Maths
Whole school progression document
Intent
Maths is an integral part of our curriculum at Marnel. We aim to inspire a love of mathematics for all children. Maths is paramount to everyday life therefore we want children to become confident mathematicians so they are able to access the ever developing world as they grow up. As maths is a universal language, we do believe that the more confidence children have in the subject, the more that opportunities are open to them as they leave us and continue through their education into the world.
We aim to provide a high-quality maths education which meets that requirements of the National Curriculum so that all children:
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics;
- Reason mathematically;
- Can solve problems by using their mathematics.
The maths curriculum is carefully sequenced to combine fluency of the fundamentals and procedures of mathematics with conceptual understanding to deepen children's learning. Our aim is to provide a learning where skills and knowledge are taught, revisited and further developed while promoting problem solving and reasoning opportunities to allow for the application of new knowledge and connections made across domains with confidence.
Throughout their learning, children are exposed to underlying mathematical structures of different concepts with the use of manipulatives, models and images. We believe that mathematics is a creative and inter-connected web of concepts and are committed to ensuring that all children recognise these connections across mathematical domains to be able to use their skills and knowledge confidently within their lives, in a range of contexts.
Implementation
With Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Instruction at the heart of our teaching and learning, White Rose Maths is used as our main resource for maths lessons which ensures that the curriculum we offer is delivered effectively in lessons to allow for long-term learning. By using a high-quality resources, we are ensuring a consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics across the school providing children the opportunity to see the same models, images and representations as they move through Y3-Y6, and providing teachers with time to resources their lessons effectively and ensure they are tailored to meet the needs of the children in their class. Teachers are encouraged to supplement their lessons with more fluency practice, or if and when required give more time to teaching a specific skill or concept using resources from other sources such as Third Space Learning, Nrich and I See Reasoning.
Arithmetic & Reasoning
Children complete arithmetic and reasoning questions on a daily basis when they come into school. Initially, these questions are taken from Fluent in Five and Rapid Reasoning (Third Space Learning), however year groups have the freedom to create their own questions if there is a concept of skill which requires revisiting or more practice. When children can recall numbers facts quickly and perform arithmetic fluently, their cognitive overload is reduced giving them the ability to progress through the maths curriculum.
Daily Maths Lessons
Maths lessons are planned on a weekly basis using the small step objectives provided from the White Rose block of learning. Children are taught in mixed ability classes to enable all children to be supported by the class teacher, to be appropriately challenged and finally, achieve. Lessons begin with a review of prior learning giving children an opportunity to bring previous knowledge and skills into their working memory. The majority of lessons, unless in the middle of a unit, will begin with an Assessment for Learning (AfL) task which has been carefully chosen or designed to identify children’s starting point and highlight misconceptions. Using flexible and responsive teaching, any misconceptions identified at this point will be modelled and explored with children during the main teaching input.
For the teaching input, teachers use and adapt (if necessary) White Rose PowerPoint slides which link to the learning objective and enable teachers to model the skill of the lesson. High quality and effective questions are used by teachers and LSAs. Manipulatives and models are used in lessons, initially to help children make connections and develop their understanding of calculation strategies. These include: dienes, place value counters, tens frames, part-part-whole model and the bar model.
Independent practice is a key element of the school’s teaching process, therefore in the majority of Maths lessons children have the opportunity to refine and practice skills through the use of three layers. Each layer consists of questions where children can practice and apply the skill and knowledge they have learnt. Layers progress from concrete and pictorial scaffolds in Layer 1 towards fluency practice in Layer 2 and then applying the skill using reasoning and problem solving in Layer 3. Children are encouraged to move through the layers in each lesson. Depending on the AfL, children will start on different layers and are encouraged to choose their own layer depending on their confidence.
In order to provide support for all children, scaffolds are used through the use of manipulatives, models and a pre-layer which is a stepping stone enabling children to practice the skill before Layer 1. For any child who grasps the learning objective rapidly, challenges are always provided which require children to think more deeply about the concepts.
SEND Learning
The majority of children will move through the National Curriculum for their year group at broadly the same pace, however we understand that there are children who cannot access the objectives of their current year group. In this instance, children are assessed using a STAR Maths assessment (Renaissance) which provides a Scaled Score alongside detailed information of the gaps in children’s learning. These are completed every 6/7 weeks. Children will then be taught objectives from the year group that matches their maths age; however teachers ensure that children follow the current year group overview for example all children in a Year 4 class are learning fractions, but some will be working on Year 2 objectives.
Any child that requires further teaching or practice receives pre-teaching and the use of TEACCH tasks to over learn objectives.
Children who complete a STAR Maths assessment also have access to Freckle (Renaissance) which is a platform on the Ipads. This has a setting called Adaptive Practice which links to the gaps highlighted through the STAR assessment. Children will practice this regularly in school and have access to it at home.
We do also have available for SEND children, Numbots from TTRS and 1 minute Maths from White Rose which focuses on KS1 number facts
Times Tables
Being fluent in multiplication facts enables children to access many areas of the Maths curriculum. At the end of Year 4, children will complete the Multiplication Tables Check. We have a whole school approach to teaching Times Tables and a yearly overview which year groups follow.
All children are taught times tables which progresses when they reach UKS2 as they will then use known facts to multiply decimals. Times Tables has a daily session and a weekly quiz which is a low-stake quiz and tests children on the Times Table from that week. The winning class is shared in Merit Assembly to create a fun but competitive dynamic towards learning times tables.
We do also hold termly whole school competitions called Slams.
Assessment
Formative assessment takes place throughout maths lessons and verbal feedback is predominantly used within lessons at the point of learning to unpick misconceptions. Year group teams work closely together to ensure their assessment informs planning and the next steps for children.
Warm assessments are used at the end of each block to inform teacher assessment. Teachers will usually create their own using questions from Testbase or may adapt one from White Rose to focus on the skills and knowledge taught within the unit. There are problem solving questions towards the end for children to access.
Every term, maths is moderated within year groups to ensure consistency and progression within a unit. Within this moderation, year groups may also be mixed to look at progression and consistency across the school.
At the end of each term, children sit NFER year group papers to monitor standardised scores and to support with measuring progress and impact. Data is analysed to support planning and future interventions. If a child scores below 90, they will complete a STAR maths assessment and the report given to their class teacher to ensure that these gaps are identified and filled.
Year 6 children will sit the end of Key Stage 2 statutory assessments and are provided with regular opportunities throughout the year to practice these tests. The data is analysed and used to inform future planning and intervention. Progress is also monitored regularly. Year 4 children will take part in the statutory Times Table check at the end of their year.
Impact
Children will make good progress from their own personal starting points. Throughout their time at Marnel Junior School, they will become confident and independent mathematicians with a quick recall of number facts and be fluent in written methods. They will be able to problem solve and use maths across different domains and contexts with an enquiring mind. Most importantly, they will have the knowledge, skills and confidence to access the rest of their education.
