KS3 Maths Foundation Programme
A term-long maths programme for a wider cohort: a class, a year group, or the whole of KS3. Pupils work through the five foundation topics at their own level. You end the programme with a topic-level picture of where every pupil genuinely is.
Programme at a glance
Why this exists
Most KS3 maths lessons move at one pace. Not every pupil can work with that.
Most pupils who struggle in KS3 maths aren't short on ability. They just don't get the space to work through what isn't clicking, and some have quietly been avoiding certain topics for longer than their teachers realise.
Wavelength's KS3 Foundation Programme gives every pupil a route through the five foundation topics at a pace that works for them. By the end of the programme, you have a topic-level picture of where every pupil in the cohort genuinely stands.
What's covered
Foundation number topics in KS3 maths
Every pupil in the cohort works through the same five foundation topics, at their own level, so the resulting picture is comparable across the whole group. These are the areas where gaps quietly compound through KS3. Building a firm foundation here has the most impact on what follows.
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Addition and subtraction
Written methods, mental strategies and working with negative numbers, plus the word problems where the language is doing more of the work than the maths. Everything else builds on it.
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Multiplication
Times tables, written methods for larger numbers, and multiplying by 10s, 100s and 1,000s. Pupils who struggled with multiplication at primary often arrive in Year 7 still avoiding it. The programme works back to where it starts to click.
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Division
Short and long division, dividing by 10s, 100s and 1,000s, and sharing into equal groups. One of the topics where being able to rewind a step-by-step video makes the biggest difference.
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Fractions, decimals and percentages
How they relate to each other, how to convert between them, and the standard operations on each. In the 10-school trial, pupils improved most on percentages, going from 41% to 68% over four weeks.
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Ratios
Reading and writing them, scaling them up and down, and using them to share quantities. The early steps often look unfamiliar, which is exactly where lower-confidence learners tend to disengage in a classroom. The platform handles that more gently.
How it runs
Built around your school term
Each programme paces itself across a school term, with the option to compress into a half-term for a more intensive cohort. Either way, the same content is covered and the free phase always lasts four weeks of pupil time.
- Setup
1–2 weeks before the start
Provisioning and walkthrough
We provision the school, run a 30-minute dashboard walkthrough for the teachers, upload the pupil list, and share a template parental notification letter. If you use Wonde, we set up automated pupil rostering. If you use Google or Microsoft SSO, we connect that too.
- Start
Beginning of the term or half-term
Baseline and first lessons
Pupils complete a short baseline so the school and we know where each one is starting. They then begin working through their first topic at their own pace.
- Mid-way
Around the halfway point
Mid-programme check
You'll get an interim summary covering engagement, early confidence shifts and attainment movement so far, followed by a 15-minute call to talk through it together.
- Decision
After four weeks of pupil time
End of the free phase
The free phase closes. If you'd like to continue (most schools do), we confirm the commercial side and the programme runs to its end. If not, you walk away owing nothing.
- Report
Final week
End-of-programme report
The report goes to you and whoever else you'd like to include: SEND-formatted for named intervention cohorts, a cohort overview for wider rollouts.
Pupils typically use Wavelength in dedicated intervention slots, often two or three 30–45 minute sessions a week. It also works in form time, after-school clubs, or as part of a wider numeracy programme. The platform doesn't dictate when or where, so long as the pupils get the time.
The deliverable
The Foundation Programme report
At the end of the programme, you get a report built from real pupil data: attainment movement, confidence shifts and engagement patterns across the whole cohort, reflecting where each pupil finished, not just where they started. Ready for grouping decisions, curriculum planning and intervention triage.
KS3 Foundation Programme report
A cohort-level overview showing where every pupil stands across the five topics: starting point, progress made, and where the biggest shifts happened. For each topic, the report goes beyond right and wrong. It shows whether pupils understood what they were doing or were still working things out. It also surfaces the kinds of errors that recurred most across the cohort. That's the sort of detail that tells you where a method needs reteaching rather than just that a topic score came out low.
Covers every pupil in the cohort, not just those who struggled.
Inside the platform
How the programme works for pupils and for staff
For pupils
Every pupil works at their own pace, with the support they need at each step, and never has to flag anything in front of the class.
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Their own pace, their own path
Each topic breaks into short video steps and interactive challenges. Pupils can pause, rewind, replay, and only move on when they're ready. Not when the rest of the class does.
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Accessibility built in
Auto-generated subtitles on every video, plus an optional dyslexic-friendly font any pupil can switch on. Preferences follow them across devices.
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Help without putting their hand up
An 'I don't get it' button brings up help targeted at the exact step they're on. A quick mood check (Bored / Okay / Confused) lets them share how they're finding it, privately.
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Something to work towards
Every pupil has a Wavebot they customise. New accessories are earned by showing up and putting the work in. Effort counts, not just correct answers.
For heads of maths and SENCOs
A clear topic-level picture of who's progressing, who's stuck, and on what, without the manual work that usually goes with it.
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A live dashboard
A real-time view of where every pupil is across the topics: who's progressing, who's stuck, and on what. No compiling, no chasing. It's just there.
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Patterns surface on their own
When a pupil keeps rewatching the same step, when engagement drops, or when the same question is keeping several pupils stuck, you see it without having to look for it.
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Cohort overview report, ready to use
A topic-level picture of where every pupil stands at the end of the programme, useful for grouping, curriculum planning and identifying who needs targeted follow-up.
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Topic control when you want it
Wavelength can sequence topics based on each pupil's needs, or you can assign specific topics to the whole cohort yourself. If your department doesn't use a particular method, you can exclude it, so pupils only encounter the approaches you teach in class.
Evidence
What we saw across 10 schools
In 10 UK secondary schools, ~100 pupils spent four weeks on the programme. The biggest movement came on percentages, and the pupils who shifted the most weren't always the ones teachers had expected.
See the full evidence46% → 61%
Average attainment 10 schools · ~100 pupils · 4 weeks
Participating schools
What teachers said
Felt it enabled more personalised support without extra workload
Found it easier to support multiple pupils at once
Said it improved their understanding of how pupils learn
Would recommend Wavelength to other teachers or schools
It has been a hugely positive experience, boosting the confidence of the girls and letting them learn at their own pace. I think it's particularly well adapted to maths, when pupils will sometimes stop asking questions in front of a class… It could change their view of a subject.
C. McLauchlan
Loreto College
Pupils on the whole really enjoyed using the product and really want to continue doing so – they loved the Wavebot and seeing their progress, and also being able to access support immediately.
A. Jennings
Alameda Middle School
Fully set up, every pupil on the platform, the live dashboard, the lot. You only start paying once you've seen the programme running with your own cohort.
If it isn't right for you by the end of week 4, you walk away owing nothing: no notice period, no claw-back, no awkward conversation.
We'll talk through the commercial side on the first call, before anything is committed, and work around whatever your school's finance team needs.
Also available
Looking at a smaller, named cohort?
Same five topics and same shape, but for a small targeted group of named pupils, running alongside your existing SEND provision. The end-of-programme report is SEND-formatted and ready to evidence intervention in EHCP Section F.
See the SEND InterventionWe're taking on new schools for Autumn 2026.
We keep each intake small so that setup, mid-programme calls and reports all get the attention they deserve. The next step is a 15-minute conversation. It helps to have a rough sense of the cohort you have in mind and when you'd want to start. No commitment at that stage, and the first four weeks are free either way.