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Maths

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.

Source: National Curriculum (updated Jan 2021)

 

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 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
  • We encourage children to collaborate within maths and share their processes with talk partners and as a whole class.
  • Children will listen respectfully to others and be thoughtful in their responses

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
  • Children take on board feedback to understand where they have been successful and what they need to do next to improve

Aims of the Maths Curriculum

In line with the 2014 National Curriculum, our curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • think and behave like mathematicians, rather than just ‘do’ maths
  • become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practise with increasingly complex problems, 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.
  • understand the practical advantages of mathematics and its purpose in the real world
  • develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and demonstrate resilience in their learning

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 key ideas central to our approach are:

  • The Teaching for Mastery approach and the 5 Big Ideas for Mastery – fluency, representation and structure, mathematical thinking, variation and coherence. These will be evident in all lessons.
  • Lessons provide access for all children to succeed and master concepts.
  • Lessons provide an opportunity for reasoning and discussing methods and strategies.
  • We expect and encourage children to use mathematical language to describe, discuss, examine, explain, justify and synthesise.

 

 

The Mastery Approach

 

EYFS

 

In Early Years, Maths lessons are taught daily using the CEEAAC model (see below) 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 used to teach number and White Rose is used to support the planning and teaching of other mathematical concepts. Children are 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.

 

 

St Werburgh’s Maths Progression:

 

  • The long term sequence followed by Year 1-6 follows a spiral curriculum with the intent that this allows for depth and breadth of learning within mathematical concepts while also ensuring these concepts are revisited, applied and connected throughout the year. The schemes of learning can be found on White Rose Maths (WRM) Scheme of Learning. White Rose SOL. White Rose is supplemented by the use of other high quality resources (Numbersense, Numbersense Times Table Programme, I See Reasoning, NCETM and Nrich.)
  • The White Rose 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.
  • 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.
  • The Number Sense Times Table Programme is used in Years 3 and 4 to embed children’s times tables knowledge (Introduced in January 2023).

 

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.

IMPLEMENTATION – how will we deliver the curriculum?

 

Delivery of the Curriculum at St Werburgh’s

Across a unit, the learning is generally built up in the following way:

  • Key learning is broken down into small steps which are sequential and build upon each other
  • The CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach is integrated within each of these small steps so that children are able to develop a conceptual understanding and build upon their fluency and problem solving and reasoning skills
  • Mathematical talk is used as a scaffold across the unit and mathematical vocabulary is explicitly taught
  • new skills and strategies are explicitly modelled through the CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach
  • Children are exposed to varied representation across the unit
  • All children have the opportunity to practise their fluency and reason
  • Assessment for learning is used regularly and teachers are encouraged to speed up or slow down learning during units to best fit the needs of the children in each class.

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.

Lesson Design

 

Lesson design core components:

Each lesson follows the model above.

  • CONNECT to prior knowledge
  • EXPLAIN new content, element of working scientifically and scientific vocabulary
  • give and EXAMPLE of new learning
  • Pupils ATTEMPT new learning with scaffolding
  • APPLY new learning independently
  • Pupils are CHALLENGED to integrate learning with prior knowledge

Maths Lessons

All children are taught maths daily. In EYFS, we follow the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage of which maths is a specific area of development. From Year 1-6, Lessons follow the sequences of learning set by White Rose. These lessons follow the CUSP lesson structure used in the wider curriculum at St. Werburgh’s Primary: the CEEAAC model. This structure is designed to ensure all lessons include opportunities to retrieve and connect learning from the long-term memory to the working memory. It also gives children across the school equity of experience. Children in EYFS follow a similar but age-appropriate model. The White Rose scheme of learning is adapted and supplemented through the use of other high quality resources such as: I See Reasoning, NCETM and Nrich.

Number Sense

Children in Years 1 and 2 complete daily Number Sense sessions. (Year 3 teach these until the end of term 2 when they begin times tables). 15 minute lessons teach a defined set of addition and subtraction facts and a defined set of calculation strategies. The systematic and structured approach ensures children develop key visual pathways and learn important number relationships. This leads to a deep understanding of number and number relationships, and to fluency in addition and subtraction facts. The EYFS Number Sense Programme is being taught in Reception. Number Sense guidance can be found here.

Times tables

Children in Year 4 – 6 (and from term 3 in year 3) complete times table practise daily. Times tables are taught systematically following the Number Sense Times Table Programme. The idea behind this scheme is that the children learn about commutativity, using oral language patterns which begin with the biggest number, e.g. 9 x 2 = 18. This means that when they learn their 9 times tables, they will have already learnt this fact along with many others, resulting in them only needing to learn 9 x 9 = 81. More information can be found here.

The table below demonstrates that only 36 facts are needed to learn up to 9 x 9.

A ‘ Times Table Fact of the Day’ is introduced daily.

After all multiplication facts for this times table have been taught, the children complete a times table test booklet related to multiplication facts they have been learning.

 

 

SEND and scaffolding

 

The curriculum at St Werburgh’s is inherently designed to support pupils with SEND through universal quality first teaching. This includes:

  • High expectations and aspirations for all learners
  • A carefully structured and sequenced curriculum
  • Modelling and demonstration
  • Chunked instructions which are supported by visuals and gestures
  • The use of manipulatives as part of the CPA approach.
  • Review, recall, repetition and retrieval
  • Frequent formative understanding as teachers check for understanding
  • Accurate and regular feedback

However, we recognise some pupils need ‘additional to’ in order to reach their potential as mathematicians. This includes:

  • Carefully considered scaffolding
  • Pre and post-teaching
  • Pre-planned management of cognitive load
  • Explicit instruction and modelling
  • Structured challenge, without ceilings
  • Additional targeted adult support

In some instances, specialist adaptations are made to support the specific barriers of individual pupils. For instance, where children are working significantly out of their chronological year group, a personalised curriculum may be in place.

Curriculum enrichment at St Werburgh’s

 

Maths assemblies celebrate children’s successes. Children are very positive about Maths as evidenced by regular wellbeing surveys.

Our Careers fair celebrates jobs where maths skills are valued. The fair offers children the opportunity to explore these more.

IMPACT – how do we know our curriculum is effective?

 

High quality outcomes:

Our systems for evaluating the impact of our curriculum will:

  • Demonstrate a variety in the application of maths
  • Show variation in structure and representation of concepts- CPA approach
  • Demonstrate pride and effort
  • Children will have clear and consistent written strategies to support them in solving mathematical problems
  • Books will demonstrate a clear sequence of learning
  • Show that learners make progress regardless of starting points.

Pupil 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.

Assessment:

A range of both formative and summative assessments are used to measure progress and identify areas for support.

Formative Assessment

Pupils will be assessed formatively as each lesson progresses. Pupils will be given tasks from which the teachers will draw conclusions. Adaptations will then be made as a result of that evidence.
Strategies that might be used are:

  • Making explicit the learning intention and success criteria
  • Eliciting evidence of pupils’ prior knowledge
  • Feeding back at the point of learning
  • Inclusive questioning i.e. cold call, mini whiteboards
  • Retrieval practice i.e. cumulative quizzing

Summative assessment

Non- statutory

  • Pixl maths assessments from Years 2 – 6
  • Whole class times table assessments in Year 4
  • Whole class number sense maths assessments Year 1 and 2

Statutory

  • Early Learning Goals (Number and Numerical Patterns)
  • Year 4 multiplication test
  • KS2 SATs maths papers