Maths Intent Statement

Maths Subject Leader: Mrs Gregory

Intent - what we aim for children to achieve through our maths curriculum.

At Durham Lane Primary School we recognise that Mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. We are committed to ensuring that children are able to recognise the importance of Maths in the wider world and that they are also able to use their mathematical skills and knowledge confidently in a range of different contexts. We aim to ensure that our children have access to a high quality mathematics curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable. We want to develop our children into confident mathematicians who are not afraid to take risks. Children need opportunities to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. It is vital for the children to be able to see how mathematics is relevant to their world, and applicable to everyday life.  We also aim to instil an understanding of how mathematics is something that the children will need as they move through their school life and into the world of employment.

We want all children to enjoy Mathematics and to experience success in the subject, with the ability to reason mathematically.

We aim to provide a high-quality mathematics curriculum so that all children:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics;
• reason mathematically;
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics.

Implementation - how we achieve our aims.

We use White Rose Maths and Abacus from Y1 to Y6 as the basis of our curriculum, which is designed to support teachers in all aspects of their planning whilst delivering a Maths Mastery curriculum effectively.

The use of a mastery approach incorporates three key elements concrete, pictoral and abstract,  in helping children explore and demonstrate mathematical ideas, enrich their learning experience and deepen their understanding. Lessons are planned and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before. Teachers ensure that that all objectives are taught by referring to our Progression Sheets and access materials from Abacus and the White Rose Maths to aid in the delivery of lessons.  We are developing techniques that ensure after a topic has been taught it is continuously revisited as the year progresses, allowing the knowledge to become embedded, developed and giving the children the chance to deepen their understanding. There are opportunities for the children to demonstrate mastery at all points in the year.  All year groups start with number work, as this underpins all mathematical understanding, before moving on to calculation techniques. Staff refer to the Calculation Policy when teaching formal methods, ensuring consistency and progression across school.  Reasoning is also taught alongside calculation methods at all times.

Practising the rapid recall of numbers facts is vital throughout school.  This happens regularly in our Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 in the form of singing, chanting and games.  As well as these techniques, in Key Stage 2, a weekly number based ‘Rapid Recall’ is planned to give children the opportunity to practise and improve their recall of number facts.  Also, in Key Stage 2, all children have access to their own personal account of ‘Times Tables Rockstar’ where they can compete against other pupils and classes in school. 

Together, these elements help cement knowledge so pupils truly understand what they’ve learnt.

All pupils, when introduced to a key new concept, have the opportunity to build competency 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.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), we relate the mathematical aspects of the children’s work to the Development Matters statements and the Early Learning Goals (ELG), as set out in the EYFS profile document.

Mathematics development involves providing children with opportunities to practise and improve their skills in counting numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems, and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.

We continually observe and assess children against these areas using age-related objectives, and plan the next steps in their mathematical development in response to this. There are opportunities for children to encounter Maths throughout the EYFS provision – through planned activities and the self-selection of easily accessible quality maths resources.

Impact - how we know we have achieved our aims.

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.  This includes:

We measure our impact of our curriculum through:

•  A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
• Termly assessment Progress in Understanding Mathematics;
• Pupil discussions about their learning.

We have adopted a Mastery approach to Maths, ensuring all of our children fully grasp a concept and deepen their learning before moving on to new content. Children also have opportunities to develop their fluency, apply their reasoning skills problem solving skills during daily maths sessions. 

• 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

Impact

In order for this to happen, everyone in our school takes responsibility for the standards achieved by the children.  The Mathematics Leader and the Senior Leadership Team take responsibility for the monitoring of the mathematics curriculum. The Mathematics Leader monitors for appropriate pitch and progression at least once every half term.  This monitoring takes the form of lesson observations and feedback; learning walks and pupil voice conversations; book scrutinies and moderation with our Partnership Schools.  Assessments are carried out termly and all teachers contribute to a termly Pupil Progress Meeting where the data is analysed and targets are made by highlighting ‘stuck’ pupils and focusing on next steps.

These factors ensure that we are able to maintain high standards and that our children become confident, resilient mathematicians who enjoy the subject and value its importance in everyday life. 

Maths in Early Years Foundation Stage

Maths in Key Stage One

Maths in Key Stage Two