Maths
Intent
The National Curriculum for Mathematics aims to ensure that all children:
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics
- Are able to reason mathematically
- Can solve real-life problems by applying their Mathematics
At Eastfield Primary School, we firmly believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge of arithmetic and number knowledge from EYFS. We are committed to ensuring that children are able to recognise the importance of Mathematics in the wider world and that they will need to use their mathematical skills and knowledge confidently in their lives in a range of different contexts. We believe Mathematics should be fun as well as challenging for all pupils and want our pupils to experience success in the subject.
Implementation
Mathematics is taught daily to enable the achievement of ‘mastery’ over time. Each stage of the lesson provides the means to achieve greater depth, with more able children being offered rich and sophisticated problems, as well as exploratory, investigative tasks, within the lesson as appropriate. Teachers use the Mathematics LTP as a guide to time allocation for each area of Mathematics, but this is flexible to suit the needs of the pupils in each class. Pupils will not move on to new concepts until they have a secure knowledge.
The school uses a CPA (concrete, pictorial and abstract) approach throughout, which encourages children to become independent in choosing the most suitable resources, strategies and methods in order to represent mathematical concepts and solve problems. Mathematical talk is also a key feature in all lessons, encouraging children to explore mathematical concepts and reason logically.
The school also uses the mastery approach to teach mathematics, which ensures that all pupils have a secure knowledge of the fundamentals of the subject. In conjunction with the National Programme of Study for Mathematics, teachers use the White Rose documents as guidance to plan and specially tailor whole-class sessions. The principles of this approach are set out below:
- Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics.
- The large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
- Children are supported and challenged to ensure success for all. This takes the form of working through small steps whilst working at a pace to meet their needs. Practice and consolidation is embedded throughout the small steps.
In EYFS, pupils participate in a daily Mathematics lesson. Initially, these lessons take the form of a whole group input, followed by small focus group work to support the needs of the cohort. In the summer term, children will participate in whole class Mathematics lessons in preparation for year 1. All lessons begin with an arithmetic starter or counting activity, followed by a recap of previous learning and the teaching of new knowledge. Pupils largely work on their understanding of number and place value in order to develop their fluency skills.
In KS1, pupils participate in a daily whole-class Mathematics lesson. Four of these lessons begin with an arithmetic starter or counting activity, followed by the main teaching element. One lesson per week focuses on recalling key facts and calculation methods, this takes in the form of a taught arithmetic test. Elements of lessons may differ to suit the needs of the pupils where necessary, and there are opportunities to consolidate learning before moving onto new and more challenging concepts. In order to develop early fluency, pupils in KS1 may spend longer on fluency-based tasks to consolidate understanding before moving on to reasoning and problem solving.
In KS2, pupils participate in a daily whole-class Mathematics lesson. Four of these lessons begin with an arithmetic starter or counting activity, followed by the main teaching. One lesson per week focuses on recalling key facts and calculation methods, this takes in the form of a taught arithmetic test. Often, the lesson will include elements of fluency, reasoning and problem solving. However, the structure of the lesson may differ to suit the needs of the pupils, and teachers adapt their planning to ensure all pupils are secure before moving on to more complex Mathematics. As fluency builds through KS2, pupils will be challenged by more bespoke reasoning and problem-solving tasks in order to apply their skills.
In order to secure multiplication fluency, children in Year 2 – Year 5 partake in a weekly online multiplication test.
Impact
As a result, we have a community of confident Mathematicians, who experience challenge and success in Mathematics by developing a growth mindset and a ‘can-do’ attitude. Our pupils are not afraid to take risks in Mathematics and feel confident applying their skills in the context of the real world. These factors ensure that we are able to maintain high standards, with achievement at the end of KS2 well above the national average and a high proportion of children demonstrating greater depth at the end of each phase.
