Mathematics
We are Mathematicians
Intent
At Amesbury CE Primary, we want a mathematics curriculum which is accessible to all and will maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. We deliver lessons that are creative and engaging. We want children to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We intend for our pupils to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects. We want children to realise that mathematics has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. We want them to know that it is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. As our pupils progress, we intend for our pupils to be able to understand the world, have the ability to reason mathematically, have an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. Alongside everything we do, we continually embed our values of: kindness, dignity and endurance into the teaching of Mathematics.
What is the point in being a Mathematician?
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.
The aims of being a Mathematician are:
- 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; - 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 nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
Implementation
Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics. We are currently on a journey to develop a school wide approach to teaching for mastery and work alongside the Mobius maths hub. A programme that is being developed so that teachers are given time and resources to develop subject knowledge and to learn valuable ways of teaching from each other.
- The large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
- Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.
- Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
- Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.
- Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess children regularly to identify those requiring intervention, so that all children keep up.
To ensure whole school consistency and progression, the school uses the White Rose Maths scheme. This enables all teachers to have a clear structure to plan from and follows the aims of the national curriculum. This details the core facts, concepts, methods and strategies that give pupil the best chance of developing proficiency in the subject.
Mathematical topics are taught in blocks, to enable the achievement of ‘mastery’ over time. Each lesson phase provides the means to achieve greater depth, with more able children being offered rich and sophisticated problems, as well as exploratory, investigative tasks, within the lesson as appropriate.
A CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach is used to allow children to develop a deep conceptual understanding of the maths they are learning
In order to ensure fluency and a deep conceptual understanding of number, we have introduced a daily session in EY and KS1 classes using Numbersense Maths. Currently in Y3, daily number sense sessions are running as a ‘catch up’ intervention to close the gap on their mathematical understanding of number. In Y4 – Y6 we use a systematic programme to teach tables. Teachers help pupils develop their automatic recall of core declarative knowledge, rather than rely on derivation, guess work or casting around for clues.
Calculation Policy
The calculation policy is being developed and agreed with all staff including teaching assistants using the National Curriculum objectives and methods. We are adapting the White Rose calculation policy so that it is aligned with our classroom practice.
We recognise that mathematics can only be used effectively when the user understands the tool and has ownership of it. With our calculation policy, we can be confident throughout school that the hard work we all put into teaching the children each year to calculate will be consolidated and extended the following year.
By agreeing on the use of strategies and mathematical language, the children will be taught in a consistent way in all classes developing their understanding as they progress through school. This will hopefully cause less confusion for the children and ensure they have the necessary strategies and scaffolding to enable them to solve mathematical problems.
Children will then be encouraged to use the calculation strategies they are secure with, whether done mentally or using pencil and paper methods.
The school recognises the need to give pupils opportunities to consolidate and revisit learning. At the beginning of lessons, time is allocated for review.