The base of our Maths curriculum is centred around the use of White Rose Maths scheme of learning but ensures small steps in children’s understanding are explicit for each year group. Our aim is for children to have a positive attitude towards Maths. This is achieved by having a curriculum that builds upon the previous year’s learning from Nursery to Year 6.

Maths lessons are daily and focus on the development of children’s fluency. Children approach new concepts, drawing on their prior knowledge and use concrete, pictorial and abstract representations. This ensures the building blocks of understanding are strongly establish before they move onto using and applying. We have a clear progression of skills which give ambitious outcomes for all our children. Our children understand why they are learning these skills and how they lead to future developing aspirations.

 

Subject Overview for Mathematics at Northside Primary School

 

Statement of Intent for Mathematics

At Northside Primary School, we view mathematics as 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, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Our intent is to provide children with a mathematics curriculum that will allow them to become confident individuals through developing their mathematical skills to their full potential. We deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. We also aim to present maths as a challenging, exciting, creative and relevant subject in order to promote a positive and confident attitude.

In line with the National Curriculum (2014), our overall intent focuses on all pupils being able to:

  • Use and understand a wide range of appropriate mathematical language to discuss, explain and justify their mathematical thinking and reasoning.
  • Explore and deepen their mathematical understanding through a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach (CPA), allowing exploration, acquisition of fluency skills and application of skills to a range of problems and lines of enquiry.
  • 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.
  • Move fluently between different representations of mathematical ideas.
  • Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
  • 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 demonstrating resilience in seeking solutions.
  • Make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
  • Apply mathematical knowledge across the curriculum in science and other subjects relating mathematical knowledge and skills to real life situations.
  • Access challenges of rich and sophisticated problems when they grasp fluency concepts rapidly rather than progressing to new content.
  • Consolidate learning and concepts through repetition and intervention to acquire sound foundations for fluency of mathematics.

 

Implementation

At Northside Primary School, we are committed to providing a motivating, challenging and comprehensive maths curriculum that is accessible to all and links the use of mathematics across a range of subjects, adding meaning to the learning of maths. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of maths involves the following;

  • Our maths base curriculum planning is largely based on Schemes of Learning from White Rose Maths (WRM) and enhanced by a wide range of resources. This ensures a progressive and thorough curriculum in every year group. Teachers know which objectives must be taught and assessed in each year group and can follow progressive small steps to ensure pupils have a comprehensive understanding of maths.
  • We promote kinaesthetic learning to ensure children acquire fluency of skills by introducing concepts through a practical, concrete, abstract approach.
  • The children complete a daily worked example in their Maths books which they use to support them during independent learning.
  • Teachers deliver one curriculum for all, providing opportunities to stay together and to work through new content as a whole group. Teachers teach the whole class, allow pupils time to practise and bring the class back together to move on/challenge. The approach to the curriculum is adapted through teacher tweaks, resources and support to ensure an ambitious curriculum for all.
  • In class, support is provided on a daily basis. Additional intervention and consolidation are provided in the afternoon to close identified gaps in learning.
  • Throughout KS1 and KS2, pupils have a daily 1-hour maths lesson. All classes also have a fluency lesson, this is either as part of the morning task or at another identified time during the day.
  • In Early Years, pupils have a daily maths lesson, all pupils receive quality adult input and also have opportunities to practise and consolidate their knowledge through a range of planned, child-initiated activities in continuous provision.
  • The teaching of mathematics at Northside Primary promotes the use of mathematical vocabulary through encouraging children to explain their thinking, strategies and mistakes during lessons to embed understanding and to support peer-on-peer learning. 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. Children need to learn to explain their thinking clearly. Teachers ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions.
  • During lessons, teachers and support staff give children immediate feedback. In KS2 children are encouraged to self and peer-mark. After activities, the whole class discuss answers, strategies and misconceptions. This provides children with immediate feedback and time to reflect on their learning. Misconceptions are discussed and correction time given either as part of the lesson or at another identified time during the day. Children respond well to this and learn from their errors.
  • We see assessment as an integral part of the teaching process and strive to make our assessment purposeful, allowing us to match the correct level of work to the needs of the pupils, thus benefiting the pupils and ensuring confidence and progress.
  • Teachers plan using the agreed planning ethos.

 

 

 

Impact

Our successful approach to the teaching and learning of maths, results in a fun and engaging curriculum that embeds understanding and knowledge through hands on, practical activities. Introductions to concepts using concrete materials and practical activities supports learning through memorable activities and ‘games’ which children can recall at a later date, relating the learning to new situations. Our policy for marking supports the children in recognising their strengths and areas for development. Children are encouraged to share their misconceptions and misunderstandings and become adept in using appropriate vocabulary in doing so. The inclusion of open dialogue to discuss and explain mathematical thinking also strengthens the use and understanding of mathematical language along with ensuring children can explain, justify and evidence their thinking. Connecting maths across the curriculum highlights how maths relates to life. We regularly use and highlight our use of maths in science investigations, collecting, recording and presenting data and geography field trips collecting and categorising resources from the world around us and taking measurements, e.g. Rivers KS2. Computing also highlights the real use of maths with statistics and data collection and analysis while measuring and position and direction are essential skills to programme toys. Special weeks timetabled throughout the year also celebrate mathematical thinking, such as: Maths through a book week, Science Week, Careers Week and Enterprise Week.