INTENT – to what do we aspire for our children?
National Curriculum
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 national curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all children:
● 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 nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions
Source: National Curriculum (updated Jan 2021)
How we see Maths at St Werburghs Primary… teacher voice
What drives our Maths curriculum at St Werburgh’s Primary School?
Together towards excellence
At St Werburgh’s we recognise that maths is central to children’s future success. It is important that children become fluent, engaged mathematicians with good fluency and reasoning skills from early in their education journey. Our belief is that children should be supported to ‘Keep up rather than Catch up’ meaning that early intervention is key.
Our aim is to nurture a natural curiosity and excitement around maths. To offer children opportunities to secure and embed their understanding of how maths can be used and seen in the world around us. Our maths curriculum allows children to develop their understanding in a systematic way, ensuring that a strong number foundation is secured in EYFS and KS1 and then developed and deepened into KS2.
Kindness:
● Recognise and celebrate everyone’s methods and strategies even when they are different to our own
● Work collaboratively to solve problems and overcome challenge
Curiosity:
● Asking questions to explore new strategies
● Find multiple ways to solve the same problems
● Identifying and finding ways to express and represent with different structures and concepts- algebra, shape and number
Commitment:
● Persevering to find multiple strategies and approaches to find the correct answers
● Demonstrating resilience when challenges arise
● Making connections and identifying patterns to help solve mathematical challenges
Aims of our mathematics curriculum
The Mastery Approach
At our school we use a mastery approach. We believe that all children should be given the opportunity to excel in all areas of maths and it is our role as practitioners to create an environment and atmosphere that is conducive to this. We use a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach to maths to ensure that all children develop a secure foundation of mathematical concepts. Prior learning is assessed by teachers and then support is given to ensure gaps are closed. This support can come in many forms, from live marking in class (marked TT), to small group conferencing and interventions. We also use computing to engage our children in building their number fact fluency and multiplication and division fluency. The use of Numbots, Pixl maths app and Purple Mash all offer opportunities for our children to apply and secure their factual fluency in a fun way, both in and outside of school.
Throughout their maths journey, we aim for children to become confident in forging links with their prior learning and recognising the importance of how drawing on this knowledge can help them to solve future problems. To be equipped with both written and mental strategies that can be used within a variety of contexts. To recognise the relationships and patterns within maths and know how to manipulate these to simplify problems. To be able to confidently use mathematical reasoning to explain how they have solved a calculation or problem and to identify which strategies work best for them. We want to celebrate the different ways in which the same answer can be achieved.
The Teaching for Mastery approach and the 5 Big Ideas for Mastery are key to our curriculum – fluency, representation and structure, mathematical thinking, variation and coherence. These will be evident in all lessons.
maths2
EYFS
In Early Years, Maths lessons are taught daily using the CEEAAC model to structure the session. Each session involves a revisit of a previously taught skill to connect to previous learning. Maths vocabulary is introduced each day. Number Sense is also used as a starter at the beginning of some lessons to embed fluency skills. Children provided with opportunities to embed and develop taught skills further within continuous provision. Concrete resources are used to teach all mathematical concepts. A range of pictorial representations are used in the teaching, such as part-part whole models, five and tens frames.
KS1-
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 1 is to ensure that children develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations, including with practical resources [for example, concrete objects and measuring tools].
At this stage, children 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, children 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.
Children should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1
Lower KS2-
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in lower key stage 2 is to ensure that children become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that children develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.
At this stage, children should develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value. Teaching should also ensure that children 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, children should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work.
Children should read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently, using their growing word reading knowledge and their knowledge of spelling.
Upper KS2:
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in upper key stage 2 is to ensure that children extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that children make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
At this stage, children 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, children 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 children classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.
By the end of year 6, children should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages. Children should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly.
St Werburgh’s Maths Progression:
Progression Documents:
● We follow the White Rose Progression for Years 1-6 which can be found White Rose SOL
● The progression document details how each topic is developed over time so that teachers and children are clear about what learning has already happened and where it will continue the next year.
● In EYFS we use the White Rose Guidance documents to underpin the planning and support the delivery of a curriculum which embeds mathematical thinking and talk EYFS White Rose. This is also enriched with the use of Birth to 5 matter. Click here for Birth to 5 matters
● The ready to progress documents are used during planning to ensure Covid gaps are filled before we move forward.
● Number Sense is used in EYFS-KS1 to support a deep understanding of number and number relationships, and to fluency in addition and subtraction facts. This is also used for intervention teaching in KS2. More information about Numbersense can be found through this link.
● Ashley Down times tables are used in Years 3 and 4 to embed chns times tables knowledge (Intro Jan 2023) It is also currently being used in 5 and 6 to close any identified gaps, the aim will be for this to only be needed as a potential intervention within 2 years.
Oracy
We recognise the vital role that oracy plays in the lives and life chances of our children, therefore we plan explicit opportunities to develop their oracy skills as well as opportunities to learn through oracy across the curriculum.
Specific mathematical vocabulary is taught and displayed in every room. Children have opportunities to work with talk partners in maths and are encouraged to give full and reasoned explanations.
Delivery of the Curriculum at St Werburgh’s
At St Werburghs primary we teach daily maths lessons which are supplemented with additional mathematical fluency lessons. In KS1 we have introduced the use of number sense maths to further develop the children’s number fluency of addition and subtraction facts. In KS2 the children have additional arithmetic lessons to embed and secure knowledge of number facts and multiplications and division facts.
Mental Agility/Times Tables
· Each lesson starts with a connect: This may be a link to arithmetic or times tables or an opportunity to revisit a previously taught concept. Morning work is also used regularly to support the retention of these core skills and concepts.
