Maths
Helpful documents:
Knowledge and Skills Progression
Preschool Knowledge and Skills Progression
Reception Knowledge and Skills Progression
Useful links for helping your child with maths at home
Multiplication Tables Check (Year 4)
Introduction
All pupils can achieve in mathematics! At Sheriffhales Primary School and Preschool, it is our belief that pupils are not learning to be mathematicians but that they are mathematicians. ‘Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline…a high-quality mathematics education should provide 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.’ (National Curriculum for Mathematics, 2014)
Intent
We aim to equip pupils with the tools to understand Maths. These tools include reasoning, problem solving and the ability to think in abstract ways. Mathematics is integral to all aspects of life; we strive to ensure that our children develop a healthy and enthusiastic attitude towards mathematics that will stay with them and support them in the next stage of their education and beyond. At each stage of learning, children are actively supported to reach their full potential as mathematicians. 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.
Implementation
All teachers follow the White Rose guidance to ensure consistent and progressive lessons through every year group. These materials are supplemented by others including NCETM and NRICH. In Early Years, White Rose is supported by NCETM resources for Shape.
A typical Maths lesson provides the opportunity for all children, regardless of their ability, to become confident and capable learners. We are committed to building on prior learning and enabling our children to demonstrate a deep, conceptual understanding of each topic that they can develop over time. They are encouraged to develop fluency in their recall of key facts and a whole school approach to the teaching of calculation strategies is deployed across the school. This ensures a consistent and progressive approach and prepares our children for the upper key stage 2 curriculum. In Reception and KS1, children have Mastering Number sessions in addition to their daily maths lessons. This is a NCETM scheme which develops children’s automaticity with number. It also embeds their understanding of the composition of number.
Reasoning and problem-solving skills are explicitly taught to enable children to become independent learners who are prepared to take risks. Additional time is allocated to arithmetic to ensure key skills in calculation are retained. The teaching of multiplication facts continues to be a discrete focus, where the applications of these skills are essential for accessing other areas of mathematics.
To make the learning relevant, cross-curricular links are made wherever possible and children are encouraged to apply skills from all areas to complete real-life challenges and give learning a sense of purpose. To provide adequate time for developing key skills in fluency, reasoning and problem solving, each class teacher will provide at least five daily mathematics lessons per week. Teaching of key instant recall facts and fluency takes place through regular fluency sessions, either as part of the lesson or discretely. Additional mathematics may be taught within other subject lessons when appropriate.
Class teachers provide high quality maths lessons ensuring that there is emphasis on direct whole-class teaching, groups/partner work and independent work. We use a range of approaches (concrete, pictorial and abstract methods) supported by the White Rose scheme of work, teaching mathematical concepts through small steps. Staff teach and model correct mathematical language, which scaffolds children’s reasoning and explanation skills – sentence stems are used to develop this.
Maths in Early Years
Teachers in the foundation stage also follow the White Rose Maths Schemes of learning, and Mastering Number. The Early Years is a time for exploration and investigation in maths and the learning environment promotes mathematical thinking. Children develop their understanding through a rich variety of activities both self-selected and adult led. Adults encourage the children to explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding which they can use to solve problems, generate questions and make connections across other areas of learning.
Maths in Key Stage 1
In Years 1 and 2, the focus of Maths is to ensure the children develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This often involves working with numerals and words. The children should be precise in using and understanding place value and know number bonds to 20. The children also develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes. The children will use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities (such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money). Children will be assessed using Y2 SATS papers at the end of Y2. These assessments are used by school to inform further teaching and intervention.
Maths in Key Stage 2
In Years 3 and 4, the focus is to ensure the children become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations (including number facts and place value). Pupils begin to develop efficient written and mental calculations with increasingly large whole numbers. They begin to develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including simple fractions and decimal place value. The children develop mathematical reasoning to help them analyse shapes and their properties and confidently describe their relationships. By the end of Year 4, children should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 times table and be able to show precision and fluency in their work. Pupils in Year 4 are prepared for the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC).
