Mathematics
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone...?"
-Job 38:4-6
Subject Leader: Miss James
At St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School we strive to teach a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum using maths to reason, problem solve and develop fluent conceptual understanding in each area.
Our aim is for every child to develop a sound understanding of maths, equipping them with the skills that they need in life beyond school.
To ensure that the children receive the highest-quality mathematical teaching, teachers are supported and aided in their roles, ensuring confidence in the skills and facts they are teaching.
We use 'Power Maths' at St Teresa's to support teaching and learning. Through the use of the Power Maths, the children are able to develop a sense of the world around them, making connections between mathematics and everyday life.
Our aim at St Teresa's is to challenge every child in every lesson, ensuring that they are working towards achieving the same objective. Learning in mathematics stays within the appropriate curriculum, challenging children to develop a deeper and richer understanding of a given concept or method.
At St Teresa's, mathematics is enhanced through high-quality manipulatives which enables the children to develop their conceptual understanding through the CPA (concrete, pictorial and abstract) approach.
Intent
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Implementation
- St Teresa's uses mathematics progression maps which shows the small steps that children make each week. Teachers are able to see the links between what they are teaching and the National curriculum.
- To support pupils to develop fluently, St Teresa's uses fluency programmes for KS1 and KS2 which align with our progression of learning. KS1 and Years 3 and 4, follow Fluency Bee and Years 5 and 6 follow Ninja Maths. It is clear which fluency skills the children are developing each half-term which enables the children to be number fluent rather than counters.
- Teachers use their professional judgement to best meet the needs of their class, e.g. moving the learning forward if their class have a secure understanding of a concept. This can be through deepening activities such as problem solving or multi-step problems where the children apply their skills in context.
- Assessment opportunities are used at the end of each unit, as well as the end of each term. This ensures that accurate assessment of children's learning takes place and any gaps in children's learning is identified and addressed appropriately.
- Staff and Pupils are supported with a wide range of mathematical resources in classrooms, such as: Numicon, Base Ten, Cuisenaire Rods, Beadstrings and place value counters.
- All staff receive high-quality training opportunities, these include training in school and also by Power Maths specialists.
Impact
- Children achieve age-related expectations or better, in-line with national expectations.
- All children make good or better progress.
- Children are confident, resilient and dynamic mathematicians.
- Children are able to confidently use a range of skills to solve a variety of mathematical skills.
- Children are able to use a variety of mathematical vocabulary to confidently explain a range of concepts.
- All staff are confident and empowered teachers of mathematics, taking ownership over their own subject knowledge in order to both facilitate and extend all children’s learning.
- Manipulatives are used as an aid to help children see the mathematics, not as a crux to teach it.
- Children take ownership over their learning choosing their own challenge from the three levels provided. Children are encouraged and supported to challenge their learning, thus extending their understanding further.
Mathematics Curriculum Overview
Progression of Skills
Maths Calculation Policies
Assessment and Recording
At St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, we recognise that AfL lies at the heart of promoting learning and in raising standards of attainment. We further recognise that effective AfL depends crucially on actually using the information gained.
The assessment procedures within our school encompass:
- Short-term assessment will be an informal part of every lesson. The teacher will share the objectives for the lesson with the children and make sure they are clear what is being expected of them to successfully achieve the objective. This is a necessary part of assessment for learning and helps the children take ownership for their own learning. The short-term assessment will also involve the teacher checking the children’s understanding at the end of the session to inform future planning and lessons. At the end of the lesson, the children reflect on their learning- this will enable the teachers to establish how secure the children are with their understanding of the concept.
- Using knowledge of pupils drawn from on-going pupil tracking records and key objectives records to guide our planning and teaching.
- Adjusting planning and teaching within units in response to pupils’ performance.
- Use of information gained from statutory and optional tests. Analysis is done at both a quantitative and qualitative level. Information gained is used to set focused curricular targets (what to teach) and also to determine which strategies or methods are particularly effective in respect of specific areas of mathematics (the how and why).
- Children have access through the school’s online maths programme, MathsFlex. At the start of each unit, the children answer questions, which are used to generate their own, individual pathway. This is completed as homework each week.
There are three connected levels of assessment. These include:
Long Term - End of Key Stage SATs and Teacher Assessment
- Optional SATs
- EYFS Profile
- End of year tests (Arithmetic and Problem Solving and Reasoning)
Medium Term - Assessment of Termly Objectives
Records - Medium Term planning sheets detailing assessment opportunities
- IEPs
- Half-termly progress tests
Short Term - Informal assessments on a daily basis used to support planning
Records - Written feedback on children’s work using close the gap marking
- Pupils’ self-reflection of lesson objectives and units of work
- Pupils’ Record of achievement in Mathematics
Number Fluency
At St Teresa's, we use White Rose's Fluency Bee programme to support our children to develop their number fluency.
Fluency Bee is a structured teaching programme designed to give children confidence with numbers through varied and frequent practice. It is an easy way to build number sense and develop a range of core skills in maths.
The best way to develop maths fluency is frequent practice. Fluency Bee consists of a daily 15-minute lesson separate from the main maths lesson. Fluency Bee provides a hands-on and practical approach to number sense.
Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA)
The programme uses a CPA approach throughout to develop a secure understanding of mathematical concepts. Concrete manipulatives and pictorial representations are used to support children to make links, build visual images and make sense of abstract calculations.
Mathematical Talk and Reasoning
Frequent opportunities for mathematical talk are provided. Familiar characters encourage children to explore common misconceptions and explain their reasoning.
Fluency Bee- Curriculum Overview
Years 5 and 6 follow the fluency programme, Ninja Maths.
Practice
Ninja Maths believes in the importance of frequent practice in order to exercise the children's muscles and movements, ensuring that their fluency skills are fast and nimble. At St Teresa's, we aim to complete a minimum of three fluency sessions a week.
Repeat
Their philosophy is that a child should solve maths problems over and over again until it becomes second nature, for example fractions: multiply, divide, add and subtract until it becomes 'easy'.
Similar to a ninja, a ninja does not learn a kick then hope to remember it for future use. Once learnt, a ninja will repeat that kick repeatedly until it is embedded in their memory.
Refine
A child should aim to improve their maths & moves each time they repeat a type of question. For example, refining how they articulate their working out to get all the marks.
A ninja does not tolerate a sloppy kick. Once learnt, a ninja will seek to refine even the smallest of details.
Maths Day
