Maths
Intent for Maths
At Church Hill, it is our passion that every child reaches their potential in order to let their light shine in accordance with their level of ability.
Mathematics equips pupils with the uniquely powerful set of tools to understand and change the world. These tools include logical reasoning, problem solving skills and the ability to think in abstract ways. Mathematics is important in everyday life. It is integral to all aspects of life and - with this in mind - we endeavour to ensure that children develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards mathematics that will stay with them.
The National Curriculum for mathematics (2014) describes in detail what pupils must learn in each year group. Combined with our calculation policy and White Rose scheme of work, this ensures continuity, progression and high expectations for attainment in mathematics.
It is vital that a positive attitude towards mathematics is encouraged amongst all of our pupils in order to foster confidence and achievement in a skill that is essential in our society. At Church Hill we use the National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014) as the basis of our mathematics programme. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils achieve mastery in the key concepts of mathematics, appropriate for their age group, in order that they make genuine progress and avoid gaps in their understanding that provide barriers to learning as they move through education. Assessment for Learning, an emphasis on investigation, problem solving, fluency and reasoning, the development of mathematical thinking and development of teacher subject knowledge are therefore essential components of the Church Hill approach to this subject.
Aims
Through mathematics in our school, we aim to develop:
· a fascination and enjoyment of mathematics as a subject in which all children can achieve, progress and be successful;
· the children’s abilities to use and apply mathematics effectively in everyday situations, using specific mathematical vocabulary;
· an ability for children to communicate their ideas both orally and in written form;
· independent, as well as co-operative, ways of working, encouraging children to explore ideas and activities in a variety of group settings;
· the children’s ability to recall number facts quickly and accurately and use appropriate mental and/or written calculation strategies;
· the confidence of our pupils and their ability to apply their mathematical knowledge and skills in a variety of challenging real life situations;
· children’s logical thinking, reasoning and ability to problem solve as transferable life skills;
· the children’s awareness of mathematics as a powerful tool that has applications both inside and outside of the classroom;
· the children’s awareness of the broad cultural background of mathematics.
Each year we have a maths day, focused on ensuring that maths can be enjoyed for all children across a wide variety of cross-curricular links and focused up on raising the whole school performance based on school’s ASP (Analysing School Performance).
As a school, we are currently part of a Teaching for Mastery TRG through the Maths Hub and we are using this to help drive our change towards a mastery curriculum via the school’s ‘change plan’ which is written together with our local mastery expert.
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.
(National Curriculum in England: Mathematics Programmes of Study, DfE 2014)
Here are some useful website links for maths:
Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com)
MyMaths - Bringing maths alive - Home
Ordering and Sequencing Numbers Games (topmarks.co.uk)