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Mastery: a proper working definition. What does mastery mean? How do we know where children are on their journey towards it? What aspects of understanding enable children to get to mastery? It's not as simple as being able to mimic a particular procedure; there are both skills and metaskills involved.

Are you thinking about maths mastery? Are you talking about using a blocked curriculum for your maths teaching. Are you confused about how to do this with Hamilton plans? Don't worry. You can continue to use Hamilton maths plans and teach in blocks for mastery. Mastery is not new to Hamilton - and we can help your children achieve it.

Each week, inevitably, there are some children who are unable to succeed on the age-related expected objectives. So, Hamilton is providing two extra support activities a week for every whole year group. These can be done by a TA with a small group of children.

Target Tracker is now compatible with Hamilton plans. Hamilton's maths and English objectives are more nuanced and fine-grained than the broad National Curriculum for England's objectives. Now you can apply your judgements of mastery on Hamilton's objectives straight into Target Tracker.

The last five years of government policy have turned English primary education on its head. Parents, and everyone who cares about education in England, need to understand exactly what we have to lose if this continues, and just how dire the situation is. Plus: 5 cost-free ideas for changes to rescue English primary education.

'Together, we make writing ridiculously exciting!' Now the Pobble promise includes Hamilton too. You can find Hamilton English plans and topic sessions on Pobble's writing website, where you can upload examples of your children's writing to share with parents and other teachers in your school and beyond.

If you use Hamilton as a member of a subscribing school, now would be the perfect time to check that your school access will take you through the summer. Ensure that once you have enjoyed your summer break, you are able to start planning with all of Hamilton's old and new resources.

If you are currently qualifying as a teacher, and you are looking for a great opportunity to start your teaching career, Hamilton are sponsoring a very special offer for you. The Blackbird Academy Trust in Oxford is currently recruiting for a number of posts with significant financial and development support for NQTs.

Teacher retention is once more in the news, with the Education Select Committee calling for a long-term plan to deal with teacher retention and recruitment. Hamilton Trust recently ran a survey asking teachers what tasks they spent most time doing, whether they considered these tasks worthwhile and if they had considered leaving the profession due to pressures at work.

Hamilton's Spring newsletter has just been sent to subscribers. If you already subscribe, look for it in your inbox. If you don't subscribe, you can download a pdf version here and catch up on Hamilton's news, such as new plans, curricular issues in education and special resources offers.