Maths

The All Saints’ Vision for Maths

Intent - we aim to provide the environment and opportunities for children to become curious, inquisitive and systematic problem solvers. The children should possess key learning behaviours which enable them to solve problems effectively, using fluency and reasoning and be able to apply their learning to life outside of the classroom.

Implementation - at All Saints’ we use the mastery approach to ensure that learning is deep and underpinned by key principles. We have high expectations of all children and believe that every child can make progress and enjoy maths.

We have adopted key learning behaviours which will ensure that children are fully engaged.

Our five learning behaviours are;

I can make connections
I can spot patterns
I can spot rules
I can come up with ideas
I can prove it

These learning behaviours, titled ‘What makes a good mathematician?’ are displayed in every classroom and attention should be drawn to them when they are exhibited by the children.

A supportive and collaborative environment is created where good practice is shared between teachers who are constantly looking to increase their specialist knowledge which is needed to ensure that teaching and learning is effective.

Our curriculum design begins with the National Curriculum Purpose of Study statement;

"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.”

National Curriculum 2014

We use the White Rose Maths scheme for Years 1 to 6 to ensure a coherent and detailed sequence of content which builds in small steps to support progression over time. The small steps can be viewed on the maths curriculum area of the school website.

Children in Reception and KS1 also use the Mastering Number programme from NCETM to help give them a solid foundation in understanding number and developing their instant recall of number facts. All year groups use the first 20 minutes of each maths lesson to practise and revisit prior learning and number facts to help them to apply what they have already learned to the new concepts within a unit. Each Friday the children are assessed on their rapid recall number facts using the Big Maths Learn Its challenges, which alongside the 20 minute starters help to develop a sound procedural fluency.

Procedural fluency is developed in tandem with conceptual understanding as each area supports the other. Carefully selected examples, representations and models are used to expose mathematical concepts and encourage the children to make connections between prior knowledge and new learning. Key representations are included within the calculation policy which is available on the maths curriculum area of the school website.

Pupils are not typically grouped by ability in maths lessons, unless a child has a substantial barrier to learning which means they are unable to fully access the lesson content (in which case they will complete work with an adapted outcome or resources). Timely intervention during lessons is used to support children who may have misconceptions or those who have not fully understood a concept.

Lessons should be interactive between the teacher and pupils with differing approaches and activities used which will give opportunity for the children to think, reason and apply knowledge to solve problems. Teachers should question, explain, demonstrate and discuss and provide the children with time to talk to adults and peers to enable them to explore the concepts within each lesson. The White Rose Maths scheme supports this, with varied tasks allowing the children to develop a range of skills.

Children are expected to communicate their thinking effectively and are encouraged to use precise mathematical vocabulary, something which is modelled effectively by class teachers. Sentence stems in Mastering Number expose the children to this from a young age and this is maintained throughout the school.

Impact - children develop an enjoyment and love of maths and thrive when presented with a problem. They are able to apply the knowledge and skills that they have learnt to a range of situations and use their mathematical ability to enhance their career options.

In the Foundation Stage, the children work towards the Early Learning Goals in the areas of Mathematics which comprise Number, Shape, Space and Measures. This is taught in a multitude of ways, inside and outside the classroom, through play and through specific teacher-led activities. The Reception class use the Mastering Number programme to underpin the curriculum, ensuring that they have a solid foundation in understanding and using number. Our EYFS team use the school's sensory garden as a setting for maths lessons that link the curriculum with a setting that the children are familiar with. These lessons allow the children to create links between their learning and the real world.

Our curriculum is supported with TTRockstars to encourage the children in and out of school to practise and further develop their skills and love of Mathematics. TT Rockstars allows children to practice key skills beyond the classroom. The link for TT Rockstars can be found at the bottom of the page.

We know the children need to enjoy Mathematics, find it fun and learn to problem-solve through exciting and interesting challenges both inside and outside the classroom and across the whole curriculum. For this reason the whole school uses NRich and NCETM resources to provide opportunity for children to reason and explain their understanding. Opportunity is given for the children to apply their mathematical skills and thinking outside of timetabled maths lessons in cross-curricular activities. For example the Year 1 children use skills learned in the measurement units in their dinosaur topic to measure dinosaur bones in science lessons. The Year 4 class use the running app Strava to map distances and compare time in their weekly 5k running challenge which also promotes healthy lifestyles and home engagement.

Regular visitors from the local community come in to school to show how they use maths in the careers and set up challenges for the children to complete, providing context for learning. Our curriculum is designed to be relevant to children living in Cockermouth and we actively seek out partnerships with local employers and social groups from the area. Sellafield nuclear power plant have been involved in several STEAM workshops with different classes in the school and local employers have visited school to work on activities that show how they use maths in their day-to-day work.