Barnwood Church of England Primary School

Mathematics

Vision Statement

Christian Values are at the heart of our school.

We aim to provide our children with the best possible learning experience so that they develop into responsible and thoughtful citizens.

All children, parents, carers, staff, governors and members of the wider school community work together to ‘be the best that we can be’ by:

  • Celebrating and living out our Christian values
  • Embracing challenging and exciting experiences
  • Valuing everyone
  • Encouraging and supporting each other
  • Respecting and caring for each other and our world
  • Fostering a sense of awe and wonder for the world around us
  • Developing independence
  • Being confident lifelong learners together
  • Working hard and having fun

The aims of the new National Curriculum are:

Purpose of study

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It 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.

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.

Key Stage 1 – Year 1 and 2

The principal focus of mathematics teaching 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 four operations, including with practical resources [for example, concrete objects and measuring tools].

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money.

By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.

Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

Lower Key Stage 2 – Year 3 and 4

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in lower key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four 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.

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value. Teaching should also ensure that pupils draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties, and confidently describe the relationships between them. It should ensure that they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measure and number.

By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work.

Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently, using their growing word reading knowledge and their knowledge of spelling.

Upper Key Stage 2 – Year 5 and 6

The principal focus of mathematics teaching 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.

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. With this foundation in arithmetic, pupils are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number. Teaching should also ensure that pupils classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.

By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.

Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly.

Equal Opportunities

All pupils in our school have the right to be considered of equal value and be given equal opportunities to access the school curriculum.

At Barnwood we strive to ensure that the culture and ethos of the school are such that, whatever the heritage and origins, abilities and needs of members of the school community, everyone is equally valued and treat one another with respect. All pupils have the right to be given opportunities and access to the full curriculum regardless of ethnicity, gender, social circumstances, ability, disability, age, nationality or citizenship. Pupils should be provided with the opportunity to experience, understand and celebrate diversity.

Teaching and Learning style

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in mathematics lessons. Our principal aim is to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in mathematics. During these lessons we encourage children to ask as well as answer mathematical questions and to explain strategies they have used. They have the opportunity to use a wide range of resources such as dienes, Numicon, number lines, number squares, digit cards and small apparatus to support their work. Teachers and children use apps and computing programmes in mathematics lessons where it will enhance learningand model ideas and methods.We encourage the children to use and apply their learning in everyday situations.

In all classes there are children of differing mathematical ability. We recognise this fact and provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies – in some lessons through differentiated group work and in other lessons by organising the children to work in pairs or Talking Partners on open-ended problems or games. We use classroom assistants to support some children and to help ensure that work is matched to the needs of individuals.

Mathematics Curriculum Planning

Mathematics is a core subject in the National Curriculum, and we use the revised NationalCurriculum as the basis for implementing the statutory requirements of the programme of study for mathematics.

The revised Nattional Curriculum for Teaching gives a detailed outline of what we teach in the long term.

It is the class teacher who completes the weekly plans for the teaching of mathematics. These weekly plans list the specific learning objectives for each lesson and give details of how the lessons are to be taught. They ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term. Adult support is identified.

The class teacher keeps these individual plansand these are shared with TAs so that they are aware of the planning for the week ahead.

The Foundation Stage

We teach problem solving, reasoning and numeracy in our reception class through a combination of child initiated and adult led play, class sessions and group work using the Early Learning Foundation Stage andRevised Numeracy Strategy. We give all the children ample opportunity to develop their understanding of number, measurement, pattern, shape and space through varied activities that allow them to enjoy, explore, practise and talk confidently about mathematics.

Guidelines for marking-see marking policy

  1. Green pen will be used to mark books.
  2. We encourage the use of stickers, stamps, smiley face, house points etc.
  3. Work will be sensitively marked. If there are many mistakes on a piece of work it would be inappropriate to cover the work with marks, but a comment should be written at the end, or the work should be verbally evaluated with the child. Crosses will not be used to indicate incorrect work.
  4. All marking is to be evaluative with future progress in mind. Work will be marked reflecting the overall LO and specific Success Criteria.
  5. Opportunities for peer and self assessment will be planned for.
  6. Children will be given time in order to reflect and act upon the marking.

Assessment and recording

Assessment of children’s work in mathematics is ongoing.We make short-term assessments which we use to help us adjust our daily plans. These short-term assessments are closely matched to the teaching objectives and success criteria.

We are currently using Kangaroo Maths which identifies the core National Curriculum objectives to track children’s progress termly in mathematics and this information is then used to reach an overall judgement about the children’s progress towards the end of their year group expectations inputted into the School Online Pupil Tracker (SPTO). Children having difficulties are identified and the appropriate support put in place.

All assessment information ispassed on to the next teacher at the end of the year, so that she/he can plan for the new school year. All children from Y2 use NFER Maths and Mental Maths tests.Y1 use NFER maths only. At the end of KS1 (in Year 2) and at the end of KS2 (in Year 6), children sit national tests in Mathematics: an arithmetic test (focusing on children’s fluency in written calculations across the four areas of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), two reasoning papers (focusing on the children’s ability to use and apply what they have learnt) and at the end of Year 6 there will now be an online times tables test (testing children’s table knowledge up to 12 x 12)

Resources

There is a range of resources to support the teaching of mathematics across the school. All classrooms have a wide range of appropriate small apparatus. Mathematical dictionaries are available in classrooms. The library contains a range of books to support children’s individual research. A range of software is available to support work with the computers.

Rapid Maths, IGCC and Catch Up are used as intervention programmes.

Mathematics and Computing

Where appropriate teachers will use ICT to aid the delivery of the Maths Curriculum.

We have the following resources available in school:

  • Interactive whiteboards
  • Interactive Teaching Programmes
  • IPads
  • Online resources
  • Interactive games/apps
  • Glos maths toolkit
  • Calculators
  • Using control programmes such as;B-Bots,Logo, Scratch.

Monitoring and review

Monitoring of the standards of children’s work and of the quality of teaching in mathematics is the responsibility of the mathematics subject leaders. The work of the mathematics subject leaders also involves supporting colleagues in the teaching of mathematics, being informed about current developments in the subject and providing a strategic lead and direction for the subject in the school. The mathematics subject leaders give the headteacher an annual summary in which they evaluate strengths and weaknesses in the subject and indicate areas for further improvement. The headteacher allocates regular management time to the mathematics subject leaders so that they can review samples of children’s work, monitor planning and undertake lesson observations of mathematics teaching across the school. Regular analysis of data is carried out,discussed with staff and appropriate action taken. .A named member of the school’s governing body is briefed to oversee the teaching of Mathematics. This governor meets regularly with the subject leadersto review progress.

Maths Subject Leader: Miss Louise Harris

Agreed at Curriculum Committee Meeting on 31.03.17

Curriculum Chair: Gillian King

Headteacher : Julia Matson

Review:Spring 2018

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