· Mental Agility work should develop known facts to ensure good understanding of concepts.
· EYFS, Year 1 and 2 – used as a warm up (counting/place value focus) Number sense Maths- separate session
· Year 3 and 4 – times tables focus- Ashley Down sessions taught separately
· Year 5 and 6 – calculations focus- mainly built into to separate arithmetic in morning work
Times tables are taught through explicit teaching using the Ashley Down approach. Counting sticks and choral chanting. (Largest number first) Times tables are then practised regularly through the PIXL app, Purple mash games and assessment tools, paper test and maths games.
There are maths working walls in all classrooms. They are created with and for the children. These allow us to have up to date vocabulary, and examples that are directly relevant to teaching, on display.
Maths raps are also displayed when appropriate, to embed them and ensure they are continually referred to during this topic of work. The maths raps are developmental and are built on and referred to throughout the school.
Lesson Design
Every lesson in KS1 and KS2 will follow the sequence below:
Each lesson follows the model above.
- CONNECT to prior knowledge
- EXPLAIN new learning
- give and EXAMPLE of new learning
- Children ATTEMPT new learning with scaffolding
- APPLY new learning independently
- Children are CHALLENGED to integrate learning with prior knowledge
Planning
● Planning to be informed by White Rose/termly overviews. The mastery approach is to be adopted by all classes, utilising resources such as ‘I see reasoning.’
● Planning straight to flipcharts – however title page must include objectives and short description of mental arithmetic and main session, key vocabulary and maths RAP for the week (see below):
When starting a new topic, concrete resources should be used in all years before moving on to pictorial and finally abstract representations. These don’t need to be used independently of each other and are often more effective when used alongside one another.
● A mastery approach means that all children should access the same objectives, with the most able being extended and challenged appropriately. Teacher support and scaffolding of the first 20% should enable them to access the same work as those who can do it independently. Except those children with specific SEND needs and agreed by SLT.
● Differentiation should not be three sets of separate questions on the same topic. Instead it should be scaffolding put in place to support the development and progress of all chn towards a shared goal/objective.
● All year groups should be using reasoning and problem solving questions to follow up the fluency – in KS1 evidence for this can be recorded through child’s voice and will more than likely take place as a class/group discussion in the lesson (Juicy thinking).
● Cognitive care is paramount. All children’s ideas and contributions are celebrated and recognised. Opportunities for open ended tasks and tasks with not fixed correct answers, are used to stretch all children’s mathematical thinking and oracy.
SEND and scaffolding
We recognise some children need provision ‘additional to’ quality first teaching in order to reach their potential as readers. This includes:
– Carefully considered scaffolding
– Pre and post-teaching
– Pre-planned management of cognitive load
– Explicit instruction and modelling
– Alternative ways of recording
– Additional targeted adult support
– Clear steps to success with worked examples
SEND and scaffolding
We recognise some children need provision ‘additional to’ quality first teaching in order to reach their potential as readers. This includes:
Curriculum enrichment at St Werburgh’s
Maths assemblies celebrate children’s successes. Children are very positive about Maths as evidenced by regular wellbeing surveys.
Carefully considered scaffolding
- Pre and post-teaching
- Pre-planned management of cognitive load
- Explicit instruction and modelling
- Alternative ways of recording
- Additional targeted adult support
Clear steps to success with worked examples
Our Careers fair celebrates jobs where maths skills are valued. The fair offers children the opportunity to explore these more.
High quality outcomes:
We monitor our curriculum through book studies, planning looks, planning support, data analysis and discussions with children. These will:
● Demonstrate a variety in the application of maths.
● Show variation in structure and representation of concepts- CPA approach
● Demonstrate pride and effort.
● Show opportunities in which children have edited and corrected their work, either independently, alongside a peer or with the support of an adult. Books should clearly demonstrate children learning from their mistakes.
● Children will have clear and consistent written strategies to support them in solving mathematical problems.
● Include a use of star challenges and juicy thinking tasks to support a deepening understanding of mathematical concepts.
● Books will demonstrate a clear sequence of learning.
● Show that learners make progress regardless of starting points. Green pen from the teacher and purple pen from the student clearly shows where chns’ learning has been supported and moved forward.
● Evidence of conferencing will be present either within books or through teacher records to demonstrate – closing gaps (identified through QLA assessments or AFL in class) , pre teaching or an opportunity to revisit past topics to ensure concepts are embedded and retained. QLAs are also used to inform interventions and tutoring. Keep up not catch up.
Child’s Voice
We understand that childrens are the best way to show how effective our curriculum is. Child’s voice will demonstrate:
● A passion, confidence and enthusiasm for maths
● Correct use of mathematical vocabulary.
● The ability to confidently reason mathematically.
● Application of their prior knowledge in their learning and form links between different areas of maths and the curriculum.
● To explain the relationships within number and discuss mathematical patterns and connections.
● Discuss how maths is all around us and helps us in our everyday life.
● Discuss their progress and how they have overcome challenges.
Lesson monitoring
Lessons will be regularly monitored to ensure consistency and 100% engagement across the school.
Assessment: A range of both formative and summative assessments are used to measure progress and identify areas for support.
Formative assessment
– Quality First Teaching
– In the moment assessment, addressing misconceptions straight away
– Children’s work in books
– Child book studies
– Pixl question level analysis
– Teacher judgement when working with children
Summative assessment
Non- statutory
– Pixl maths assessments from Years 2 – 6
– Whole class arithmetic and times table assessments in Years 3 and 4
– Whole class number sense maths assessments Year 1 and 2
Statutory
– Early Learning Goals (Number and Space and Shape and measure)
– Year 4 multiplication test
– End of KS1 SATs maths papers
– End of KS2 SATs maths papers