Intent

We recognise that mathematics underpins much of our daily lives within the 21st century and as such this means delivering a mathematics curriculum that is fully inclusive of all children and one that strives for the mastery of concepts by all learners. We celebrate the learning journey of mathematical understanding and promote critical thinking in mathematics, as opposed to simply finding the answer. We believe that children make the best progress in maths when units are delivered across sustained methodical blocks with specific steps of progression, which allow all children to master skills. We encourage our children to explore different strategies and to understand that mistakes are part of the learning process. In recent years, we have amended our mathematics curriculum using the approach championed by White Rose Maths.

Through our maths curriculum we intend to:

• Develop children’s understanding of concepts using concrete and pictorial learning whilst enabling our children to also practise formal written methods.
• Encourage critical thought and communication between children in order to deepen understanding and foster collaboration.
• Create articulate and dynamic mathematicians, who can explain both their own and others mathematical processes.
• Have a secure knowledge of times tables and corresponding division facts to enable use to thrive as mathematicians.
• Provide opportunities to apply mathematical skills to different contexts with reasoning and problem solving at the heart of our curriculum.
• Give children independence and autonomy to challenge themselves.
• Remember what we have learnt having studied topics over longer blocks and having regularly re-visited concepts throughout the year.
• Support all children to make good progress in mathematics.

Implementation

Planning begins with the high expectation that every child can achieve. A thorough understanding of the children’s needs together with rigorous and ongoing formative assessments enable teachers to plan effective and progressive units. Medium planning is created through combining our planning policy with the White Rose Maths blocks. We ensure that units are taught in a way which allows for deep learning which will be remembered by pupils. This ensures a mastery approach and rigorous coverage of the National Curriculum. Within short term planning, clear small steps of progression between units build on children’s prior learning, leading to a secure grasp of concepts. Activities and tasks are planned to meet the needs of all the children in the class. Lessons are differentiated – extending children by deepening their understanding rather than accelerating them through the curriculum. Class teachers also regularly plan for opportunities for children to apply their maths skills to different problems within maths lessons, in turn allowing children to revisit, practise and consolidate different areas of Mathematics.

To deliver our maths curriculum we will:

• Provide clear and thoughtful differentiation to meet the needs of all learners – extending children by deepening their understanding rather than accelerating them through the curriculum.
• Plan opportunities for children to apply their maths skills to different problems within maths lessons, in turn allowing children to revisit, practise and consolidate different areas of Mathematics.
• Use daily flashbacks to re-visit and remember key concepts and skills.
• Use soft starts as a way of allowing children time to address misconceptions.
• Build and teach from a concrete understanding of concepts where children are manipulating objects and learning pictorially.
• Progress onto learning abstract representation culminating in children applying their knowledge to different situations.
• Encourage and support our children to communicate their understanding of Maths using mathematical vocabulary and stem sentences to clarify their thoughts.
• Build in an element of choice into our maths lessons to encourage independence and reflection with children choosing the task which they think will suitably challenge them, with guidance from the teacher, where necessary.
• Place a particular focus on times tables fluency both at school, through homework activities and TTRockstars.
• Record children’s progress and learning on mathematical working walls – which children refer to throughout units.
• Ensure all lessons include a mixture of fluency, reasoning and problem solving.
• Provide intervention for children who need extra support with mathematical concepts.
• Provide differentiated homework to consolidate learning.

As a school, we offer a range of mathematical enrichment opportunities to foster a love of mathematics. We run regular times tables competitions using TTRockstars and award certificates and trophies to promote positive learning behaviours. We provide a range of fun and engaging challenges, available to all pupils, which are designed to promote curiosity and be a way-in to enjoying mathematics for pupils who may have a ‘fear of maths’ as well as offering a further maths challenge for pupils who already enjoy mathematics. We organise regular maths events and school-wide activities including ‘Barvember’ (a White Rose initiative to encourage the use of bar models as a pictorial representation) throughout the month of November. Perhaps our most powerful and immersive mathematical enrichment opportunity is our whole school Maths Week. During Maths Week, we decorate the school and display quotes from famous people to broaden children’s understanding of maths’ purpose in wider life, we enjoy a series of mathematical challenges in addition to our normal 5 maths lessons and have mathematical assemblies.  The week culminates in NSPCC Number Day and on this day pupils bring in entries for the whole school ‘Mathematical Bake Off’ which raises thousands for the school each year.

Impact

As a result of a deep and thoughtfully progressive maths curriculum, children have a secure knowledge of all areas of mathematics and skillset to flourish in their next key stage, school and eventually in wider society. They are confident and independent mathematicians. The impact of our school maths curriculum can be seen in children’s books, in learning outcomes and in discussion with our children.

The impact of our mathematics curriculum is measured by:

• Every child’s book demonstrating progress, coverage of objectives and our CPA approach.
• Our children having mastered mathematical concepts and skills demonstrated when they can show a particular concept in multiple ways and independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations.
• Our children’s quick recall of facts and procedures, including multiplication and division facts, and applying this knowledge and understanding to real life situations.
• Our children are willing and able to use mathematical vocabulary in maths lessons with confidence, ease and accuracy.
• Our children demonstrating a secure understanding of how to reason and problem solve mathematically, using stem sentences to support them with their answers and explanations.
• Recognising mathematical relationships and making connections within concepts.
• Our children speaking enthusiastically about their maths lessons, maths week, TTRockstars, competitions and about how they love learning about maths.
• Both children and staff understanding and articulating the real life purpose of maths and how and why maths is used in the outside world.
• Both children and staff showing a high level of pride in the presentation and outcomes in books.
• Our staff having a deep and secure knowledge of how to teach mathematics in order to achieve mastery.
• Our planning and resources demonstrating a clear and collective approach to the teaching of mathematics.
• Classrooms which visibly celebrate mathematics and help children to remember their learning.
• Excellent performance data in terms of progress in relation to KS1 starting points and attainment.
• Our children are willing and able to address and reflect on misconceptions.

Assessment:

Assessment for learning occurs throughout our maths lessons, enabling teachers/learning support assistants to adapt their teaching/input to meet the children’s needs. Pupils work is marked in line with our Marking Policy and models both how corrections should be made, giving children a chance to learn from their misconceptions and providing regular opportunities to stretch our children’s understanding of concepts further – particularly through our weekly use of ‘challenge questions’. Assessment of attainment and progress is ongoing and is both formative and summative. Teachers use a tracking tool and this allows them to assess children’s progress in Mathematics, gathering evidence over the course of the year. Teachers use this information to inform planning for groups and individual pupils.

Click here to read our Calculations Policy