Mathematics

We care for all God’s children, unconditionally. As a rural town community, the Parable of Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) resonates with our children who feel valued and welcomed as individuals. All members of our school family, the community and the wider world are valued and respected.

Intent

Maths is a skill we use on a daily basis and is an essential part of everyday life. We believe that students deserve a creative and ambitious mathematics curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge, which ignites curiosity and prepares them well for everyday life and future employment. Therefore, mathematics forms an important part of our broad and balanced curriculum where we endeavour to ensure that children develop an enjoyment and enthusiasm for maths that will stay with them throughout their lives and empower them in future life. Developing a positive culture of deep understanding, confidence and competence in maths will produce strong, secure learning for all. We believe that unlocking mathematical fluency is an essential life skill for all learners and is a pre-requisite to being able to reason and solve problems mathematically.

At St Nicks we aim for all pupils to:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time
• develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
• use concrete resources and pictorial representations to enable them to fully understand the mathematical concepts and principals, particularly when presented in abstract calculations and questions
• solve problems by making connections and applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing complexity, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps
• communicate, justify, argue and prove using mathematical vocabulary

Implementation

We achieve this through:

• a curriculum which provides breadth and balance, and is relevant and engaging
• using the ‘White Rose’ scheme, which follows the National Curriculum, to support children from Early Years to Year 6 children in learning the fundamentals behind the meanings of numbers and exploring other key mathematical areas
• the use of ‘small steps’ to break down the teaching sequence into small achievable steps
• children being reminded/taught fact sentences linked to previous/current learning which will constantly be referred to within the lesson
• teachers modelling the learning which will support the children in developing their ability to reason and explain their answers
• daily assessment, including a ‘hinge point’, live and verbal feedback, which is incorporated throughout the lesson
• providing ‘scaffolds’ for children who require additional support, to ensure that they have secured the small step before moving on. These ‘scaffolds’ may be in the form of returning to concrete resources or pictorial representations
• ensuring there are challenges available for children who understand a concept quicker and which are used to deepen and challenge learners further within the curriculum area
• timely intervention being provided by the class teacher, or support staff, to address any misconceptions or gaps in understanding to enable children to confidently progress in their learning journey
• adhering to our calculation policy which outlines the progression of strategies and methods to be taught
• children securing key number facts through our mental maths challenges (including Times Tables Rock Stars and Precision Teaching), allowing them to progress through levels so that number bonds and times tables facts are fluently recalled and applied

Intended Impact

 We aspire that a St Nick’s mathematician will have developed a bank of efficient and accurate skills that can be used to calculate effectively. These will have been underpinned by the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract process so children understand rather than just do, which ultimately will allow children to identify when answers do not make mathematical sense. Children will be able to apply these calculation skills and understanding of other areas to become confident and resilient problem-solvers with the ability to reason and articulate their ideas mathematically.

Key Documents

Maths Calculation Policy Addition_and_Subtraction

Maths Calculation Policy Multiplication and Division

Mathematics Progression

EYFS Maths Development Matters birth to reception and ELGs.pdf