Mathematics at Ellison Boulters

Teaching children the knowledge and skills in maths and allowing them to deepen their understanding will encourage their light to shine.

Intent

Teaching children the knowledge and skills in maths and allowing them to deepen their understanding will encourage their light to shine.

When teaching Mathematics at Ellison Boulters (CofE) Academy, we intend to use a variety of teaching methods and resources that allow all pupils equal access to Mathematics and to experience success and enjoyment. Our curriculum will meet the three main aims of the National Curriculum which are to develop fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Children will learn more by taking small, sequenced steps within each unit and this will enable them to remember more as they will develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.

Children will be appropriately challenged and supported through a mastery approach. Irrespective of personal starting points, children will explore maths in depth, and use a range of mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain. They will identify patterns and make connections. Pupils will persevere by building on previous knowledge and skills, and apply these to a wide variety of contexts.

They will appreciate the relevance of maths in real life situations.

Implementation

The Nature of Mathematics

Our school views the ability to learn, understand and use maths to solve a variety of problems to be of the utmost importance and so the teaching of all aspects of Mathematics is given a high priority.

Our high quality maths curriculum encompasses our school mission…Let your light shine (Matthew 5 v16). It:

• Allows all children to feel supported and think positively about their own ability which will encourage a respect for well-being. They will experience maths as a pleasurable and creative activity in which understanding, enjoyment and growth of confidence will be gained
• Encourages children to make links with our environment and develop a respect for community by learning collaboratively and encouraging others
• Develops a respect for aspiration by ensuring children understand how important maths is in everyday life and encouraging them to have a positive attitude towards high achievement in 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.’ (National Curriculum for Mathematics, 2014) Ellison Boulters will provide a curriculum with cross-curricular links which allows children to make rich connections and develop chains of reasoning.

Spirituality in mathematics:

• Self – children will develop a sense of enjoyment and curiosity by having rich discussions about mathematical problems and by developing a sense of achievement and self-confidence.
• Others – children will work together as a class or with talk partners to identify patterns and solve problems. They will learn to understand how others are feeling to help explain their own thoughts in order to find solutions.
• World and Beauty – children will develop an appreciation of the beauty of mathematics by understanding the role it plays in all aspects of everyday life through observing patterns in nature, using maths to solve real problems and making links between maths and creative subjects.
• Beyond – to begin to understand that maths is a way to understand patterns, quantify relationships and to predict the future. Mathematics helps us to understand the world – and we can use the world to understand maths.

All children will have access to the National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014). This is set down under the following aims –

Fluency -  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.

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.

Mathematics is planned throughout the Academy using the EYFS Profile, National Curriculum Programme of Study and Whiterose Resources.

In KS1 and KS2 the Programme of Study for Mathematics will normally be taught through a daily mathematics lesson. Each maths lesson will start with a review section to enable a deepening of the concepts already taught.

In addition to daily maths lessons children will also focus on daily counting and mental arithmetic. Children will learn times tables by singing the school songs and this teaching will be supported by the use of ‘TT Rockstars’ in KS2 within school and at home.

Pupils in Early Years and Year 1 (during transition) will access their maths learning through continuous provision. Mathematical concepts will be introduced and built upon through a series of direct teaching sessions. Within the provision, children will have the freedom to further explore these mathematical concepts through concrete resources and creative opportunities. In addition to this, they will be encouraged to follow their own mathematical lines of enquiry, which are supported through effective adult modelling and questioning.

In KS1, Mastery of Number sessions, directed by the NCETM, are taught to secure recognition of number facts including subitising and fact families.

Mathematics lessons are planned and delivered in accordance with the Whiterose Schemes of Learning for each year group. Classrooms have a range of mathematical resources made available for children. These include loose parts (KS1), Numicon, Number racks, tens frames, Cuisenaire rods, Diennes, place value counters, number lines and hundred squares.

In accordance with the SEND Teacher Handbook (published in May 2022), mastery lessons are planned to ensure that all learners are able to engage in the learning. During most lessons, children will be working towards a common outcome with tasks increasing in difficulty and depth. An inclusive environment is created by: Using the CPA method when introducing new concepts for the whole class; allowing children to work alongside their peers and encouraging talk partner discussion; providing modelled examples for those children who need it; pre-teaching to give some learners a head-start or support after a lesson to ensure a concept is understood. Some children with SEND receive a tailored programme of maths teaching in order to close their gaps. Targeted interventions will be used for children in KS1 and KS2 to close the gap where necessary (see assessment).

We recognise that quality first teaching in maths is the essential first step in improving outcomes for all children. With this in mind, we ensure that teachers and teaching assistants are kept up to date on the latest initiatives and news. This is through termly staff training, support from the Maths Hub, monitoring lessons, pupil workbooks and pupil voice and providing feedback and also attending training provided by outside providers.

Assessment

KS1 and KS2

All staff will make teacher assessments against the objectives of the National Curriculum (2014) to ensure that progress is regularly recorded and monitored.

A child will be assessed against the objectives of the National Curriculum (2014) and will be assessed as follows –

Pre Year Group Expectations: If a child is not yet working in line with the expectations for their chronological age group in Mathematics.

Working towards: Working towards the expected standard for their year group

Expected: Working at the expected standard for their year group

Greater Depth: Working at greater depth within the expected standard for their year group.

Assessment is an integral part of the maths curriculum. Children’s work in mathematics is assessed from three aspects:

1. Informal, formative assessments are made continually by questioning the children, observing and monitoring their work. These short term assessments are closely related to the learning objectives for the lesson and fed forward into timely teacher intervention and subsequent planning to ensure gaps in knowledge are closed and progress is not limited.
2. Periodic assessments take place at the end of a unit – we use White Rose maths end of block assessments to check progress and understanding of content covered. One-minute maths assessments take place half termly and this information informs interventions.
3. Summative assessment takes place in Terms 2, 4 and 6. We use NTS maths papers and track all children’s progress against standardised scores. This is monitored by the subject lead and SLT.

Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) are used for children in Year 6, plus children in Year 4 are also required to take a multiplication tables check (MTC) in the Summer Term. The purpose of the check is to determine whether pupils can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics.

Early Years

Baseline and then ongoing assessments will be used to track a child’s progress against Early Learning Goals (see policy for EYFS).

Impact

Our curriculum will ensure children are happy learners who talk enthusiastically about their learning. Children will be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics and be able to apply their knowledge quickly and accurately. Children will be able to reason by using accurate mathematical language and be able to explain how they were successful. Children will be able to make connections, notice patterns and solve increasingly complex problems. Children will be given support to enable them to keep up with whole class teaching. These factors will ensure that we are able to achieve high standards, as well an increasing the proportion of children demonstrating greater depth, at the end of each phase.