meeting the Major at an opening assembly, and being introduced to the would-be astronauts, each class will be issued with a Mission: to use their maths skills to rank the candidates on one of a number of qualities. Each Mission calls on pupils to demonstrate mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem-solving abilities – and is in line with National Curriculum objectives for their year group. The Major will be on hand to visit each classroom with some vital, additional information – and the programme ends with a second assembly in which each class reports back its findings and helps whittle the field down to just one: Britain’s next astronaut.

This exciting and engaging workshop provides an ideal platform for one or two-form entry schools to enjoy a shared maths experience – and learn something about the science of space travel too! 

Suitable for: P1 – P7 (one or two-form entry schools)

The Captain’s Conundrum - (P1 - P7)

Captain Richard Morgan, of the Good Ship Mathematics, has a conundrum … he knows that there’s treasure to be found on Cloud Island, he has a map – and he has a set of clues. But they’re clues he can make neither head nor tail of. He’ll meet all the children at an assembly (or, if space doesn’t allow, two consecutive gatherings) and challenge them to conquer his conundrum. 

During the course of the day, the Captain will give each year group an age-appropriate set of clues to unearth a particular piece of treasure – and warm them up with one of his piratical maths drama games. Then everyone reconvenes in a meeting (or two meetings) at the end of the day to share their findings - and advise the Captain on what to buy for his expedition. Content is in line with the National Curriculum requirements and will include different age-appropriate activities for each year group.

Murderous Maths (P1 - P7) - Interactive problem solving for up to 180 pupils (with follow-up workshops for up to 90)

It's exactly 100 years to the day since the grisly demise of Puffing Billy – and this unique workshop allows up to 180 children from Years 1 to 6 attempt to crack the case at the same time. After everyone’s been introduced to the crime scene, the victim and the suspects (and been armed with Evidence Booklets), children will take part in a series of age-differentiated challenges - revolving around such clues as omnibus tickets, diaries and timepieces. As pupils practise their maths skills, the suspects will be whittled down one by one – until only the criminal remains.

But there’s still more to do – because there's yet another Maths Mystery to be unravelled. A job that will be undertaken in up to three follow-up workshops, each for up to 30 pupils.

Outdoor Maths (P1 - P7)

Outdoor spaces provide wonderful opportunities to explore how numbers and shapes create both the built and natural worlds. So our engaging (and very active!) outdoor maths workshops, which feature a range of tried and tested al fresco activities, bring home the relevance of numeracy to our everyday lives – and provide lots of scope for problem-solving too!

We have developed age-appropriate activities for all year groups from P1 to P7 including our specially designed portable Outdoor Maths Trail - allowing us to offer open air workshops over a whole range of timescales.

Family Maths

We all know how much family support benefits children's learning. So our Family Maths workshops have been specifically developed to gain and cement that support by offering a fun and friendly environment in which parents/carers work alongside their children on activities that both explore the value of maths and unpick fluency, reasoning and problem-solving. And, by tackling our Household Maths Trail, they'll discover just how easy it is to use any part of the home as a stimulus for quick and impromptu maths challenges a fantastic way of Making Maths Count!.

Family Maths workshops are available in a range of formats - but if you book one at the end of a day of workshops with pupils, we'll be happy to offer you a healthy discount!

Maths Twilight (add-on workshops for staff)

To fully capitalise on the new approaches you'll have seen in action, why not end your day with a Creative Maths Twilight for staff? Our CPD programmes are highly experiential and outcomes-driven, so you'll have a chance to unpick what you've witnessed, try out some more new methodologies and take part in active, collaborative planning. And, by booking this at the end of a day of our workshops with pupils, you'll get it all for a fraction of the usual price!

Get in touch:

To find out more or to book a Creative Maths workshop please contact us on 0151 708 8886, email info@ascreatives.com or visit our website www.ascreatives.com/maths-primary-ireland/

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