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Maths

 Keyham Barton’s Mathematics Curriculum Statement


 

‘Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries.  It is essential for everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.’Department of Education

Intent

At Keyham Barton we believe that all our children should be provided with a wide mathematical experience taught in an enjoyable, relevant and creative way.

We aim to ensure that all pupils become fluent in the fundamentals of maths (recalling and applying knowledge rapidly and accurately); reason mathematically using mathematical language and solve real life problems by breaking them down into a series of simpler steps.

Our Programmes of Study come from The National Curriculum for Mathematics.  They include:- Number, Measures, Geometry and Statistics.  All areas require children to be able to use and apply mathematics effectively and efficiently.

We believe that all children should have:

  • a deep understanding of maths and number.

  • A positive and resilient attitude towards mathematics and an awareness of the fascination of mathematics.

  • Competence and confidence in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills.

  • An ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately.

  • A range of learning strategies: working both collaboratively and independently.

  • Fluency in mathematics where children can express ideas confidently and talk about the subject using mathematical language.

  • An understanding of the importance of mathematics in everyday life.

  •  Opportunities to become independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning.

Our maths curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics through placing number at the heart of our curriculum with daily practice to ensure fluency of number facts

  • reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry (discussion plays a vital role in all lessons)

  • can solve problems by ensuring problem solving is embedded in every lesson and variation of questions are used to enable children to apply their knowledge to different situations.

  • can make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fuller understanding

  • are challenged-mastery is built into every lesson, for pupils who grasp concepts rapidly, through sophisticated problems and an opportunity for children to demonstrate their understanding creating their own problems.

  • who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material, consolidate their understanding by receiving intervention.


Implement

Mathematics is taught daily, in discrete lessons, and also in a cross-curricular approach when appropriate.

All lessons are differentiated to meet the individual needs of each child.  There are opportunities for whole class, group, paired and individual learning.  Pupils are encouraged to try different learning strategies.

 

The key resource in learning is Quality First Teaching (QFT) so our lessons include the following qualities:-

  • Highly focused lesson design with clear and focussed objectives. 

  • High demands of pupil involvement and engagement with their learning. 

  • High levels of interaction for all pupils. 

  •  Appropriate use of teacher questioning, modeling and explaining. 

  • An expectation that pupils will accept responsibility for their own learning and work independently. 

  •  Regular use of encouragement and authentic praise to engage and motivate pupils. 

  •  An emphasis on learning through dialogue, with regular opportunities for pupils to articulate their understanding both individually and in groups using correct mathematical language.

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. 

  • In school, we follow the National Curriculum and use White Rose and Power Maths Schemes of Work as a guide to support teachers with their planning and assessment. 

  • To develop a deep and sustainable understanding of maths in pupils we use CPA approach (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract). The CPA approach builds on children’s existing knowledge by introducing abstract concepts in a concrete and tangible way.  It involves moving from concrete materials to pictorial representations, to abstract symbols and problems.

  • The calculation policy is used within school to ensure a consistent approach to teaching the four operations over time.

  • The Mental Calculations Policy is used within school to ensure a consistent approach to teaching times tables and other essential number bonds.  The Keyham Barton Rapid Recall Challenge supports this from EYFS to Y6.

  • To learn mathematics effectively some concepts need to be taught before others so a detailed long term curriculum map is devised to meet the specific needs of each cohort. Our emphasis is on number skills first, carefully ordered, throughout our primary curriculum.

  • To ensure there are planned opportunities for children to revisit their learning, teachers plan daily ‘flashbacks’ to re-cap and embed learning. This allows for a greater depth of understanding and supports our commitment of a mastery approach.

Impact

The impact of our mathematics curriculum is that we establish an environment where maths is fun, purposeful and challenging, where it is OK to be ‘wrong’ because the learning journey towards finding solutions and confidently applying new knowledge, understanding and reasoning skills is most important. Children demonstrate a deep understanding of maths and display a positive and resilient attitude towards mathematics and an awareness of the fascination of mathematics.  They show confidence in Believing that they will achieve.  Mathematical concepts or skills are mastered when a child can show it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas, and can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations. 

  •   Formative assessment takes place on a daily basis and teachers adjust planning accordingly to meet the needs of their class. 

  • The teaching of mathematics is consistently monitored by leaders in a number of different ways.

  • Summative assessment takes place at the end of each term

  • Through the ongoing moderation of planning, lessons, books and assessment outcomes, we can be clear on what progress is made across all year groups. If progress is not being made, or gaps identified, support is immediate and steps provided to ensure all pupils achieve and make progress.

Our children take great pride in what they achieve and have a growth mind-set, which supports them in making measurable progress throughout their time here and prepares them for their ‘next step’.