Maths
Maths Statement of Intent
The 2014 National Curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all children:
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics
- Are able to reason mathematically
- Can solve problems by applying their Mathematics
At Radcliffe on Trent, these skills are embedded within Maths lessons and developed consistently over time. We believe that Maths is an important, creative discipline that helps us to understand and change the world. We want all pupils at Radcliffe on Trent to experience the beauty, power and enjoyment of Mathematics and develop a sense of curiosity about the subject alongside a clear understanding. Our curriculum aims to foster an enthusiasm for Maths: we want our children to have positive ‘can do’ attitudes and promote the fact that ‘We can all do Maths!’ We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps. We use mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning and provide challenge through rich and sophisticated problems. Our underlying aim is to help children become confident in their conceptual understanding and use of maths so that they have the self-belief and determination to succeed when presented with a challenge.
Implementation
What do we teach? What does this look like?
Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be. We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression and draw from on wide range of resources, including White Rose and the NCETM. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.
Our lesson planning is based on National Curriculum Statements and focuses on manageable, progressive steps to allow all children to engage in the learning. Our children are taught Mathematics for approximately 1 hour daily and support is determined during each lesson to ensure secure understanding based on the needs of the child. Challenge is visible throughout the whole session, where children are asked to reason and prove their understanding at a deeper secure level.
Within lessons:
- The large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
- Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics.
- Re-caps on previous learning are included, using a ‘Last Week/Last Term’ or ‘Yesterday/Last Week’ approach, to embed areas of learning. Teachers aim to use ‘Mini Maths’ or ‘Guided Group’ sessions outside of the Maths hour, to tackle misconceptions and consolidate learning if not understood in the main teaching session.
- Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.
- Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
- Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.
- Teachers use precise, targeted questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess children regularly to identify those requiring intervention, so that all children keep up.
- Children are encouraged to explain their thinking to gain proficiency in articulating mathematical reasoning, using relevant mathematical vocabulary
Impact
What will this look like?
By the time our children leave school at the end of KS2 we aim for them to:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
- be able to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios
- be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language
- have an appreciation of number and number operations, which enables mental calculations and written procedures to be performed efficiently, fluently and accurately to be successful in mathematics