Maths Intent, Implementation and Impact

Maths Intent

At Greatfield Park Primary School we teach mathematics in line with national curriculum aims. We believe mathematics is an important part of a pupil’s development throughout school, right from an early age. We recognise that mathematics underpins much of our daily lives and therefore it is important that pupils’ aspire to become successful so they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Our pupils will be part of sequenced, creative and engaging lessons that will provide pupils with a range of opportunities to explore mathematics. Each pupil will be encouraged to believe in themselves as mathematicians and develop the power of determination, resilience and perseverance when faced with mathematical challenges. In maths lessons, children are always encouraged to delve deeper into their understanding of mathematics and how it relates to the diverse world around them. We look for and make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. Sequences, patterns, measures and ultimately the entire study of mathematics was created to make more sense of the world around us and our aim is to enable all of our pupils to use maths as a tool to explore these possibilities through the use of rich, inspiring and challenging mathematical tasks.

We aim to engage and challenge all pupils through quality teaching and learning opportunities, striving for all pupils to achieve their potential. We expect most of our pupils to attain at least in line with expected standard by the end of early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2 with increasing pupils attaining at greater depth, at least in line with the national average. Less able pupils, pupils with SEND or disadvantaged pupils receive carefully planned support and more able pupils are challenged in variety of ways.

Children are encouraged to make mistakes in a safe and supportive environment. They are supported to discuss these misconceptions with their peers and staff alike. Here at Greatfield Park, we place oracy at the heart of our learning through shared work and class discussions. Use of appropriate vocabulary is modelled throughout lessons by both staff and children, allowing everyone to ‘talk like a mathematician’. Once a child can articulate their understanding of a concept, they can then truly begin to make connections within their learning. We consider how maths relates to the wider world in order to give the subject meaning and relevance so pupils can use their mathematical skills and knowledge in real-life situations.

Maths Implementation

At Greatfield Park Primary School, our Maths teaching across the school places an emphasis upon a mastery approach and follows the White Rose Maths Scheme of learning, thus ensuring whole school consistency and progression.  Lessons are taught daily in each class with a balance of whole-class work, group teaching, practical tasks as well as individual practice.

Children are taught using the ‘White Rose small-steps’ progression planning, to allow children to develop a secure understanding and provide a gradual development of skills.

The use of ‘concrete > pictorial > abstract’ (CPA) is a fundamental part of mastery in mathematics for all learners. The use of concrete resources and pictorial representations both scaffold and strengthen understanding and are widely used as a teaching and learning tool from Foundation Stage to Year 6.

Each daily maths lesson will start with ‘Flashback’ questions, enabling children to recall skills that have been taught both recently and earlier in the school year; this supports both retrieval practice and securing learning to long-term memory.

Lesson structure is based upon ‘Do it’, ‘Twist it’ and ‘Deepen It’ tasks, which all children have access to within a lesson. This allows pupils to practise the skills being taught, as well as developing their understanding of concepts further, through the use of reasoning and problem-solving questions which are integral to developing their mathematical thinking.

We aim for all children to be fluent and have a secure knowledge of Times Tables Facts by the end of Year 4.

We ensure that all pupils are invested in their learning and are making positive contributions to lesson through the use of questioning and modelling.

Teachers carry out formative assessment in each session and feedback is given to children verbally, through self/peer marking and also marking of tasks. Assessments are used to inform future lessons as well as any additional intervention support required.

Pupils are seated in mixed ability groups; however, teachers may group children by ability if they feel it best suits the needs of the children with a particular lesson.

Where possible, intervention is provided within the lesson or shortly after the lesson. At times, children may require further intervention to secure concepts.

Children with additional needs are included in whole class lessons and teachers provide scaffolding and relevant support as necessary. For those children who are working outside the year group curriculum, appropriate learning is then provided to ensure their progress.

Impact

By implementing the intent, children should be confident in the following areas:

• being fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• solving problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios
• reasoning mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language.
• having an appreciation of number and number operations, which enables mental calculations and written procedures to be performed efficiently, fluently and accurately to be successful in mathematics.

Monitoring will show that children, across the school, find enjoyment and fun in learning Mathematics. The children will have a positive mind-set towards Maths and their learning. All children are appropriately engaged and there will be evidence of challenge for all. Children will demonstrate pride in their work, both in terms of presentation and understanding.