Maths

“Mathematics is only the art of saying the same thing in different words.” (Bertrand Russell)

Intent- Why is Maths so important?

At Arkwright Primary School we believe that maths is an essential skill that every child should feel confident in when leaving us at the end of UKS2.

We aim to:

• We aim to develop lively, enquiring minds, encouraging pupils to become self-motivated, confident and capable in solving problems so that this will become an integral part of their future.
• We are committed to promoting depth of knowledge which is supported by the direct teaching of challenging, mathematical tasks to enable children to consider and articulate their developing understanding and opinions.
• We aim to cultivate a real enjoyment of mathematics and to support all children to achieve their full potential.
• We strive to provide children with the support they need in mathematics to tackle any specific barriers to progress and strive.

Implementation- How do we plan, teach and assess maths?

Plan

We plan, teach and assess with the mastery approach. We use White Rose Maths to ensure there is a consistent and challenging curriculum. All children are taught to their year group in small groups with support from teacher assistance. The teachers oversee all the learning that is taken place.

In the KS1 and KS2, the maths curriculum is delivered on a daily lesson, although the class teacher may also allow extra time during the school day when appropriate. This daily session offers pupils and teachers the time and focus to delve deeply into the mathematical skills, knowledge and vocabulary required for high quality learning. We follow the White Rose mathematics programme of learning. This, along with our calculation policy, ensures continuation of learning and progression throughout school.  

In EYFS, they also follow White Rose Mathematics programme and this is used to develop a child's confidence and ability with number and also to encourage their understanding of shapes, space and measures. Activities for mathematical exploration are always available for children and are planned as part of the EYFS continuous provision.

Teach

To ensure excellence in mathematics teaching, we are ensuring that all staff develop a deep knowledge of the curriculum. To enable this, all teachers participate in White Rose CPD training. They are also encouraged to watch each other’s practice and external practitioners too.

Our curriculum is enriched by our strong links with the mathematic leads in primary schools across our cluster and we regularly collaborate for curriculum meetings and moderation meetings.

Our focus in every lesson is always based around the mastery ethos:

• Become FLUENT
• REASON and EXPLAIN mathematically
• Can SOLVE PROBLEMS

During Maths lessons at Arkwright Primary School children will have the opportunity to become fluent in a skill whilst being given the opportunity to problem solve and reason, allowing them the chance to apply their Maths knowledge in a variety of different contexts.

At Arkwright Primary we believe that it is important that children are allowed to explore Maths and present their findings not only in a written form but also visually. We follow the National Curriculum guidelines for this using the Concrete-pictorial-abstract model.

Concrete representation:
Where the pupil is introduced to an idea or skill using real objects to develop the foundation for conceptual understanding.
This is a 'hands-on' experience.

Pictorial representation:
Where the pupil has sufficiently understood the hands-on experiences and can now relate them to representations such as a diagram or picture of the problem.

Abstract representation:
Where the pupil can now represent problems using mathematical notation.

Assessment

At Arkwright we always use Assessment for Learning (AfL) we consider the attainment of individuals and ensure we intervene and move provision to where is needed.

Children self-assess after each lesson placing their work into a tray that indicates how they feel about the learning of that lesson. This leads to same day intervention. Some interventions take place in maths lessons or during assembly time. These sessions are delivered by the teacher or teaching assistant and may involve individual or small group work.

At Arkwright, the children will be assessed at end of blocks with WR assessments. They will also take part in termly maths assessments from Curriculum Maestro. This gives children a national scale score which helps teachers plan accordingly and also ensures appropriate intervention take place.