Maths
“Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics.” ― Dean Schlicter
Intent
At All Saints’ Primary School, our delivery of the mathematics curriculum is centred on the Maths No Problem scheme. This mastery approach guides our belief that every child can master an understanding and love of maths with the right kind of teaching and support. We recognise that mathematics underpins many elements of our everyday lives, and we therefore understand the importance of a high-quality curriculum. Our creative and engaging lessons provide children with a range of opportunities to develop their mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning skills, while also making connections between maths and everyday life. Within lessons, our learners are regularly exposed to a degree of challenge, with the purpose of strengthening their confidence, resilience and range of strategies to persevere with challenges. Following the Maths No Problem scheme ensures that all aspects of the National Curriculum are covered, and that there is a clear progression of skills, knowledge and understanding throughout the school. We also follow the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract approach to mastering new mathematical concepts. These practical learning experiences develop a deep and sustainable understanding of maths in pupils. We strongly believe that equal access to a rich and meaningful mathematical education should be granted to all pupils at our school.
Implementation
We are committed to ensuring that an engaging mathematics curriculum is delivered through high-quality teaching by all members of staff. To make sure that all areas of the ‘spiral curriculum’ are covered in depth to achieve mastery, Maths is taught daily at All Saints’ during a one-hour session every morning in mixed-ability year groups. Lessons use the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach to support children’s understanding, with daily arithmetic skills also being taught within these sessions. Scaffolding and support is provided where necessary to allow all children to access the same learning, as well as opportunities in each lesson for all learners to deepen their understanding and mathematical thinking. Children are assessed at the end of each unit through the use of ‘review chapters’ to monitor progress and revisit learning to support the transfer of learning to the long-term memory, in addition to termly arithmetic and reasoning assessments (provided by the school’s partnership with PiXL). Afternoon interventions allow for misconceptions and gaps from previous years to be addressed in a smaller environment with focussed support. A range of age-appropriate online programs - such as DoodleMaths, Times Table Rock Stars and Mathletics - are used to support classroom learning and allow children to revisit and develop their learning at home.
Impact
As a result of engaging lessons delivered within a safe learning environment, our children have a positive view of Maths. They also have an understanding that it is okay to make mistakes, as this helps them to learn and progress, while resilience is shown in the face of challenges by learners of all abilities. This love of Maths is demonstrated in all classrooms at All Saints’ through children’s enthusiasm and cooperation during group activities, as well as an eagerness to show off their learning in independent tasks. The early introduction of advanced mathematical vocabulary leads to learners who are confident in articulating their understanding to others, and who are able to provide clear written explanations of methods and processes. Our learners also demonstrate a confident use of manipulatives and pictorial representations to aid their independent work alongside abstract approaches and methods, whilst also being able to select the appropriate equipment or strategies for problems. Since the introduction of our current scheme, children have shown a greater ability to apply knowledge to a variety of increasingly complex questions, while also showing increased confidence and accuracy when reasoning about Maths. Across the school, there is also a high level of pride shown in the presentation of work produced.