In Years 5 and 6, the focus of Maths is to ensure that children extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. Pupils should be able to make connections between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio. Children should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems that demand the use of efficient written and mental methods of calculation. Children are introduced to algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. The children’s understanding and knowledge in geometry and measures consolidates and extends the knowledge they have developed in number; children should be able to classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties, using the vocabulary they need to describe them with accuracy and confidence. Our Y6 pupils are prepared for KS2 SATs.
Impact
The impact of our Maths curriculum is that at the end of Key Stage 2 our pupils achieve and make progress in line with other pupils nationally, evident through:
- Fluency in their recall of key number facts and procedures
- Accuracy in the formal calculation methods for all four operations.
- The flexibility and fluidity to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics.
- The ability to recognise relationships and make connections in mathematics.
- The confidence and resilience to reason mathematically and solve a range of problems.
SEND
Children with additional needs are supported by using practical resources and adapted activities where needed. They are also further supported by additional support staff whenever possible. Where applicable, children’s Pupil Centred Plans will incorporate suitable objectives from the National Curriculum or the EYFS curriculum and teachers keep these objectives in mind when planning work. Where required, some children work to White Rose objectives from lower year groups. In addition to quality first teaching, interventions also take place and focus on those children who may need more specific targeted input.
Assessment, Recording and Reporting
Assessment is an integral part of the maths curriculum and not an addition to it. Children’s work in mathematics is assessed from three aspects:
1) Informal, formative assessments are made continually by questioning the children, observing and monitoring their work. These short- term assessments are closely related to the learning objectives for the lesson and help inform next steps.
2) Periodic assessments take place at the end of a unit – we use white rose maths end of block assessments to check progress and understanding of content covered. This information also informs interventions.
3) Summative assessment is less frequent – this is the use of tests or more formal assessments to find out what children have learnt. We use White Rose Arithmetic and Reasoning papers termly. Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) are used for children in Year 2 (we continue to use these even though they are no longer statutory for year 2) and 6, plus children in Year 4 are also required to take a multiplication tables check (MTC) in the Summer Term. The purpose of the check is to determine whether pupils can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. A whole school tracking system is used to closely monitor children’s progress throughout the school. Teacher assessments are entered termly and are closely analysed to identify children working at greater depth or who are at risk: appropriate intervention is then put in place to close gaps.
We see the relationship with parents as very important in supporting their children’s mathematical skills. Parents receive an end of year report which provides information on their child’s outcomes and progress and there are regular parent consultation meetings throughout the year. Parents can also find some supporting documents on the website outlining what is covered in each year group and ways they can support at home.
Calculation
Our calculation methods have been devised to meet requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 for the teaching and learning of mathematics; they are also designed to give pupils a consistent and smooth progression of learning in calculations across the school. Many of these examples also derive from the White Rose calculations policy and tie in with the White Rose schemes of learning used across the school. Children have access to a wide range of counting tools and apparatus throughout. It is important that any type of calculation is given a real life context or problem solving approach to help build the children’s understanding of the purpose of calculation, and to help them recognise when to use certain operations and methods when faced with problems – this is a priority within our lessons. Children are taught and encouraged to use the following processes in deciding what approach they will take to solve a calculation, to ensure they select the most appropriate method for the numbers involved: “Can I do it in my head using a mental strategy?” “Could I use some jottings to help me?” “Should I use a written method to help me work it out?” Mathematical vocabulary is important with each operation so this is a key part of their learning, for example, we will use the term ‘ones’ and ‘units’. E.g. Th, H, T, U /Th H T O or 1000s 100s 10s 1s.
Times Tables
At Sheriffhales, we believe that through a variety of interactive, visual and engaging techniques, all children can achieve the full multiplication tables knowledge by the time they leave Primary School. The new National Curriculum (2014) states that by the end of year 4, pupils should be able to recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12×12. Children in Year 4 are also required to take a multiplication tables check (MTC) in the Summer Term. The purpose of the check is to determine whether pupils can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. This means it is important for the children to learn their multiplication tables facts and to be able to recall them quickly and accurately.