Subject Overview
WE ARE MATHEMATICIANS
INTENT
At Eldon Primary School we view Mathematics as a tool for everyday life; a network of concepts and relationships which provide a way of viewing and making sense of the world. We aim to teach children how to make sense of the world around them by developing their ability to calculate, reason and solve problems. We foster analytical minds and confident communicators of information and ideas to tackle a range of practical tasks and real life problems. We therefore believe it is important to ensure all children have the best possible mathematics opportunities, including as a cross-curricular learning tool.
We aim to embed the 5 Principles of Mastery throughout our lessons. To ensure lessons are coherent they are broken down into small, connected steps that gradually unfold the concept, providing access for all children and leading to a generalisation of the concept and the ability to apply to a range of concepts. Representations are used in lessons to expose the mathematical structure being taught, with the aim to be that pupils can do the maths without recourse to the representation. Mathematical thinking encourages the pupils to think, reason and discuss ideas and strategies within their classroom environment. Pupils become fluent mathematicians through quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures and the flexibility to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics. Variation is built on over a sequence of lessons and represents concepts in more than one way.
We aim for children to develop:
- A positive attitude towards mathematics and an awareness of the fascination of mathematics.
- Competence and confidence in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills.
- An ability to solve problem, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately.
- Initiative and an ability to work both independently and in cooperation with others.
- An ability to communicate mathematics and mathematically.
- An ability to use and apply mathematics across the curriculum and in real life.
- An understanding of mathematics through a process of enquiry and experiment
HOW DO WE TEACH MATHEMATICS?
IMPLEMENTATION
EARLY YEARS
Through our Maths Mastery approach, number fluency is continually developed within early years, our Mathematical curriculum covers ‘Number and Shape, Space and Measures.’ Children participate in short maths sessions daily and are given time to explore mathematical concepts, test ideas, develop their understanding and practise taught skills through play. Maths can be found in all areas of our provision and children experience it in a purposeful and meaningful context within their play and daily routines. Our mud kitchen, construction areas, sand pit and domestic role play are just some of the areas in which children can explore number, shape, space and measures. Children are encouraged to use their mathematical understanding and skills to solve real life problems and practitioners are trained to identify and extend opportunities to foster this. EYFS read a wide range of texts which are carefully linked to their main themes. They also have a list of texts which are used throughout the year to support mathematical concepts.
KEY STAGE 1 AND 2
From Y1 through to Y6, Teachers use the Red Rose Scheme of Learning resources to support the careful planning of each small step for each unit. It is underpinned by the concrete, pictorial, abstract (CPA) approach. Classrooms have a range of mathematical resources made available for children in each key stage. These include, but are not limited to, Numicon, Base 10, place value counters, bead strings, number lines, digit cards and hundred squares. Varied starting points and timely teacher interventions are utilised in response to Teachers’ ongoing formative assessments through effective deployment of teaching assistants.
Y2 - Y6 children access regular use of ‘TT Rockstars’ and 'Mathletics' within school and at home which enables children to practise multiplication and division knowledge.
Throughout each lesson formative assessment takes place and feedback is given to the children through marking and where appropriate targets set to ensure they are meeting the specific learning objective. Teacher’s then use this assessment to influence their planning and ensure they are providing a mathematics curriculum that will allow all children to progress. The teaching of maths is monitored on a termly basis through regular book looks, learning walks and lesson observations. Each term, children from Year 1 and above complete a summative assessment to help them to develop their testing approach and demonstrate their understanding of the topics covered, using Red Rose End of Term checks. Years 2 and 6 also use previous SATs papers. The results from both the formative assessment and summative assessment are then used to determine children’s progress and attainment.
We implement our approach through quality first teaching and the delivery of appropriately pitched work for all groups of learners supported by the materials from Lancashire's Red Rose Maths Scheme of Learning, an external Mathematics consultant and the North West Mathematics Hub.
When teaching Mathematics we use the six phases of a lesson.
STARTER
INITIAL PROBLEM
GUIDED LEARNING TASK 1
GUIDED LEARNING TASK 2
INDEPENDENT LEARNING TASK
DEEPER LEARNING TASKS
IMPACT
The Red Rose Mathematics assessments are used as a summative assessment at the end of every term. The analysis grids to go with these, as provided by the Lancashire Maths Team, clearly show where there are any ‘gaps’ in learning.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE LEARNING HAS STUCK?
Questioning
Pupil Book Study talking about learning with the children
Talking to teachers
Low stakes ‘Drop-in’ observations
End of block and term assessments
Feedback and marking
Progress in book matches the curriculum intent
PUPIL BOOK STUDY TELLS US:
What impact is our CURRICULUM having?
- What effect is the curriculum architecture having?
Does teaching support LONG-TERM LEARNING?
- Is the evidence-led practice really being deployed at a classroom level, or is it superficial?
Do tasks enable pupils to THINK HARD and CREATE LONG-TERM MEMORY?How impactful are tasks, and do they help pupils to think hard and generate learning?
