Mathematics

“Mathematics reveals its secrets only to those who approach it with pure love, for its own beauty.”

- Archimedes

Purpose

Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected 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.

Aims

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.

Intent

Mathematics is essential for everyday life and understanding our world. It enables the development of pupils’ natural ability to think logically to solve puzzles and real-life problems. At St. Michael’s we want pupils to experience the beauty, power and enjoyment of mathematics and develop a sense of curiosity about the subject with a clear understanding. Our focus on growth mindset promotes the fact that ‘We can all do maths!”

We believe that all children benefit from deepening their conceptual understanding of mathematics. Children here are given the time to investigate and explore new mathematical concepts rather than accelerating through topics. By affording children time to cover key concepts in greater depth, they fully grasp new learning and become more flexible, independent mathematicians. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new knowledge in multiple ways.

We aim for all pupils to:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics
• Be able to solve problems by applying their mathematics
• Reason mathematically

Implementation

Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school values, which are embedded not only through our maths curriculum but also across our wider curriculum. We have taken on a ‘Teaching for Mastery’ approach to maths. This gives children the opportunity to develop their learning through physical experiences and real-life contextualisation in the maths they do. On top of daily maths teaching (including fluency, reasoning and problem-solving opportunities and challenges in every session), our children have an extra short input to develop fluency – focusing on chosen Key Instant Recall Facts (such as times tables and number bonds).We embed this using FunKey Maths resources.

Wizard Warm Ups are also an embedded part of our school day; recapping previously taught mathematical concepts daily. We use this time to recall prior vocabulary to ensure our children are regularly exposed to specific mathematical language.

Each class follows the White Rose Scheme of Learning units and small steps to guide their lesson designs. Our yearly overview of units covered, our calculation policy and our progression of skills in mathematics can be found on our website. We supplement the White Rose scheme with resources from the NCETM and Master the Curriculum to enhance our offering and ensure that the children are being exposed to a significant variety of challenges.

Impact

By the end of KS2 we aim for children to be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics with a conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. We also aim to build children’s confidence and enjoyment.

They should have the skills to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of situations (both inside and outside the classroom) 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.

Mathematics attainment will be assessed using a range of summative and formative opportunities:

• NFER tests 3 times a year
• Post unit assessments – White Rose
• Termly arithmetic assessments
• Deeper level questioning throughout maths sessions
• Reasoning opportunities for children to develop their thinking with learning partners
• KS1 and KS2 SATs
• GLD for EYFS