Mathematics
Intent
Maths is a journey and long-term goal, achieved through exploration, clarification, practice and application over time. It is more than a school subject. Mathematical knowledge and understanding forms an element of most forms of employment and is a crucial part of personal finance and household management. The children will understand the importance of mathematics in everyday life and gain a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about maths.
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. (National Curriculum July 2014)
We follow a mastery approach to the teaching of the objectives laid out in the National Curriculum where all pupils are taught the same objective at the same time, with differentiation for support and challenge used to account for differences in rates of learning. Mastery teaching fits with the belief that all pupils can achieve and succeed in maths, a subject that causes anxiety for many, with this being an issue within society as a whole.
In a mastery teaching model, children will develop conceptual understanding, number fluency and the ability to apply their understanding within reasoning and problem solving contexts. In doing this, learning is broken down into small steps and scaffolded to support cognition, with difficulty increasing as pupils move towards independence and deeper levels of understanding.
At Corinthian Community Primary school, our intention is to help children:
- become confident and competent with numbers and the number system;
- become fluent in the fundamentals in mathematics;
- develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately;
- enjoy maths through practical activity, exploration and discussion
Implementation
At Corinthian, we begin each day with ‘Sticky Maths’ (with the exception of EYFS) where children focus on a number of arithmetic questions to reinforce and consolidate the arithmetic skills taught previously. The questions are then repeated each day, with different numbers, with time given to address misconceptions. We believe that this plays an important role in the children becoming fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics and develops children’s ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
Maths is a core subject and has a daily lesson in every class. The school uses NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) to ensure coverage is in line with National Curriculum objectives but supplements this with a range of other resources. This allows children to see maths in a wider context, in different formats and in increasingly complex forms.
Units are mapped to ensure complete coverage across the year. In the first term, there is a heavy focus on number, while in the spring and summer terms, skills are revised and built upon in the units to include measurement, geometry and statistics. Regular assessment and consolidation are planned to provide opportunities for children to revisit previously taught skills. Each unit is progressive, with topics from the curriculum built upon year on year.
Each maths lesson starts with a mental maths/times table activity which is an opportunity for teachers to revisit objectives identified as needing further input or to consolidate previous learning. This then moves on to the main objective for the lesson. Our approach is ‘I do, we do, you do’, where the first step is to model expectations. We then guide and work through examples together until children are ready to undertake independent learning. There are times when open-ended investigations require children to make their own decisions on starting points and the approach to take.
In order to develop conceptual understanding, we focus on progression from concrete resources, to pictorial representations, to the numerically abstract form. Pupils are encouraged to physically represent mathematical concepts using a range of manipulatives. Objects and pictures are used to demonstrate and visualise abstract ideas alongside numbers and symbols.
The sequence of calculations in terms of size of number and complexity is identified by year group. Children learn calculation methods, use the inverse and see these applied in real-life situations, in problems (including missing box questions) and in open-ended investigations. Children are taught to identify when calculations need a practical tool for support; which should be completed using a formal method and which should be completed mentally or with jottings.
Mathematical vocabulary is key to understanding and teachers use and emphasise the correct terminology which is then displayed in classrooms on working walls. STEM (a very structured sentence that describes a key concept) are used within lessons to enable all children to communicate their understanding and verbalise their learning.
Impact
Impact will be measured through: assessment, book monitoring, learning walks, lesson visits, pupil progress meetings, standardisation and moderation. It will be seen in monitored progress and attainment of each child; positive outcomes of pupil voice questionnaires and interviews and children’s independence in lessons. Mathematical confidence, the ability to take on new challenges and yet draw on previous experiences, by breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps, ensures that children are ready to face the mathematical realities of everyday life. Children will reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry to identify relationships across domains, make generalisations and use mathematical language to evidence their conclusions.