Brentwood Park Primary School in Berwick proves that high expectations, effective differentiation and inclusive education work hand in hand – especially when Mathseeds and Mathletics support the learning journey.
This high-achieving school with over 1,000 students sits in Casey, Victoria (Australia), where they consistently rank first in their network for NAPLAN results.
“I’m fortunate with my position in that I get to support teachers and students with a subject I’m very passionate about,” says Ben Maloney, the Mathematics Leader who joined the school in 2022 after almost 20 years of teaching experience.
Ben’s role involves conducting classroom observations across Grades 3–6 and modelling best practice to demonstrate effective mathematics instruction, with a strong emphasis on differentiation.
You could say he’s the supportive teammate who’s always there when teachers need a bit of guidance.
We interviewed Ben about how Brentwood Park has embraced Mathseeds and Mathletics to support the maintenance of their academic excellence and the diverse learning needs in their predominantly multicultural community.
It’s an approach that aligns perfectly with their core values of Responsibility, Respect, Excellence, Teamwork and the belief shared by learners and educators alike: that all students can learn.
The results speak for themselves. With students often logging into these platforms, teachers report overwhelmingly positive engagement and streamlined workload through integrated homework assignments, differentiated learning tasks and daily classroom activities.
The challenge: keeping standards high amid staffing shifts
Success brings its own pressures. Brentwood Park faces the challenge of maintaining excellence while serving a diverse student body.
The school’s demographics add another layer of complexity. With 70% of families speaking English as an additional language, teachers often need to differentiate instruction while meeting high academic expectations of families who often supplement learning with tutoring.
The biggest and perhaps most relatable pressure point has been staff retention. Since 2022, retirements and maternity leave have created a 50% turnover in teaching staff.
New teachers have arrived with varying levels of experience and expertise, all needing to understand how mathematics is taught at Brentwood Park while delivering to the school’s established and expected standards.
For Ben, this meant his role evolved to intensive capacity building. He found himself working directly in classrooms, modelling lessons, observing practice and providing feedback to help new teachers develop the differentiation skills essential for their diverse learners.
This raised a critical question: how could they maintain consistency and quality across all classrooms while supporting such a significant staff transition?
A shared foundation, rich resources and smoother differentiation: what worked for Brentwood Park
Mathseeds and Mathletics proved to be valuable additions to Brentwood Park’s educational resources.
Instead of every new teacher scrambling to create their own resources, the platforms provided everyone with the same solid foundation.
Teachers began incorporating them into warm-up or tuning-in activities, differentiated learning tasks and early finisher options during class time, while also assigning homework without having to prepare separate take-home tasks.
What really made the difference was how easily teachers could adapt the content.
The majority of teachers created differentiated learning groups within Mathletics, using features like Assign and Review, fluency tasks and custom learning pathways to tailor content to student ability levels.
This was particularly valuable for their EAL students, who could now engage with tasks, skill boosters and challenges suited to their individual levels.
True to his mathematical training, Ben wanted data to back up what he was seeing, so he created an online survey to gauge how teachers and students were engaging with the platforms.
The results showed teachers were using the programs frequently and meaningfully (2–3 times per week) to consolidate classroom learning, assign homework and provide revision activities.
The platforms also solved a basic but crucial problem: teacher workload. Their flexible integration into weekly mathematics planning reduced the need for constant resource creation, leaving more time for targeted teaching.
Additionally, built-in progress tracking made it easy to monitor student engagement without additional marking.
“As a result, teachers can efficiently manage practice, consolidation and enrichment tasks across a range of ability levels, both at school and at home,” Ben explained.
“Overwhelmingly positive”: the combined impact of Mathseeds and Mathletics
The impact at Brentwood Park Primary School was significant and Ben’s survey data confirmed what teachers were experiencing firsthand: students were logging in 2–3 times per week, with overwhelmingly positive engagement levels.
The platforms didn’t just fill a gap. They created a new model where consistency and personalisation coexist. EAL students found appropriate challenge levels while high achievers accessed enrichment, proving that differentiation at scale isn’t just possible, it’s sustainable.
When asked for his thoughts on schools considering Mathseeds and Mathletics, Ben offered a confident reply:
“Mathletics and Mathseeds are versatile tools that support home learning and in-class tasks. They save time, offer easy differentiation and keep students engaged. They are well worth considering as part of a consistent and flexible teaching program.”.
Brentwood Park’s journey ultimately validates their core beliefs: “All students can learn (and excel!)” – indeed they can, when given the right level of challenge and support.
And with a little help from the right tools, educators can differentiate effectively and with ease, proving once again that “teachers do make a difference”.
Mathseeds and Mathletics simply amplify what great educators already know: that every student deserves to reach their potential and every teacher deserves the solutions to make that happen!
