Mathematics

Mrs Wright

Intent

At Marlborough, our intent for Mathematics is to teach a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum which develops children’s ability to reason, problem solve, think logically, work systematically and accurately, and to develop fluent conceptual understanding in Mathematics.

Maths is a key skill we use on a daily basis and is an essential part of everyday life. Therefore, Mathematics forms an important part of our broad and balanced curriculum where we endeavour to ensure that children develop a life-long enjoyment of the subject which empowers them. Our intent is to raise standards in Mathematics, to enable our pupils to access and engage with their learning to ensure both academic and personal success.

With this is mind, when teaching Mathematics at Marlborough, we provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals. We use the overviews provided by the White Rose Maths Hub to support the teaching and learning of the National Curriculum objectives where pupils are required to explore maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings. New mathematical concepts are introduced using a ‘Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract’ approach; enabling all children to experience hands-on learning when discovering new mathematical topics, allowing them to have clear models and images to aid their understanding. A wide range of mathematical resources are used during lessons and pupils are taught to show their workings in a concrete, pictorial and abstract form wherever suitable.

Our aim is to develop pupil’s ability to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language. Therefore pupils are taught to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematical reasoning skills. . We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high quality activities with a focus on fluency, reasoning and problem solving, encouraging resilience, adaptability and acceptance, that struggle is often a necessary step in learning.

As a school, we recognise that the key to unlocking the potential in our children is through the development of mathematical skills and the understanding of mathematical concepts. We aim to provide a Maths curriculum which engages all children and entitles them to the same quality of teaching and learning opportunities, striving to achieve their potential.

Implementation

Our mastery approach to the curriculum is designed to develop children's knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts from the Early Years through to the end of Y6. Our curriculum provides breadth and balance, is relevant and engaging and is differentiated to match the needs and abilities of all our children to ensure that all pupils are able to excel.

Teaching and Learning, Content and Sequence

Maths is a key skill, and therefore we focus on systematically developing children's mathematical knowledge, ideas and operations. We use the overviews provided by the White Rose Maths Hub, from Reception to Year 6, as a guide to support the teaching and learning of the National Curriculum objectives for Maths, which help teachers plan stimulating and challenging lessons.

White Rose Maths provide yearly overviews which set the curriculum out in blocks, enabling children to get to grips with different areas of maths through extended periods of time. The overviews for each year group are broken down into fluency, reasoning and problem solving, which are the key aims of the curriculum, and provide examples of key questions and activities.

Alongside the White Rose materials, we use many other resources to ensure that our offer is rich and varied. These include NCETM, NRich, Third Space Learning, Classroom Secrets and Power Maths – these are used across KS1 and KS2 allowing children to be exposed to a variety of different types of learning and to ensure coverage of fluency, problem solving and reasoning in different formats.

Children are taught through clear modelling and have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts using ‘real life’ maths problems that provide a stimulating challenge for all abilities.

Calculation & Progression Policy

The Calculation and Progression Policy outlines the progression in written and mental calculations from Reception to Year 6. They are used within school to ensure a consistent approach to teaching the four operations over time. The progression of strategies, methods and stages of learning are outlined in these policies to ensure that children are not being stretched outside their year group but rather deepened within it.

CPA Approach (Concrete- Pictorial-Abstract)

As a school, we believe in the importance of following the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach as a means to developing a solid understanding and mastery of mathematical concepts. Lessons use this approach to guide children through their understanding of mathematical processes. The mastery approach helps children explore and demonstrate mathematical ideas, enrich their learning experience and deepen understanding at all levels. We implement our approach through high quality teaching; delivering appropriately challenging work for all individuals. When children have grasped a concept using concrete equipment, images and diagrams are used (pictorial) prior to moving to abstract questions. Abstract maths relies on the children understanding a concept thoroughly and being able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer and solve maths without equipment or images. We have a range of mathematical resources available to teachers, which are both centrally stored and easily accessible in classrooms.

