Maths is taught through a mastery curriculum, giving pupils the opportunity to acquire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of maths. Each lesson encompasses the 5 Big Ideas of teaching for Mastery which includes; representations and structure, mathematical thinking, fluency, variation and coherence by ensuring teaching is done through small steps.
Curriculum Intent
Mathematics is important in everyday life. It is integral to all aspects of life and with this in mind we endeavour to ensure that children develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards mathematics that will stay with them throughout their lives. It is vital that a positive attitude towards mathematics is encouraged amongst all of our pupils in order to foster confidence and achievement in a skill that is essential in our society. We use the new National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014) as the basis of our mathematics programme. We also endeavour to make links throughout the curriculum in order for the children to understand the purpose of numerical concepts in a context. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils achieve mastery in the key concepts of mathematics, appropriate for their age group, in order that they make genuine progress and avoid gaps in their understanding which could become barriers to learning as they move through education.
Maths Implementation
As a school, we follow a mastery approach to planning and teaching mathematics and use White Rose Primary Schemes of Learning as a guide to support teachers with their planning and assessment. All classes participate in a daily mathematics lesson, with interventions taking place during the lesson. The children also take part in a fluency mini lesson, embedding and applying learnt skills and known facts. For children in Years 3 – 5, this includes the use of Times Table Rockstars to support their recall of multiplication and division facts. Within lessons, learning is placed into a real-life contexts and small steps across each unit of work ensure children establish a deep understanding of the maths. Throughout lessons a variety of resources (concrete and pictorial) are used to support the modelling of different concepts and create deeper understanding. During lessons children work through different activities and are encouraged to discuss their ideas with their peers using key vocabulary and sentence stems.
In Reception and Key Stage One, the Mastering Number Program (NCETM) is used to improve fluency of maths facts and to embed a deep understanding of numbers and calculations.
Maths Impact
Children have a positive attitude to their Maths learning and are motivated to challenge themselves. Through the Mastery approach, children are able to make links across different concepts in order to confidently problem solve and reason. As a result of our Fluency sessions, children are becoming fluent in their ability to apply these skills to different areas of the Maths curriculum. We measure the impact of our Mathematics curriculum through the use of informal assessments during lessons, termly assessments (WRM), pupil progress meetings and end of Key Stage SAT results. These support our children in progressing towards their year group expectations and for some towards greater depth.
Aims
We ensure that all pupils:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
- can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions
Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.
Early Years
Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding – such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting – children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.
Key Stage 1
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the 4 operations, including with practical resources.
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money.
By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.
Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.
Lower Key Stage 2
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in lower key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the 4 operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value. Teaching should also ensure that pupils draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties, and confidently describe the relationships between them. It should ensure that they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measure and number.
By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work.
Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently, using their growing word-reading knowledge and their knowledge of spelling.
Upper Key Stage 2
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in upper key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. With this foundation in arithmetic, pupils are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number. Teaching should also ensure that pupils classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.
By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all 4 operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.
Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
All children with SEND will have equal access and opportunities within the curriculum. The School will support these children to ‘catch up’, ‘keep up’ and experience success in the following ways (where appropriate):
- High quality teaching each day through Ordinarily Available Provision (formerly Quality First Teaching);
- Opportunities for pre-learning (particularly new vocabulary) before lessons;
- Appropriately scaffolded or differentiated work or materials;
- Classrooms and materials set up to reduce cognitive load and follow dyslexia friendly strategies;
- Children with SEND have a Pupil Passport which identifies approaches and strategies to be used which will help them to succeed;
- For children with Education, Health and Care Plans there may be 1:1 adult support in lessons.
The School recognises that while a child may have additional needs in one area of the curriculum they may well have skills and talents which allow them to shine and be successful in another and this is to be celebrated.