Mathematics
Please click here to see our Long Term Plan Overview.
Intent
At Christ Church C of E (VC) Primary School, it is our intention to give every child a high-quality maths education, which enables them to make better sense of the world around them by making connections between mathematics and everyday life. We aim to develop children’s ability to solve problems and reason in a variety of different contexts, applying their mathematical knowledge.
High priority is placed on developing children’s fluency so that they are able to select the most appropriate method to solve a problem. The children are then able to recall known mathematical facts to support them in solving these problems.
We intend to provide regular opportunities for children to revisit their previous learning to enable children to store these mathematical concepts in their long-term memory so that knowledge sticks. We ensure that previous year group concepts are also revisited so that children can continue to progress through newly taught concepts within their current year group.
We intend for all children to leave Christ Church with a love of maths and show a degree of resilience and perseverance which will form the foundations for lifelong skills to support the next steps in their Mathematics education.
Implementation
The structure of the mathematics curriculum shows progression in line with age-related expectations as outlined in the National Curriculum.
Our chosen scheme is White Rose Maths which is used to support teachers in planning and delivering lessons that meet the National Curriculum objectives. The National Curriculum states that children need to cover objectives by the end of each key stage. In mixed age classes children might be taught some content earlier than in single-age classes, but this will be revisited to consolidate their learning during their second year. Children will revisit the same topics and small steps during their second year in a mixed-age class, but not in the same way.
Within the White Rose Maths Scheme, children are exposed to the five big ideas in the mastery approach. These are fluency, variation, mathematical thinking, representations and structures and coherence. The lessons are designed around these mathematical elements.
Regardless of ability, all children have access to fluency, reasoning and problem solving, as well as opportunities to show a greater depth of understanding. For example, through the use of questioning appropriate to the ability of the child.
Children, who are significantly below age-related expectations in maths, will access the mathematics curriculum, which is appropriate to their level of understanding. This will be a personalised curriculum. Additional support will be given, responding to each child’s specific needs.
Teaching curriculum content in blocks allows children to explore skills and knowledge in depth and gain a secure understanding of a particular aspect of mathematics.
To allow teachers to design a creative and engaging curriculum, we also have access to the following to supplement White Rose Maths and adapt lessons to the needs of the children whilst following the same progressive steps and mastery approaches.
Supplementary resources include: -
- Classroom Secrets resources aligned to White Rose Maths steps.
- Third Space Learning
- NRICH
- NCETM
- Oxford Owls Assessment documents
- DfE Non-Statutory Mathematics Guidance and the ‘Ready To Progress’ guidance.
- Popcorn Mental Mathematics
- Twinkl mastery maths resources
- Grammarsaurus maths resources
Reception
Daily maths input is provided with small group work facilitated by adult support and learning extended through child-led activities in continuous provision.
Concrete manipulatives and pictorial representations support the understanding of abstract concepts. There is a strong focus on developing the principles of counting in a purposeful and playful way.
Indoor and outdoor learning environments are stimulating, purposeful and promote exploration and language development. Any misconceptions are identified and addressed through targeted feedback and interventions.
KS1
Children develop an appropriate, deep understanding and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This also involves working with numerals, words and the four operations. Children are taught using the CPA approach (Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract) to build conceptual understanding.
They are introduced to a range of representations e.g. bar modelling and part, part, whole models ensuring children move from hands-on manipulatives to visual representations and finally, to abstract numbers. A range of concrete resources are available on a ‘Help Shelf’ for the children to access independently.
Children develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use related vocabulary. They use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money. In addition, there are opportunities for the verbalisation of thinking with some written explanation using sentence stems to support this.
Lower KS2
IThe children become increasingly fluent with the four operations (including efficient methods), using and applying number facts and the concept of place value The children develop their ability to solve a range of problems including with simple fractions and decimal place value. The CPA approach continues to strength their conceptual understanding of mathematical ideas.
Children are taught to increase their accuracy and understanding of shapes and their properties and confidently describe the relationships between them, in addition to measuring with accuracy and making connections between measure and number.
By the end of year 4, children recall all multiplication facts up to 12 x 12 and read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently.
Children are encouraged to verbalise their mathematical thinking with the scaffold of sentence stems if needed.
Additional manipulatives and models are available on the ‘Help Shelf’ if children require concrete materials or a modelled strategy.
Upper KS2
The children are extending their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers.
They develop connections between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages, and ratio. Their ability to solve a wider range of problems is developed, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation.
Children begin to understand the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Knowledge in number in geometry and measures is consolidated and developed. Children classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.
The ’Help-Shelf’ is still available for children in Year 5 and 6 with manipulatives and modelled strategies if needed.
