Maths
“Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics.” – Dean Schlicter
Intent
The National Curriculum states that children should be able to solve a range of problems, alongside developing mathematical fluency and the ability to reason and explain their thinking. Through adopting the mastery model for teaching mathematics we are able to achieve this. It is our aim that all children are taught to develop a deep conceptual understanding as well as procedural flexibility, and through this, meet the aims of the National Curriculum. We want our children to be confident mathematicians both in arithemetic and reasoning and have the skills to solve problems effectively.
Implementation
We follow the White Rose Maths scheme which teaches mastery. All children have a daily maths lesson and a fluency lesson. At the start of a typical lesson, children focus on a 'get ready' starter activity which links to prior learning and embeds concepts already learnt. New learning begins gradually and prior knowledge is explored and then built upon with new skills. Links to other mathematical areas in lessons helps children to see patterns and use skills across a range of concepts. Lessons can be delivered and outcomes recorded in different ways using workbooks and sometimes journals.
One of the key principles of the mastery method is the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach. This means that you will often see children working with practical apparatus, whatever their ability. More able children may move more quickly onto pictorial and abstract (symbolic) representations but reinforcement and deep conceptual understanding is achieved by going back and forth between the concrete, pictorial and abstract. Through this approach, and with careful questioning, children will notice patterns, make connections and begin to generalise.
Throughout a lesson, you will hear the teacher and teaching assistants talking mainly in questions. This promotes thinking, and children have opportunities to discuss their ideas with talking partners as well as with the whole class. This enables them to refine their thinking and progress.
Alongside the maths lesson, all children complete retrieval questions using Flash Back 4 as they come into school. They aslo have an additional short fluency lesson in the afternoon based on fluency and automaticity, called Fluent in 5. Some year groups are using the intervention, Mastering Number, to develop stronger number sense. Times tables are taught using Times Tables Rock Stars.
Adaptations
As set out in the National Curriculum, children are expected to move through programmes of study at broadly the same pace. In all year groups, children who grasp concepts quickly are extended through the use of effective questioning that aids higher order thinking and deeper learning. Problem solving and reasoning questions linked to the lesson help to challenge learners and help with deeper understanding. Children who are less secure or that may have SEND have various adaptations made to lessons to support learning.
Interventions are also planned for groups of children. These groups are fluid and based on assessment during mathematics lessons. They support children by giving those who find grasping mathematical concepts more difficult an opportunity to ‘catch up and keep up’.
Our progression and coverage document is set out below alongside Long Term overviews from Early Years to Year 6.
