Curriculum
Mathematics
Curriculum intent, implementation, and impact
Intent:
The basic skills of mathematics are vital for the life opportunities of our pupils. Our aim is for all pupils to think mathematically, enabling them to reason, solve problems and develop a deep body of knowledge that can be applied in a range of concepts. At Wrekin View, our curriculum has been developed to ensure every pupil can achieve excellence in mathematics and has been equipped with life-long skills for learning, primarily for the next stage of education. Pupils can relate to mathematical concepts, through using a variety of manipulatives, so it becomes engrained in their long-term memory and enables them to become fluent, efficient and curious mathematicians.
Following the White Rose maths schemes of learning, we provide pupils with a deep understanding of the subject through a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach. Key concepts are regularly revisited through ‘flashbacks,’ to promote prior knowledge and ‘diagnostic questions,’ to ensure
Implementation:
At Wrekin View, we are committed to providing our pupils with a curriculum that has a clear intention and impacts positively upon their needs.
The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:
- 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
- can 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 an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning, and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
At Wrekin View we follow the White Rose Maths Scheme for fluency, reasoning and problems solving and pupils also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.
Impact:
When pupils leave Wrekin View, we believe they will have a positive attitude to mathematics, as both an interesting and valuable skill set to everyday. Our pupils will have the confidence to work collaboratively and have a deep understanding of maths around them.
Through discussion and feedback from pupils, they speak enthusiastically about their maths’ lessons and speak about they are happy, curious, and successful mathematicians.
Pupils show a deeper level of thinking when they can show mathematical concepts and skills multiple ways, using the correct mathematical language independently and apply this to new problems.
At the end of each year, we expect pupils to achieve age related expectations for their year group. Some pupils will have progressed further and achieved greater depth standard. Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and those with gaps in their understanding receive appropriate support and intervention.
White Rose Maths
Our Wrekin Giants and nursery children follow a bespoke curriculum using guidance from Development Matters and Birth to 5. Every class from reception to year 6 follows the White Rose scheme of learning which is based on the national curriculum. Long-term and medium-term plans have been carefully written to ensure that the pupils are engaged in a spiralised curriculum that offers the opportunity to recap and revisit maths topics throughout the academic year with the aim that the pupils know more and remember more.
Start of the day and pre-teaching
When the pupils first enter school prior to registration, we have a number of start of the day activities which are appropriate to the learning taking place in each year group. In early years foundation stages the pupils are encouraged to practice recognising, forming, and counting to numbers to 10. ‘Master the curriculum’ activities are used in years 1-6 to allow pupils the opportunity to recall key number facts and develop mathematical skills. There is also a big focus on timetables and a variety of activities are available for pupils to practise their knowledge and recall of all the timetables and related division facts.
Daily maths lessons
We teach maths daily following objectives carefully set out in the maths medium term plans. Each lesson starts with a ‘flashback’ which recaps learning from the previous day, week, and month to help pupils remember more of the key mathematical concepts that will allow them to be successful mathematicians. We use the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach to teaching our lessons which provides appropriately challenging learning for all individuals. To support our learning, we have a range of concrete resources in classrooms such as: numicon, base 10, multilink and place value counters, which the pupils can access independently to support their learning. When the pupils have grasped a concept using concrete resources, images and diagrams are used (pictorial) prior to moving to abstract questions. Abstract maths relies on the pupils understanding a concept thoroughly and being able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer and solve maths without equipment or images. We use ‘diagnostic questions’ at the end of a maths lesson as an assessment for learning tool to check the pupil’s understanding and deepen their understanding. In Early Years and KS1 the children participate in daily ‘Numbersense’ lessons to develop a secure early number confidence that gives them the necessary foundations to successfully access our KS2 curriculum.
Online maths tools
In order to advance individual pupils’ maths skills in school and at home we utilise a range of online maths tool. We use Times Table Rockstars for multiplication practice and regularly enter online competitions, both locally and nationally to raise engagement. There is an increase focus on multiplication recall in preparation of the multiplication times tables check for year 4 pupils. To allow the children to consistently revisit their times tables the KS2 classrooms have a selection of laptops located within the classroom where the children will have daily access to Times Table Rockstars. As part of our times table rock stars subscription, pupils can also access Numbots which helps younger pupils with their recall and understanding of number bonds and addition and subtraction facts.
Cross curricular
At Wrekin View we value the role maths plays in the everyday life of our pupils and we therefore aim to teach it across the various subjects ensuring that the skills taught in our maths lessons are transferable to other areas of the curriculum
Continuing professional development
We continuously strive to better ourselves and frequently share ideas and things that have been particularly effective. We take part in training opportunities in school utilising training provided by local maths specialists, National College and through the NCTEM maths hub work groups.
