Mathematics
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.
Intent, Implementation and Impact
Intent
The teaching of Maths at Listerdale is guided by the EYFS Statutory Framework and the National Curriculum, September 2014. The EYFS Statutory Framework sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to five years old and supports an integrated approach to mathematical early learning. The National Curriculum sets out year by year programmes of study for key stages 1 and 2. The 2014 National Curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all children:
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of maths
- Can reason mathematically
- Can solve problems
At Listerdale mathematical skills are developed progressively over time. We want all children to enjoy Maths and to be successful in Maths.
We aim for our pupils in Maths to:
Develop a positive attitude towards Maths and understand its relevance in real-life
Develop an ability to solve problems and think logically
Develop the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
Reason mathematically and use appropriate mathematical language
Apply their mathematical knowledge to other areas of the curriculum.
Implementation
Throughout school we place a strong emphasis on the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication & division), as well as teaching mathematical skills and concepts in place value, geometry, measure, fractions/decimals/percentages and statistics. To guarantee long-term planning for all our pupils, the curriculum is organised and carefully sequenced so that children can master key foundational knowledge which is built upon within the year and beyond.
At Listerdale we have high expectations of all our pupils, we strive to ensure children achieve their full potential through high quality teaching and inclusive practise. The vast majority of our pupils progress through the curriculum content at their age-related level engaging in appropriate, cognitively challenging activities.
The content and principles underpinning the Maths curriculum at Listerdale:
Whole class delivery
Daily lessons are planned based on formative assessment of what the pupils already know. Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by well-designed lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge. At Listerdale we believe in using the concrete, pictorial, abstract (CPA) way of teaching as this is an effective way to help pupils understand mathematical concepts at a deeper level. By starting with concrete objects and moving towards abstract concepts, pupils will develop a stronger understanding of the underlying concepts of Maths. Modelling a concept is an essential part of whole class delivery and teachers will also consider, at the planning stage, further scaffolding that may be required for some children and suitable challenge questions for those pupils who grasp a concept more rapidly.
Fluency is a focus for all learners. Once pupils have grasped a concept and evidenced their understanding, they move onto applying that learning into more challenging problem solving and reasoning situations.
A variety of Afl strategies are used by staff in Maths lessons to establish the pupils’ level of understanding and inform future next steps. Groupings of children can be fluid and changeable according to the progress children are making, allowing for adaptive practise strategies to be implemented when applicable.
Developing fluency
At Listerdale we ensure all children have a secure and deep understanding of each concept taught. Our medium-term plans are based on the White Rose Hub, which outline teaching expectations and supports progression within each Maths lesson and over time. The medium-term plans are organised to allow for revisiting areas of Maths to build upon prior knowledge and ensure that key mathematical knowledge remains in all pupils’ working memory. At Listerdale we believe to be successful mathematicians, core knowledge needs to be recalled accurately and with speed. Number fact knowledge is carefully sequenced throughout Listerdale to ensure a secure foundation of knowledge for the children’s mathematical journey of learning. At the beginning of each Maths lesson time is built in to enhance mathematical fluency through daily arithmetic questions, number connections or number of the week facts. These activities have proven to build children’s confidence and understanding of mathematical concepts.
Questioning
Teachers use hinge point questions in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess children regularly to identify those requiring intervention, so that all children keep up. Questions will probe pupil understanding throughout, and allow some children to take their learning to the next step.
Problem Solving
Problem solving is integrated into each unit of teaching and learning. Teachers model examples, metacognition strategies and resilience to develop a deeper understanding of the logical processes used to solve problems. Children are encouraged to explain their steps to solve problems using mathematical language and reasoning skills.
Assessment
Afl techniques are used to establish progress and the teaching/learning is modified as a result of this. Teachers adapt each lesson to meet the needs of their pupils and add further questioning/tasks to allow the children to learn the content more deeply. Summative assessments (White Rose) are used termly in Y3, Y4 and Y5 and previous SAT papers are used in Y2 and Y6 to feed into ongoing teacher assessment. In the Foundation Stage ongoing observations and assessments take place to enable staff to identify children’s strengths and areas to be developed.
Impact
The impact of quality mathematical teaching across Listerdale will ensure that at each level the children will:
Have a good understanding of numbers and how they work in the number system
Know by heart number facts such as number bonds, times tables.
Calculate accurately and efficiently using appropriate mental and written strategies
Solve real-life problems using the appropriate strategies
Explain their methods using mathematical language
Know units for measuring and make sensible estimations
Explain graphs, diagrams, charts and tables
Have good spatial awareness and knowledge of shapes
Understand the importance of Maths in everyday life.
The impact of our mathematics curriculum will be shown through:
- Summative assessments, of arithmetic, reasoning and problem solving, using White Rose tests and SAT papers.
- Termly moderation of mathematics with individual year groups, both within the academy and across ACET, supporting staff for robust teaching assessment judgements.
- Monitoring of progress from year to year and key stage to key stage, ensuring pupils remain at least ‘on track’ from their starting point.
- Following the MER cycle, regular monitoring of books, lessons and pupil voice.
Maths Book Expectations
All children at Listerdale Junior Academy are clear about our Maths Expectations. These are stuck in the front of every Maths book.
Long Term Planning
Our long-term plans are developed from the National Curriculum and White Rose Maths. Please click on the pdf links below to download a copy of the planning.
Please click on the images below to download a copy of the progressions in calculations documents
TT Rockstars:
At Listerdale we use Times Tables Rock stars. We encourage the children to practice their times tables as much as possible. With Times Tables Rock stars, the children can learn their tables through lots of fun games, against the clock, with their friends.
In Year 4, the children will now have to complete the Multiplication and Times Tables Check. TTRockstars allows them to get used to the time limits they will face in the test and get used to the different ways they may be asked the questions. Have a go at the Soundcheck activity for something similar to the check.