SEND Pupils, Personalised Learning, Catch-up Tuition and Intervention Programmes

Children with additional needs are included in whole class lessons and teachers provide scaffolding and relevant support as necessary. For those children who are working outside of the year group curriculum, individual learning activities are provided to ensure their progress and children work on the mathematical objective at whatever entrance stage they are assessed as being at.

All children, receive regular group support as part of their maths lesson. Where children require additional support, ‘scaffolds’ are used to support children further 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. Lessons are personalised to address the individual needs and requirements for a class but coverage is maintained. Children are taught through targeted differentiated small group and mixed ability whole class lessons.

Timetabled interventions are in place for children with SEND, or for individuals or small groups where a need is identified.

In addition, Intervention programmes in Maths also take the form of ‘Catch-up’ tuition groups both before and after school for the most vulnerable pupils and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, who we know have been most affected by missed learning caused by coronavirus (COVID19).

Problem Solving and Reasoning

In order to further develop children’s fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills, we use a range of reasoning resources which correlates to the White Rose Maths Hub overviews. Investigate tasks are carefully planned and designed to:

Further develop children’s understanding of a concept
Make links between maths topics
Apply more than just one skill to be able to answer the mathematical problems
Allow children to follow their own lines of enquiry and develop their own ideas, justifying and proving their answers.

PSRN tasks are evident in children’s books as either printed pre-prepared challenges, or they are written in purple pen and responded to in green pen. Children work both collaboratively and independently when solving problems which require them to persevere and develop resilience. At Marlborough, we believe that reasoning and problem solving are integral to the activities children are given in order to develop their mathematical thinking.

Consolidation

Start of the day revise and review consolidation activities, are used to revisit previous learning and ensure Maths skills are embedded.

Fluent in Five and Rapid Reasoning

In Keys Stage 1 and 2, children are set maths tasks to ensure general maths knowledge, fluency, and reasoning skills are maintained and developed. This may take the form of: arithmetic, specific times tables or several questions about a mixture of maths topics.

Fluency is developed through repeating, reinforcing and revising key skills, whereby children are given time to practice and perfect their calculation strategies.

Pre-Teaching

While the class are solving fluency and reasoning questions, class teachers and support staff are able to support children with consolidation or pre-teaching, ensuring they are confident with skills from previous learning or those required for the upcoming session.

Flashback Four

All Maths lessons from Year 1 to 6, begin with a short assessment using the White Rose Maths Hub Flashback Four structure. The principles of this spaced learning approach is to recall appropriate concepts from the children’s previous lesson, a skill or concept they learnt the previous week, month or year. This supports children’s retrieval practice and develops long-term memory of key mathematical skills.

Feedback and Assessment

Through our teaching, we continuously monitor pupils’ progress against expected attainment for their age, making formative assessment notes where appropriate and using these to inform our teaching.

Summative assessments, using the NFER Progress Tests in Year 1, 3, 4 and 5; Year 2 and Year 6 complete past SATS papers; are completed at the end of each half term; these results alongside teacher assessment judgements, form discussions in termly Pupil Progress Meetings and update our summative school tracker. Termly assessments are used as a diagnostic tool to ensure that teachers are adapting learning to meet the needs of all children and ensure that any necessary interventions are targeted specifically to meet the needs of children. Assessment informs the teaching and learning sequence, and children work on the objectives they are assessed as being at.

Pre and post unit assessments, Hot and Cold Tasks, are used where appropriate along with termly assessments which help teachers to gather an understanding of their pupil’s existing and developing knowledge and skills.

Daily assessment is incorporated throughout the lesson through live and verbal feedback. Feedback is given in a variety of ways to ensure pupils are well informed and making visible progress. Discussion is essential to learning and children are encouraged to discuss their thoughts, ideas and methods with a partner, group or the teacher. Feedback is given on children’s learning in line with our feedback policy. Formative assessment within every lesson helps teachers to identify the children who need more support to achieve the intended outcome and who are ready for greater stretch and challenge through planned questioning or additional activities.

Summative assessments are completed at the end of the academic year and reported to parents in the end of year report.

