What does Maths look like at Abbey? 

Love, Laugh, Learn – Walking with Jesus to life in all its fullness – John 10:10

MATHS CURRICULUM

INTENT, IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT

Intent:    

At Abbey, we aim to provide an inclusive and challenging curriculum for all pupils.  We want all of our pupils to have a love for maths and to develop a secure mathematical foundation to enable them to become confident mathematicians. 

At Abbey, a maths mastery approach is used to develop the building blocks that children need to study maths successfully and to a high level.  Mastery is when children have a secure and deep understanding of mathematical skills and can apply these skills in a range of contexts, enabling them to be able to move onto more complex mathematics.  We believe mastery of maths is something ALL pupils can achieve.

We have planned our mathematical mastery curriculum so that it is carefully structured and sequenced providing a progression of skills from early years to key stage 1, continually building on prior knowledge. 

In the early years we want every child to have a deep understanding of numbers up to 10.  We want children to be able to subitise and be fluent in number facts to 5 and have an awareness of facts to 10.  We expect all children to have a secure foundation in number; be secure in counting to 20 and begin to recognise patterns in the number system.

 Our vision, for all of our pupils is for them to have a secure understanding of the number system within 100.  We want them to be able to use a range of strategies to calculate independently.  At Abbey, we expect our pupils to be able to quickly recall facts and apply their mathematical knowledge to solve a range of problems across the curriculum and in everyday life.  We want our pupils to be able to discuss their maths with confidence and to offer reasons for their choices.

“Maths 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.”

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:

Teachers use the Early Years Foundation Stage and National Curriculum expectations as a basis for planning supported by the White Rose Maths scheme. Teachers also deliver the Mastering Number programme.

In the early years, there are daily, whole group teacher led sessions.  In Reception, the Mastering Number programme is used to deliver number focus lessons.  Mathematical activities are provided through the rich and engaging continuous provision to support the learning focus. To support the children's learning even further, there are regular adult led focused activities.  Children learn about the numbers to 10 in depth and explore shape and measure.

In key stage 1, children study maths daily, covering a broad and balanced mathematical curriculum including number, calculation, geometry, measures and statistics.  On a Friday, children take part in a mental maths challenge.  Where possible we make links to other areas of the curriculum to ensure pupils have an opportunity to consolidate and apply their skills; therefore deepening their understanding.  The majority of pupils work together at a similar pace.  Units of work are taught over an extended period of time, providing children with time to develop a deep understanding.  We aim for every child to be secure in their year group objectives.  We want every child to be confident and to be able to solve problems and talk about their maths.

Lesson are structured using an anchor task, guided tasks and independent practice.  Problem solving and reasoning is woven throughout every lesson.  We want all children to flourish in a nurtured and supported environment.  Children are supported by staff in guided sessions but also have the opportunity to work with a partner in every lesson.  When necessary, children have access to a same day intervention group to ensure gaps in learning are quickly addressed.  Lessons are taught using a CPA approach (concrete, pictorial, abstract) as we recognise how important the use of resources and practical activities are for all pupils.  There are opportunities for all pupils to have their learning deepened through a range of questioning, reasoning and problem solving activities.

In Years 1 and 2, for 4 days a week, children take part in a Mastering Number session for 15-20 minutes  in addition to their main maths lesson.

In key stage 1 children participate in a mental maths session once a week.  In Reception, they begin this in the summer term.  This is to support children to become fluent in their number facts which will support them to problem solve.

At Abbey we want every child to feel safe knowing they can take risks to develop their understanding and to have a love for their learning.

Impact:

Children demonstrate an enjoyment, curiosity and an understanding for maths.  They make rapid progress and work broadly at a similar pace.  Children are able to work with numbers with confidence and can use a range of strategies to help them to add, subtract, multiply and divide.  The children are able to select from and use a range of strategies and resources.  They are able to measure and talk about shapes using correct mathematical language. 

Children at Abbey are able to ‘have a go’ and persevere.  They can solve problems and puzzles, giving reasons for their decisions.  They develop an ability to talk about and explain their maths using mathematical language.

The children not only develop skills in maths lesson but begin to apply these in other areas of the curriculum, especially science and DT.

The high quality of pupils work is represented through photographs, drawings, jottings, formal written calculations and written explanations.

Mastering Number

This year, we are in our second year of delivering the Mastering Number programme.  This supports children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to develop good number sense.

This project aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. Attention is given to key knowledge and understanding needed in Reception classes, and progression through KS1 to support success in the future.

In key stage 1, these sessions take place four times a week for 15-20 minutes, in addition to the children's Maths lesson.  In Reception, they are the main number lessons.

Some of our staff have trained to deliver the Train the Tutor - White Rose Maths tuition programme.  This programme is used to support key groups of pupils in years 1 and 2.  This provides children with extra time to practise their maths skills in a small group and builds their confidence.

The programmes covers the main Maths topics taught in years 1 and 2:

Place value

Addition and Subtraction

Multiplication and Division

Fractions

Support For Parents

At Abbey we use resources from the White Rose Maths scheme.  You can access lots of support and resources from their web site.  Please have a look at the resources I have added.  If you have any questions please ask to speak to your child's class teacher.  Thank you.