maths

‘It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.’

(albert einstein)

Intent

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore, provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

The purpose of our Mathematics Curriculum is to develop:

A positive attitude towards mathematics
A creative subject that is inherent in other curriculum areas and allowing for a broad and balanced curriculum
To provide children with the skills necessary to carry out problems, that link in with everyday life.
To develop the mind and encourage the learner to understand more about the world in which he/she lives
An ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately.
An ability to work both independent and with others
Competence to draw upon mathematical concepts, skills and knowledge.

Implementation

All children are different and so are the ways in which they learn. In order to cater for this, teachers use a variety of teaching approaches to enhance children’s learning in mathematics. Children are challenged to achieve their potential whatever their ability; by being encouraged to participate in all lessons and engage in independent, paired or group activities learning with peers.

Through careful planning, we aim to ensure that throughout the school, children are given opportunities for:

problem Solving
reasoning
fluency
open ended investigations
practical activities and maths games
using the outdoors
skills practice, mental calculation and recall of facts

Teachers Planning and Organisation

Each class teacher is responsible for the mathematics learning in their classroom and should ensure there is a daily maths lesson taught every day. These lessons should involve:

revisiting previous learning as part of a warm up activity; including Kick Starts.
a clearly focused teaching that will build upon previous learning and ensure progression
an emphasis on embedding fluency
the opportunity to reason and problem solve

Each lesson should last between 45-60 minutes.

In EYFS, the teacher will ensure that children are given the opportunity to build upon their previous knowledge and explore their next steps both within adult guided activities and child initiated activities. Opportunities for mathematics learning will be available in continuous provision, both inside and outside, and adults will question children to move their learning forward.

Spoken language

The national curriculum for mathematics reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their mathematical vocabulary and presenting a mathematical justification, argument or proof. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as others and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions.

Impact

The impact of our maths curriculum is good! We are consistently inline with national expectations and achieve very well compared to similar schools in Lancashire.

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.

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

Assessment of impact forms an integral part of every maths lesson at our school – we use formative, daily assessments and end of unit tests. In addition to this, we use termly tests to check on the cumulative knowledge that our children are gaining. Staff continually look at the level of knowledge and understanding shown by the children being taught during every part of the maths lesson and make changes in their teaching to ensure that a solid knowledge and understanding are being developed. Linking with our mastery approach, staff ensure that confidence and resilience continually develop in each and every child, taking the small steps approach to ensure an understanding in every lesson. The way children explain their methods and understanding and the mathematical vocabulary play as big a part as getting the answer correct.

how we do it

Maths Yearly Overview

Maths Progression

PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics_220714

EYFS Maths

key learning documents

key-learning-in-mathematics-year-1

key-learning-in-mathematics-year-2

key-learning-in-mathematics-year-3

key-learning-in-mathematics-year-4-

key-learning-in-mathematics–year-5

key-learning-in-mathematics-year-6

Calculations Policies (white rose maths)

addition-and-subtraction-calculation-policy-july-2022

multiplication-and-division-calculation-policy-july-2022

let’s do it together

mastery-maths-guide-for-parents

https://whiterosemaths.com/advice-and-guidance

We use lots of the resources from WhiteRose so your children will be familiar with this presentation style – click the link above to make a parents’ account.