What is Mathematics?

At St. Andrew’s, we believe that Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. Mathematics provides children with  a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Through the eyes of our children, Mathematics  is important because:

‘It helps us to use skills and knowledge we have already developed, to think deeply and solve problems.’

Early Learning Goals

Number - Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number.

Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5.

Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.

Numerical Patterns - Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system. Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other Quantity`.

Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally

National Curriculum

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Curriculum Intent

At St. Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, we strive for our children to be successful and proficient mathematicians who can solve problems, fluently recall facts rapidly and reason mathematically while justifying their reasoning. This will allow them to create solutions to problems in a range of settings. To be successful, children should display the following attributes: curiosity, resourcefulness, determination, flexibility and bravery. 

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. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

Implementation 

The teaching and implementation of the Mathematics curriculum at St. Andrew’s C.E. Primary School is based on the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum; it is supported by expectations from NCETM and Classroom Monitor, ensuring a well-structured approach.

At St. Andrew’s, children are taught in an environment centred around the balanced mix of independent work, partner tasks and whole class tuition. Depending on numbers in each year groups, children are grouped according to ability in KS2.

Teachers work to support and guide their children through the following stages of development:

• talking mathematically
• using appropriate vocabulary and examples
• developing the use of concrete, pictorial and abstract means of recording
• using and applying flexible mental strategies to solve calculations
• explain and justify their use of strategies or resources to solve problems and calculations
• in Key Stage 2, using an expanded method which leads into a standard written method for each of the four main operations
• understanding when to apply either written or mental methods when completing calculations
• development in skills of reasoning and problem solving, embedding these skills through regular opportunities.

We organise pupils’ learning from Year 1 to Year 6 around the following structure:

• Number and place value
• Addition and subtraction 
• Multiplication and division 
• Fractions
• Measurement
• Shape
• Position
• Use measures 
• Statistics 
• Algebra 

These key concepts underpin learning in each year group and learning from each area is consolidated and developed three times within each year. This enables pupils to reinforce and build upon prior learning, make connections and develop subject specific language.

Mathematics is taught daily covering a broad and balanced curriculum. Alongside daily Mathematics session, in Years 1 to 6, an additional 15mins is spent focusing on multiplication tables, Big Maths Beat That! and developing mental maths skills to build fluency and precision.  We focus not only on the mathematical methods but also focus on mathematical vocabulary and reasoning to broaden and deepen mathematical understanding.

To ensure our children are confident in their ability, and are able to use their knowledge to develop a greater depth of understanding, we use resources where they can solve varied fluency problems as well as problem solving and reasoning questions. We use a range of textbooks and online resources throughout the school to ensure a curriculum that is specific to each child’s learning needs.

From the 2019/20 academic year onwards, schools in England are required to administer an online multiplication tables check (MTC) to year 4 pupils. The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. To support the children with their multiplication practice we use Times Table Rock Stars as an online and fun learning platform which also offer resources to be used in the classroom.

Impact

Through the explicit teaching of the Mathematical skills and key concepts, both the teachers and the pupils assess their learning continuously throughout the lesson and follow the marking and feedback policy. Teachers continually assess children’s progress and achievement by adapting lesson plans on a daily basis.

Pupils’ attainment and progress over time is formally recorded three times each year with teachers making informed judgements using the FFT assessment system. Key objectives for Years 1 to 6 are assessed in Mathematics. Teachers also administer NFER tests to support their judgments.