Mathematics
Mathematics
Subject Lead: Mrs G Wrightson
Curriculum Rationale – Maths
Intent
At Lingey House Primary School, teachers hold and share the belief that all children can achieve in mathematics, and we provide a maths curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals. We develop mathematical skills in three fundamental areas: fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Teachers ensure that key facts are taught in a well-developed sequence, building on prior skills and learning. Children will become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics through frequent and varied practice developing the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high-quality activities to develop children’s reasoning and problem-solving skills across all areas of maths learning and we ensure that lessons foster deep, conceptual understanding. Each child should be able to think and solve problems mathematically by using the appropriate skills, concepts and knowledge with differentiation being through depth, not acceleration. Children are required to explore maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings. A wide range of mathematical resources are used and children are taught to show their workings in a concrete fashion, before establishing ways of pictorially and formally representing their understanding. They are taught to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematical reasoning skills. We encourage resilience and acceptance that struggle is often a necessary step in learning. We provide excellent opportunity for mathematics to be applied across all areas of the curriculum and in ‘real life’ contexts.
Our children’s mathematical development begins in Early Years through the EYFS curriculum and from Year 1 onwards our curriculum follows the National Curriculum Programmes of Study for Key Stages 1 and 2.
Implementation
Early Years
Throughout their time in EYFS, children are given opportunities to count reliably and to secure their number knowledge from 0 – 10, place numbers in order, subitise numbers and know some number bonds. They will develop a mathematical vocabulary through play and talk. Activities are provided both indoors and outdoors and will include exploring containers in sand and water; beanbag numbers games; jigsaws; lotto; dominoes; counting songs and rhymes and many more play based and open ended tasks. Children are taught maths daily in EYFS and are encouraged to explore their growing understanding of number and mathematical vocabulary across all areas of learning.
Key Stages 1 and 2
At Lingey House, we follow the 2014 National Curriculum for mathematics which aims to ensure that all children:
Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
Children are taught mathematics daily covering a broad and balanced mathematical curriculum including elements of number, calculation, geometry, measures and statistics.
Due to the interconnected nature of mathematics, at Lingey House we aim to teach maths in both a cross-curricular manner as well as discretely to ensure the practical application of mathematical skills. We focus not only on the mathematical methods but also on mathematical vocabulary. All classes complete a daily retrieval task in addition to the maths lesson which aims to review and consolidate maths skills that have previously been taught. These retrieval tasks help our pupils to develop automaticity and fluency with key number facts and arithmetic methods that pupils need to draw on when learning new maths concepts. In essence we want children to learn more and remember more.
In order to ensure curriculum coverage and provide staff with a robust base for the delivery of the curriculum, we use Whiterose Maths in school. Planning is derived from here and teachers draw from a range of high-quality resources such as NRich and NCETM to expose children to a variety of reasoning and problem-solving opportunities. Concrete, pictorial and abstract approaches are used to develop conceptual understanding. Teachers make clear links to real-life contexts to further broaden children’s ability to apply their mathematical knowledge. In addition, pupils receive a daily mental maths/arithmetic session (Quick Maths) which is used to revisit learning and to develop fluency. Quick Maths is taught separately to the main lesson but lessons equate to at least 60 minutes each day.
Times tables are taught discretely in all year groups with a particular focus in Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 to ensure the children have met the curriculum objectives by the end of Year 4. To support the children with their multiplication practice, we use ‘Times Table Rockstars’ as an online and fun learning platform which also offer resources to be used in the classroom.
Learning Links
At Lingey House, our children will have the opportunity to make links with learning in other subject areas. For example, they will draw on their mathematical skills when interpreting and analysing data in a range of subjects, including Science, History and Geography. Particular mathematical concepts may be drawn upon across the curriculum for example, symmetry and pattern in art; using their knowledge of time in PE to improve their performance and speed. In addition, the reasoning and problem-solving skills they develop in mathematics are applied across the curriculum, for example when justifying opinions or explaining their knowledge.
Impact
Children at Lingey House Primary are given every opportunity to achieve their full potential in Mathematics to prepare them for the next stage in their learning and for the world of maths beyond education. We use both formative and summative assessment information to help staff to ensure our children make exceptional progress; interventions are wisely used to support every individual.
Staff use assessment information daily to inform their planning and develop next steps in the children’s learning. This enables the staff to provide the best possible support to cater to all children’s educational needs, including providing appropriate support and challenge for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and our more able children.
Through high quality teaching and learning in maths, our children will:
- Be enthusiastic and confident in discussing their learning and experiences in maths.
- Show a clear understanding of the skills and knowledge relating to maths, needed to be a mathematician.
- Be able to use the correct mathematical vocabulary to articulate their learning and experiences as a mathematician.