“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations or algorithms. It is about understanding.””

William Paul Thurston

Intent

At Lordswood, our children love maths.  We exemplify our teaching on the ethos of the three pillars of the Griffin School’s Trust – Proud Traditions, Wide horizons and High achievement.

We take pride in our aim to make our children Mathematicians.  At Lordswood, we want all children to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up with secure mathematical understanding which will assist them in whichever career path they take, as well as in their daily lives. We recognise that Mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. We want all children to enjoy Mathematics and to experience success in the subject. We place a robust focus on ensuring our pupils are able to reason mathematically and explain their thinking. We are a Thinking School, so these skills and questioning is central to our intent in teaching mathematics.   We model and encourage a curiosity about Mathematics right from the start of Nursery, as well as an appreciation of the enjoyment, challenge and power of the subject. Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability and additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be.

In order to successfully deliver a structured, rich curriculum with a clear progression of skills, we follow the statutory and non-statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for Mathematics to enrich their experiences and deepen their understanding of key mathematical concepts.    At Lordswood school, our approach to teaching Mathematics is intended to support all our children in becoming young, confident mathematicians; prepare them for their next stage of mathematical learning at secondary school and to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge in everyday situations in order to be successful in life beyond school. We intend for our children to:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics.
• Develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and practically through Active Maths.
• Reason and problem solve by applying Mathematics to a variety of increasingly complex and engaging problems.
• Build upon children’s knowledge, fluency and understanding from Nursery to year 6.
• Develop resilience that enables all children to reason and problem solve with increased confidence.

Implementation

At Lordswood, we promote our value-based ethos such as Pride, Curiosity, Perseverance and Positivity with “I can do” attitude and 100% Growth mindset, that everyone can do Maths.  We believe all children can achieve in Mathematics, and teach for a 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 reasoning, explanations and problem solving.  At our school, the majority of children will be taught the content and expectation from their year group only. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new knowledge in multiple ways – questioning, discussions, Active Maths and games, to list a few.  Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics. This is often through the use of maths starters, Mission maths, Active Maths, paired and group discussions.

Mathematics is taught on a daily basis throughout the school – EYFS to Year 6. Each class in KS1 provide a minimum of 45 minutes daily, and KS2 provide a minimum of 1 hour of Mathematics per day. A combination of adult-led and teacher-led activities are put together for children in EYFS.

The use of White Rose medium term planning, NCTEM Curriculum Prioritisation resources are adapted to create a bespoke curriculum, designed to meet the needs of our children and to allow for opportunities for revisit and retention; ensuring full coverage of the National Curriculum for Mathematics and providing a broad and balanced spread of all areas of the curriculum. Teachers are confident to manipulate this planning in the short term in order to meet the needs of all of our children. Problem solving activities are often linked to real life situations to ensure our Maths curriculum takes pupils beyond their own experiences. These are often linked to special days in the school calendar.

We strive to ensure that our pupils make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We also provide opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

• Using our progression of skills document and Target tracker, the teaching of Mathematics year to year builds progressively on the skills taught in previous year groups.
• On a daily basis, children, regardless of their ability, in KS1 and KS2 are provided with opportunities to become more fluent in their learning, to reason mathematically and to solve a wide range of problems. This is done using a range of resources such as White Rose Maths, Method Maths, Target Maths, NCTEM Prioritisation resources, Collins, and Mathletics. Lessons are also enhanced using other high-quality resources NCETM Teaching for Mastery.
• We use Times Table Rock Stars to enthuse the children in learning times tables.
• Mathematics homework is provided on a weekly basis to help embed the week’s learning and engage their learning with parents/carers through our online Google Classroom platform. We also use Prep for Learning to encourage independent learning and involve parental support, as well as a hook for new learning. This enables teachers and children to have additional time for questioning and discussions in class.
• Calculation practice is provided regularly through basic skills starter activities to ensure children’s fluency in calculation methods is embedded.
• Learning is differentiated to meet the needs of the children within the class whilst still providing each child with the opportunity to achieve the learning intentions to meet the expectations of their year group.
• Interventions are put in place, such as Precision Teaching to support children where necessary.
• A clear success criteria/steps to success is given to children so they understand the steps involved in becoming successful in their learning.
• Opportunities to collaborate in pairs or small groups are given regularly so children can learn from and support each other.
• Opportunities for peer and self-assessment are provided weekly so children are given instant feedback in their learning.
• Quality first teaching is provided throughout the school along with effective teacher modelling along with effective assessment for learning to make sure children are moved on in their learning or supported when finding it difficult.
• Children are encouraged to solve problems each day through the use of concrete resources, a range of manipulatives, pictorial representations and abstract thinking. This helps our children to tackle concepts in a tangible and more comfortable way.
• Teachers use careful questions to draw out children’s discussions and their reasoning. The class teacher then leads children through strategies for solving the problem, including those already discussed.
• Cross-curricular links are provided when opportunities arise, particularly through the use of Computing, Art and Design, History and Geography.
• We deliberately embed and reinforce our mathematical skills through national mathematical days such as NSPCC number days, National world number day; our own special maths days, such as Top tables, 50^th and 100^th days at school and open afternoons.
• Mathematics ‘working walls’ are in each classroom to provide key information and vocabulary with modelled examples to support learning. The WOW work showcases children’s work to give a sense of pride.

In EYFS number fluency is continually developed with a curriculum that covers ‘Number and Shape, Space and Measures.’ Children participate in Active Maths sessions daily and are given time to explore mathematical concepts, test ideas, develop their understanding and practise taught skills through play. Maths can be found in all areas of our provision and children experience it in a purposeful and meaningful context within their play and daily routines. Our snack shop, role play areas, Forest School are just some of the areas in which children can explore number, shape, patterns, space and measures. Children are encouraged to use their mathematical understanding and skills to solve real-life problems and practitioners are trained to identify and extend opportunities to foster this.

Impact

Maths is a strength at Lordswood. We foster an ethos of high expectation and high achievement for all children.  Every child is encouraged to persevere and learn from their mistakes.  Our teaching of, and curriculum for Mathematics, continues to lead to outstanding progress over time across all key stages relative to each individual child’s starting point. It is designed to prepare children for their future in and outside of education so they can become successful in whatever they pursue by leaving our school at least at the expected standard for their age.

Regular and ongoing assessment informs teaching, as well as intervention, to support and enable the success of each child. These factors ensure that we are able to maintain high standards, with achievement at the end of KS2 in line or above the national average, as well as a steady proportion of children demonstrating greater depth, at the end of each phase.

Throughout each lesson formative assessment takes place and feedback is given to the children through marking and next step tasks to ensure they are meeting the specific learning objective. Teacher’s then use this assessment to influence their planning and ensure they are providing a mathematics curriculum that will allow each child to progress. Target sheets are used in children’s books to document progress.

By the end of KS2, pupils will be fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics with a conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They have the skills to solve problems by applying their Mathematics to a variety of situations with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios. Children will be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language.

As a result of our maths teaching, children are engaged, challenged and confident to talk about their maths learning and make links with other maths concepts.  Learning is tracked and monitored to ensure all children make good progress. Children are solving problems and reasoning with increased confidence. Children enjoy maths at Lordswood and leave equipped for the next stage of their education.