Furness Primary School

INTENT

Mathematics is a journey and long-term goal, achieved through exploration, clarification, practice and application over time. At each stage of learning, children should be able to demonstrate a deep, conceptual understanding of the topic and be able to build on this over time.

There are 3 levels of learning:

• Shallow learning: surface, temporary, often lost
• Deep learning: it sticks, can be recalled and used
• Deepest learning: can be transferred and applied in different contexts

The deep and deepest levels are what we are aiming for by teaching Mathematics using the Mastery approach.

We endeavor to ensure our children have access to a high quality Mathematics curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable.

· Providing our children with a variety of mathematical opportunities, which will enable them to make the connections in learning needed to enjoy greater depth in learning.

· Ensuring children are confident mathematicians who are not afraid to take risks.

· Fully develop independent learners with inquisitive minds who have secure mathematical foundations and an interest in self-improvement

Curriculum 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

The principal focus of mathematics teaching is that:

• In key stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the 4 operations, including with practical resources [for example, concrete objects and measuring tools].
• In lower key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the 4 operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.
• In upper key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.

IMPLEMENTATION

Planning

1. Long term: National Curriculum

 2. Medium term: Yearly overview, up-dated annually in response to data and in house monitoring of teaching & learning.

3. Short term: -

Daily lessons include a clear lesson intention WALT / LO   and clear success criteria ‘Steps to Success’.

Daily lessons are taught based on incorporating the 6Es

Explore,

Explain,

Examples,

Expand

Enrich

Evaluate

(All or some can be seen in a lesson.)

Short term planning is supported by the use of the White Rose Maths Hub materials, Power Maths and our school calculation policy, NCETM and NRICH.

Mental Maths

Morning fluency/arithmetic questions/ counting

Concrete, pictorial, abstract

Objects, pictures, words, numbers and symbols are everywhere. The mastery approach incorporates all of these to help children explore and demonstrate mathematical ideas, enrich their learning experience and deepen understanding. Together, these elements help cement knowledge so pupils truly understand what they’ve learnt.

All pupils, when introduced to a key new concept, should have the opportunity to build competency in this topic by taking this approach. Pupils are encouraged to physically represent mathematical concepts. Objects and pictures are used to demonstrate and visualise abstract ideas, alongside numbers and symbols.

Concrete – children have the opportunity to use concrete objects and manipulatives to help them understand and explain what they are doing.

Pictorial – children then build on this concrete approach by using pictorial representations, which can then be used to reason and solve problems.

Abstract – With the foundations firmly laid, children can move to an abstract approach using numbers and key concepts with confidence.

IMPACT

The Mathematics curriculum is that children understand the relevance of what they are learning in relation to real world concepts. We have fostered an environment where Maths is fun and it is OK to be ‘wrong’ because the journey to finding an answer is most important. Impact:

Children will also develop:

• Quick recall of facts and procedures
• The flexibility and fluidity to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics.
• The ability to recognise relationships and make connections in mathematics

A mathematical concept or skill has been mastered when a child can show it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas, and can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations. These will be assessed through: assessment, tracking, pupil progress meetings, performance management, moderation and standardisation.