Mathematical Vocabulary

Correct mathematical vocabulary is used by all teachers to develop language acquisition, embedding mathematical vocabulary as topics progress. Mathematical vocabulary is discussed with and explained to children regularly who are then encouraged to use it independently when talking about maths. Vocabulary is displayed clearly on working walls and on unit knowledge organisers for all year groups from Year 1 to Year 6, and is referred to in every lesson.

Resources and Equipment

Resources and equipment are audited regularly so that children have materials of high quality and accuracy to support their learning. Our resources allow us to better use models and images to support learning in each area and enable the progression from concrete to pictorial to abstract. Children are familiar with these resources and can access them independently where needed. Resources are readily available to assist demonstration of securing a conceptual understanding of the different skills appropriate for each year group.

Home Learning

Homework is set to develop and review children's learning. Where possible, links are made with other subjects across the curriculum.

Cross Curricular links

A love of maths is encouraged throughout school via links with others subjects, applying an ever growing range of skills with growing independence. Cross Curricular Maths is taught across the curriculum ensuring that skills taught in these lessons are applied in other subjects

Whole School Events

We celebrate and partake in numerous whole school maths events throughout the academic year e.g., National Numeracy Day, Times Tables Rock Down Comic Relief. We also plan regular whole school competitions such as TTRS launch day. These bring the whole school together to concentrate on one theme.

Knowledge Organisers

At the start of each new topic, knowledge organisers are placed in Maths books for all students. Maths knowledge organisers provide a summary of the key facts and essential knowledge that pupils need within a unit of work.

Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots

Times tables play an important part in our maths learning, with children developing their fluency in rapid recall of tables up to 12 x 12 by the end of Year 4.

In order to advance individual children’s maths skills in school and at home, we utilise Times Tables Rock Stars for multiplication practise, application and consolidation. In addition to this, pupils take part in weekly rapid recall of times tables assigned to a bronze silver and gold level. In these times table challenge sheets, children can practise set tables, becoming quicker with remembering these important facts during a timed quizzes.

Children from Y1 – Y6 also have the opportunity to consolidate and apply their times tables knowledge during morning early bird booster classes every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning.

Staff CPD (Continual Professional Development)

All staff are encouraged to raise questions, seek support and request further training if needed in order to ensure everyone is confident in what they teach. Good practice is always shared between staff and all CPD is used to inform teaching and learning across school. Staff subject knowledge allows the intentions of our mathematics curriculum to be delivered successfully and we continually strive to build upon the excellent understanding of the expectations of the curriculum that our staff have.

Leadership

Quality leadership in mathematics education is fundamental in improving teacher practice and student outcomes. The maths leader has a clear role and overall responsibility for the progress of all children in maths throughout Marlborough Primary School.

Maths Leaders are expected to:

Support teachers where required to develop the knowledge to meet students’ needs and to guide their practice.
Support the learning of their colleagues by sharing subject expertise and influencing practice
Play a significant role by developing connections between leadership and learning and improving teaching practice and student outcomes.
Bring about positive practical and sustainable change.
Develop their own mathematical discipline and pedagogical content knowledge and capacity to lead
Work alongside the senior leadership team to interrogate and analyse key data to inform on progress and future actions.

Impact

As a result of the Maths curriculum at Marlborough, you will see:

Quality first teaching which uses a range of activities and teaching methods.
Lessons that use a variety of resources to support learning.
Different representations of mathematical concepts to aid learning
Children who are engaged and challenged.
Learning that is tracked and monitored to ensure all children make good progress.
Children who can confidently talk about their learning and make links between Mathematical topics.
Children who can explain the relevance and importance of what they are learning in relation to real world concepts.
Children who have a good understanding of their strengths, targets and produce high standard of work, which children take pride in.
A curriculum which demonstrates excellent coverage of fluency, reasoning and problem solving for all learners.
Feedback and interventions support which encourages children to strive to be the best mathematicians they can be
Teachers and additional staff who have high expectations of pupils.
Children who have a positive view of Maths due to a learning environment where Maths is promoted as being an exciting and enjoyable subject.
Confident learners who know that it is OK to be ‘wrong’ and that this can strengthen their learning.