Maths

Intent, Implementation, Impact
At St. George’s Cathedral Catholic Primary School we recognise the importance of mathematics throughout each child’s everyday and future life. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. We intend to give each child the self-confidence and resilience to reach their full potential by ensuring that they have the tools to calculate fluently, reason logically, problem solve and think in abstract ways.
 

Intent – What are we trying to achieve?
 

• Children become confident, competent and independent mathematicians 

• Build a deep conceptual understanding of maths and its interrelated content so that children can apply their learning in different situations

• Develop children’s ability to articulate, discuss and explain their thinking using appropriate mathematical vocabulary 

• Instil the mind-set in every child and staff member that everyone can do maths and that maths is for everyone and that mistakes can be seen as learning tools.

• Children develop into resilient and inquisitive learners – skills needed to become life-long mathematicians
• Deliver an inspiring and engaging mathematics curriculum, taught by highly-enthusiastic staff, which sparks curiosity and excitement and which nurtures confidence in maths

Implementation – How is our vision translated into practice? 

In order to improve our mastery approach and further improve the quality and consistency of our maths teaching, we have implemented the use of White Rose Maths which has been accompanied by the use of reasoning activities from Classroom Secrets.

We recognise the value of making a coherent journey through the national curriculum and each year group follow a medium term plan where small, cumulative steps build a solid foundation of deep mathematical understanding. Both Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment are threaded throughout both lessons and units of work; and appropriate revisions to planning are made by the class teacher to ensure all lessons are tailored to best meet the needs of their children. 

It is essential that children have a deep understanding of the most important elements that underpin the mathematics curriculum so that there is consistency and continuity as children move from one year group to the next. Therefore, we hold Calculation Workshops for Parents in the Autumn Term so that parents are aware of the methods being taught at school so that they can support their children from home.

In order to meet our aims above and the requirements set out in the EYFS framework and the Primary National Curriculum, we will implement the following:
 

• Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics. Maths is for EVERYONE! 
• Teachers promote positive learning characteristics
• To develop secure and deep conceptual understanding, staff plan for the use of concrete resources, varied representations and structures
• The vast majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
• Regular and ongoing formative assessment informs teaching, as well as intervention, to support and enable the success of each child.
• Summative assessments take place termly (half-termly in Yr 6) and planning is adjusted accordingly.
• Children’s attainment and progress is discussed by teachers and the Headteacher/Deputy Headteacher and if progress is not made, support is immediate and steps provided
• Children’s attainment and progress is discussed with parents/carers during parents evenings  
• Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention. It is seen through the concrete resources used, and/or the reliance on the representations and structures within a lesson to help embed a mathematical concept. All children are expected to be exposed to age related expectations and staff allow the time to plug gaps children may have in a particular area of mathematics. Teachers understand what age-related expectations and mastering looks like for each objective and plan for how their children will get there. In order to meet the needs of all pupils, children working at a greater depth of understanding within an area of mathematics have ‘going deeper’ opportunities planned by teachers
• Provision will be made for children who are not making the expected level of progress through I.E.Ps and interventions 
• Teaching that 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 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’s explanations and their proficiency in articulating mathematical reasoning, with the precise use of mathematical vocabulary, are supported with teachers placing a strong emphasis on the correct use of mathematical language
• The curriculum time for mathematics is 1 hour per day for Yr 1-6. Reception and Nursery have daily sessions which are then consolidated through the enhancements in the learning environment 
• Daily basic skills sessions recap and rehearse key skills to aid retention and support fluency (and arithmetic tests occur every 3 weeks in Yr 1-6) 

Six Key Areas of Early Mathematics Learning
 

Cardinality and Counting – the cardinal value of a number refers to the quantity of things it represents while counting is one way of establishing how many are in a group.

Comparison – Comparing numbers involves knowing which numbers are worth more or less than each other.

Composition – Knowing that numbers are made up of two or more other smaller numbers.

Pattern – Developing an awareness of pattern helps young children to notice and understand mathematical relationships.

Shape and Space – Exploring spatial relations and the properties of shapes.

Measures – Children to realise which attribute is being measured eg. weight or size.

Impact – What is the impact of our curriculum? 
 

• Children are happy learners who talk enthusiastically about their learning and eager to further their progress in maths 
• The impact of ‘mastery’ and the emphasis on accurate use of mathematical language is evident during class/pupil discussions 
• Children’s fluency in number is evident in our proven track record of high success in arithmetic 
• Cross-school moderation highlights the high level of challenge for all ability groups, evident throughout topics through reasoning and problem solving activities  
• Teacher assessment of the depth of learning is also increasingly accurate
• Business and enterprise has enriched the mathematical experiences of children and supported fluency of basic skills 
• These factors ensure that we are able to achieve high standards, with achievement at the end of KS2 at least in-line with that of the national average, as well an increasing proportion of children demonstrating greater depth, at the end of each phase