Maths

Statement of Intent

Intent – What are we trying to achieve?

At Grove CE Primary School, we want our children to love Maths! We want them 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.

In order to successfully deliver a structured, rich curriculum with a clear progression of skills, we follow the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for mathematics.
Our approach to teaching mathematics is intended to support all of 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 want children to become confident, competent and independent mathematicians.
We expect to build a deep conceptual understanding of maths and its interrelated content so that children can apply their learning in different situations.
At Grove, we want to develop resilience that enables all children to reason and problem solve with increased confidence. We intend to do this, on a daily basis, through developing children’s fluency in all areas of the mathematics national curriculum; providing opportunities to reason mathematically; and also develop children’s using and applying skills when solving increasingly more complex problems involving a range of mathematical knowledge.
We want to instil the mind-set in every child and staff member that everyone can do maths and that maths is for everyone…EVERYONE CAN!

Implementation – How is our vision translated into practice?

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.
Formative assessment is threaded throughout both each lesson and unit 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.
Mathematics is taught on a daily basis throughout the school – EYFS to Year 6.
Each class in KS1 and KS2 provide a minimum of 1 hour of mathematics per day. A mix of adult led and teacher led activities are put together for children in EYFS.
The use of White Rose medium term planning is 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.
Using the school’s progression of skills document, 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 range of problems. This is done using a range of sources such as White Rose Maths, NCETM mastery and Classroom Secrets.
We use Times Table Rock Stars, Club Challenges and Fluency to enthuse the children in learning times tables.
Calculation practice is provided regularly through basic skills starter activities to ensure children’s fluency in calculation methods is embedded.
Interventions are put in place to support children where necessary.
Clear success criteria 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.
Mathematics 'working walls' are in each classroom to provide key information and vocabulary with modelled examples to support learning.

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 more evident. Cross-school moderation highlights the high level of challenge for all ability groups, evident throughout topics through reasoning and problem solving activities.
Children are able to independently apply their knowledge to a range of increasingly complex problems.
They are reasoning with increased confidence and accuracy.
Our rich and broad mathematics curriculum aims to make the children enthusiastic about learning mathematics and gain an understanding of its importance in everyday life.