Maths
Intent
At Wivelsfield, we foster positive can-do attitudes and we promote an attitude of: ‘We can all do maths!’ We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and teach for a secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through small steps. We encourage children to take risks and to build resilience through open-ended problem-solving tasks. We want all children to experience the beauty, power, and enjoyment of mathematics and to enable them to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to have an understanding of the wider world around them.
Implementation
At Wivelsfield 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:
- We are a maths mastery school and our staff our confident using the Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract approach to teaching maths.
- To ensure whole consistency and progression, the school uses the White Rose Scheme of Work supplemented by the NCETM Primary Mastery Professional Development (PMPD) Spines. The PMPD Spines materials support teachers with their planning and unpicking of the small steps to ensure they plan and craft a well-thought-out sequence of lessons..
- Concepts are shared within the context of related problems, diagnostic questions, or misconceptions, which children are able to discuss with partners. These problem-solving activities prompt discussion and reasoning, as well as promoting an awareness of maths in relatable real-life contexts that link to other areas of learning.
- All children across the school have access to concrete resources to support and deepen their understanding as well as presented with the concept in a variety of ways, including different pictorial representations. Teachers use well-thought-out questions to promote discussions whilst also valuing the questions posed by the children.
- All classes have a daily fluency session to learn and retain their substantive knowledge- key number facts and methods. This provides children with a valuable opportunity to apply and consolidate new and old learning so they can become fluent in their maths. Furthermore, it also gives teachers another opportunity to work with children who might be struggling with a concept while allowing the teacher to assess the class, both as a cohort and individually. This is delivered through the NCETM Mastering Number program in EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Year 3. Children continue fluency learning, by mastering multiplication and division facts in year 4.
- During maths lessons the children will have the opportunity again to practise and use their substantive knowledge and to develop mathematical disciplinary skills such as reasoning, pattern spotting, trial and error and working systematically.
- The first half of lessons mainly consists of discussion, representation and the opportunity to reason and practice the new skill through the use of concrete resources, whilst recording can be done either on whiteboards or books. At the end of the first half of the lesson, the teacher use assessment strategies to identify which children have either misconceptions or are low in confidence.
- The second half of the lesson gives children the opportunity to independently apply their learning through varied fluency, intelligent practice, investigations and reasoning problems whilst rapid intervention supports those identified during the first half. It is the expectation that all children have the opportunity to solve problems, reason and explain their thinking either verbally or through fully structured sentences.
Impact
The impact of our mathematics curriculum is that children understand the relevance of what they are learning in relation to real-world concepts. We have fostered an environment where Maths is both fun and children develop an attitude of everyone can do maths. Furthermore, the children understand that it is OK to be ‘wrong’ because the journey to finding an answer is most important. The children will be able to demonstrate a quick recall of facts and will have the fluency to apply their maths in a range of contexts. Furthermore, children will be able to articulate their reasoning both orally and through their written descriptions in their books. Teachers will know the children are on track to meet the end-of-year expectations through the use of AFL strategies and summative tests. Misconceptions or a lack of understanding of a skill or concept is quickly identified and same-day interventions are deployed.
