Intention
At Randlay Primary and Nursery, our, our ethos of ‘Working Together as One’ is central to our teaching and learning offer. This encompasses our core values of Collaboration, Aspiration, Courage, Excellence, Respect and Creativity. Through this, we ensure our pupils have the opportunity to work as mathematicians across a creative and purposeful curriculum, enabling them to see the importance of maths within the world in which we live. Our curriculum provides the learners with meaningful opportunities to understand the importance of fluency and being able to recall known facts, whilst building on their ability to reason and problem solve across the ability range. Differentiated Mathematical skills and knowledge once taught are explored and revisited at the appropriate level for each learner. As a result, our pupils develop greater resilience and self-confidence in applying their skills. The collaboration between peers, and the relationship between learners and their class teacher drives the learning and inform the content, strategies and real-world contextualisation to maximise on the progress and learning opportunities. Our lessons are stimulating and empower our pupils with the skills, concepts and knowledge they need to explore further, when making and developing their mathematical connections.
Implementation
Practice and consolidation are central to our Maths teaching. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts. Teachers use precise questioning to test conceptual and procedural knowledge.
The 2014 National Curriculum outlines the expectation 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.
- solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including exploring problems and persevering in the seeking of solutions.
These aims will underpin all teaching of maths at Randlay Primary School and Nursery.
Each year is planned using the White Rose Mixed Age termly overviews, which form the basis of our curriculum coverage. At Randlay School, we are keen to build on our learners’ prior knowledge in order to support their mathematical connections. Teachers plan weekly in Key Stage teams to ensure we provide consistency across the whole school Maths offer. We are mindful to allow sufficient time on each mathematical strand to provide time for detail, depth of learning and challenge. Planning allows opportunities to develop fluency, varied fluency, problem solving and reasoning in a range of engaging contexts, which develop a depth of knowledge and understanding. Clear Learning Objectives for the lesson are set and the Success Criteria identified from this. Whenever possible the Success Criteria will be procedural and conceptual in basis and learners will refer to this when self-assessing their understanding. These help teachers to focus the all-important teaching and learning sequences focused on the individual needs of our pupils which ensures all our learners are catered for. The Number Sense Maths approach is used from EYFS to Year 4, through daily teaching of Early Years Number Sense, Fact Fluency and Times Tables respectively.
When planning for objective coverage, teachers are expected to take the following mastery strategies into account:
- Small steps
- Implementing the Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract (CPA) approach to introducing, exploring and applying mathematical concepts
- Ensuring that mathematical vocabulary is introduced as and when appropriate
- Applying/using the Bar Model approach as a strategy to approach calculation/problems
- Considering key questions and mathematical vocabulary at the point of unit planning
- Multiple opportunities for verbal and written/drawn reasoning (explaining and using mathematical vocabulary to explain methods or reasoning) within unit exploration
- Inclusion of relevant problem-solving opportunities, where pupils are expected to draw on and apply multiple concepts to address or approach challenge
- Opportunities to complete the Expert Reasoner approach when completing focused reasoning and developing of thinking skills
- Modelling of all skills and approaches
- Modelling and sharing of efficient and accurate application of methods
- Opportunities to explore maths concepts/objectives at ‘greater depth’
- Include all learners, providing relevant support for those with additional needs (educational, medical or otherwise)
- To work collaboratively to explore and deepen mathematical thinking
EYFS
Children in Nursery have a short daily Maths teaching session, during which time they begin to develop their understanding of simple mathematical concepts such as counting to 20, maintaining 1 to 1 correspondence, simple addition and subtraction facts, to recognise and describe simple 2d and 3d shapes. Children are taught these concepts using physical resources, pictorial resources, songs, games and role-play. There is no focus activity linked to these sessions.
In Reception, children have a three part lesson from Autumn 1. This consists of:
- Whole class oral and mental starter linked to the Early Years Number Sense planning framework.
- Whole class main teaching
- Focus activity either adult led or independent.
Throughout the week children will work with an adult, either a teacher or a supporting adult, on a differentiated task. This activity is completed in approximately 10- 15 minutes. This structure to the lesson enables teachers to secure a good balance between whole class work, group teaching and individual practice. It also enables teachers to establish regular routines thereby maximising teaching time. It supports assessment on a daily basis, as well as individual feedback to children, ensuring that children receive immediate intervention as required during the supported focus activity. In both Nursery and Reception, the independent activities at the Maths table link to the focus for the week. For example, if the focus for the week is addition, then activities on the Maths will often link to this. In addition to these planned independent activities, children also have the opportunity to self-select Maths resources to consolidate their learning during child initiated activities. To develop early number within Reception, we have adopted a one number a week approach to fully embed the essential number sense knowledge the children need as part of their early maths. We recognise the importance of play-based learning and therefore encourage children to develop their understanding during their play. Such opportunities are provided in both the inside and outside environment. Regular observations and assessments help to ensure that children that need additional intervention to consolidate their mathematical understanding are identified and supported by appropriate interventions.