Additionally, years five and six use an on-line learning platform ‘Learning By Questions (LbQ)’. This resource allows children to work on questions that are specifically challenging for them, helping to close any knowledge gaps and address misconceptions.
Multiplication Facts
At Christ Church CE Primary School, we believe that through a variety of interactive, visual and engaging techniques, all children can quickly recall multiplication facts and division facts up to 12 x12. The National Curriculum (2014) states that by the end of year 4, pupils should be able to recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 x12. 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 multiplication facts up to 12 x 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. This means it is important for the children to learn their multiplication facts and to be able to recall them quickly and accurately.
We teach multiplication facts using the following progression:
Year 1 - Be able to count in multiples of twos, fives and tens
Year 2 - Be able to recall 2, 5 and 10 multiplication and division facts
Year 3 - Be able to recall 3, 4 and 8 multiplication and division facts
Year 4 - Be able to recall 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 multiplication and division facts
Year 5/6 - application of multiplication and division facts to problem solving
To support children’s learning of multiplication tables, children have access to Times Tables Rockstars and the White Rose ‘One- Minute maths’ APP. These are online resources that children use to aid the teaching and fluency of multiplication and division facts and other number facts e.g. doubling, number bonds. Children have individual logins and are expected to log onto and access TT Rockstars and The White Rose APP at home regularly as well as opportunities to use them in school.
Progression in Calculation
At Christ Church, we follow the progression in calculation document linked to the White Rose Maths Scheme, which has been devised to meet requirements of the National Curriculum 2014. It is also designed to give pupils a consistent and smooth progression of learning in calculations across the school. Within this policy, the CPA approach to maths is progressively applied from Reception through to Year 6. (Click this link to the calculation policy document).
Assessment, Recording and Reporting
Within the first six weeks of children starting reception, they complete the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) on core early maths skills such as counting, number recognition, basic addition and subtraction, mathematical language and understanding of patterns. The goal is to understand each child’s current ability to inform future planning and support their development.
Other methods of assessment include observing, watching and listening to see how the children apply maths skills, using hands-on tasks for specific skills and asking open-ended questions during tasks to probe their understanding. All this information is tracked against the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework.
Throughout KS1 and KS2, a pre-learning task is completed by the children at the start of every block of new maths learning. This is taken from the previous year group and consolidates and revisits previous learning but also highlights any gaps in previous learning that can inform future planning. Children review prior learning, through retrieval tasks at the start of each lesson. These are also known as the White Rose ‘Flashback 4’ resources.
At the end of each block of learning, children complete a post-assessment task to check progress and understanding of the content covered. This assessment information is also used to inform any future catch-up interventions that may be needed.
As an aid to fluency, children complete weekly mental maths activities using the Popcorn Arithmetic Scheme. This helps inform the teacher which areas of maths need more consolidation, and which are secure.
A child’s progress is assessed against the Mathematics National Curriculum programmes of study and statutory requirements statements. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335158/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics_220714.pdf)
During the teaching of each unit of maths, progress is tracked on an assessment tracker against National Curriculum mathematical objectives. These assessment trackers allow the teacher and subject lead to ensure full coverage of the mathematics curriculum, identify progress and attainment made by children and inform future planning and make adaptions if necessary.
Years 1,3,4 and 5 complete termly standardised NFER assessments which help inform progress and keep expectations high.
Years 2 and 6 complete past Statutory Assessment Test (SATS)at the end of the autumn and spring terms which inform progress.
During the summer term, these year groups take the end of year SATS assessments plus children in Year 4 are also required to take a multiplication tables check (MTC). This is to determine whether children can fluently recall their multiplication facts up to 12x12, which is essential for future success in mathematics.
Impact
The impact of our mathematics curriculum is that children understand the relevance and importance of what they are learning in relation to real world concepts. Children know that maths is a vital life skill that they will rely on in many areas of their daily life. Children have a positive view of maths due to learning in an environment where maths is promoted as being an exciting and enjoyable subject in which they can investigate and ask questions; they know that it is reasonable to make mistakes because this can strengthen their learning through the journey to finding an answer.
Children are confident to ‘have a go’ and choose the equipment they need to help them to learn along with the strategies they think are best suited to each problem.
Our maths books evidence work of a high standard of which children clearly take pride; the components of the teaching sequences demonstrate good coverage of fluency, reasoning and problem solving.
Our feedback and interventions support children to strive to be the best mathematicians they can be, ensuring a high proportion of children are on track or above.
With scaffolding and adaptations, attainment gaps are narrowed and most children achieve aged-related expectations or above by the end of KS2.