Key Stage One
At Randlay Primary School, our learning in Key Stage 1 (KS1) is carefully guided by the National Curriculum, ensuring that all children receive a broad and balanced education. To support this, we use the White Rose Scheme, which is fully aligned with the National Curriculum and provides a structured framework for teaching the necessary strands in mathematics. This approach ensures a cohesive and progressive learning experience that builds essential skills and knowledge, preparing our pupils for the next stages of their educational journey.
National Curriculum Guidance:
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 4 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 Two
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in lower key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the 4 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 Two
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 4 operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.
Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly.
Impact.
Our pupil’s exploration of mathematics is interactive and engaging, with content made relevant to their real-world experiences and contextualised to support consolidation, allowing them to know and remember more when developing their knowledge and skills. They approach maths lessons with confidence and enthusiasm, and view tasks and challenges that call for application of varied knowledge across units of work and the selection of multiple skills with courage, aspirations and a willingness to collaborate. Our pupil’s approach and response to reasoning activities improves term on term, with the expectation that by the end of the year, learners are happy to accurately define and use mathematical vocabulary introduced by their teacher, as well as complete stem sentences to complete mathematical statements or reasoning. Through the implementation of the Number Sense Program, our pupils become fluent in addition & subtraction facts, have flexibility with number and understand multiplicative relationships through daily multiplication & division teaching.
Assessment in Mathematics
Assessment is an integral part of the learning process. Pupils receive effective feedback through teacher assessment, both orally and through written feedback, and AFL is integral to the sequence and design of each lesson.
The planned sequence of learning ensures all learners know how to be successful in their independent work. Guided practice provides further preparation for learners to be able to apply the skills, knowledge and strategies taught during the introduction to the lesson. Common misconceptions are addressed within the teaching sequence and key understanding within each step is reviewed and checked by the teacher and the pupil before progressing to further depth.
Work is marked in line with the whole school policy and it is our intention to ensure that pupils receive immediate feedback.
Teachers administer the relevant White Rose termly assessment paper. The results of these papers are used to identify pupil’s ongoing target areas, which are communicated to the learner, as well as to parents and carers at Parents Evening. They are also used alongside the White Rose end of unit assessments and outcomes of work, to inform the whole school tracking of attainment and progress for each child during pupil progress meetings. Assessment data in maths is reviewed throughout the year to inform bespoke interventions and to ensure that provision remains informed to enable optimum progress and achievement. End of year data is used to measure the extent to which attainment gaps for individuals and identified groups of learners are being closed. This data is used to identify whole school and subject development priorities for the next school year. All data is entered into O Track using the agreed whole school system so the Maths Lead can track whole school data and address dips in performance.
How we support SEND
At Randlay Primary School and Nursery, we value every pupil and celebrate the diversity that enriches our community. We are committed to inclusivity in mathematics and believe that all children, regardless of background, deserve equal opportunities to excel. Our science curriculum is carefully planned and regularly reviewed to ensure that all pupils have access to high-quality learning experiences, with no child disadvantaged. This commitment reflects our Equality and Diversity Inclusion Policy, ensuring that every pupil can reach their full potential in maths.
Differentiation is achieved by emphasising depth of knowledge and through individual support and intervention. The daily mathematics lesson provides all pupils with learning opportunities by setting suitable challenges and recognising learners differing needs. Learners that are more able are extended through differentiated group work and additional challenge, which promote depth of learning. For Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) pupil, targets identified on Individual Provision Map’s (IPM) are taken into account at the planning stage.
The National Curriculum states: ‘Children 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.’ There is little differentiation in the content taught but the questioning and scaffolding individual learners receive in class as they work through problems will differ, with higher attainers challenged through more demanding problems, which deepen their knowledge of the same content before acceleration onto new content. Learners difficulties and misconceptions are identified through immediate assessment. Then addressed with rapid intervention, through individual or small group support later the same day. Although the expectation is the majority of learners will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace, the 2014 National Curriculum states: ‘Decisions about when to progress are based on the security of pupil’s understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage.’ If a learner’s needs are best met by following an alternative plan, including coverage of the content from a previous year, this will be overseen by the SENDCo, in collaboration with the class teacher and with the knowledge of SMT. Specific arrangements for the provision of learners with SEND will be communicated to parents and carers during SEND reviews.