Maths

At Thorncombe St Mary’s, our vision: ‘Living, Learning and Growing Together’ charges us to ensure that we secure for each child a sense of physical and mental wellbeing, as the foundations for effective, life-long learning and to enable each child to both benefit from, and contribute to, a better world.

Living: Maths, in its many forms, contributes to emotional wellbeing by developing resilience, self- belief, curiosity, perseverance, social interaction, positive emotional reactions and life skills.

Learning: Maths follows a cyclical approach where topics and concepts are built upon and revisited throughout a child’s learning journey. Lessons are built around problem solving questions which broaden children’s mathematical thinking. Mistakes in maths are celebrated as that’s where most learning occurs. Productive struggle is important in a child’s learning of maths as key ideas are more likely to become embedded if time and effort has been taken to acquire them. We balance collaborative work, guided support and time to practise newly acquired skills independently.

Growing Together: Maths equips children for life. Maths is everywhere and children are taught to think critically and solve problems in real life. It also enables them to learn resilience and know that mistakes can lead to later success. By the end of Key Stage Two, children will leave our school prepared for the next step in their mathematical education.

We aim for every child to:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual and procedural 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, e.g. “Convince me that…” or “I know that…so…”

• 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. The Bar Model device is used throughout the school to support problem solving.

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We plan for opportunities across other curriculum areas for children to apply their mathematical knowledge in.

Who teaches Maths?

Maths is taught by each class teacher and supported by every member within our school team.

Which resources are used to ensure progression of knowledge, skills and attitudes?

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), teachers and practitioners support children in developing their understanding of mathematics in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding. This area of development includes seeking patterns, making connections, recognising relationships, working with numbers, shapes and measures, and counting, sorting and matching. Children use their knowledge and skills in these areas to solve problems, generate new questions and make connections across other areas of learning and development. This then creates the foundations for learning that they will build upon each following year.

From Year 1 through to Year 6, teachers utilise a high quality scheme: White Rose. White Rose is a mastery approach that aims for children to develop their conceptual understanding of mathematics by using concrete objects, pictorial representations and abstract thinking. Upon review of its success, we have adapted our maths provision to implement Fix it Friday. During these sessions, children begin by revisiting the four operations in a fluency warm up before moving on to problem solving where children apply their prior learning.

How is maths timetabled?

In each class, maths is taught from 9.30-10.30. In EYFS, children experience a discrete maths opportunity as well as it forming part of continuous provision. Interventions (such as pre-teaching and fast track maths) are delivered throughout the week. 

Through careful assessment, planning and preparation, we aim to ensure that children are given opportunities for:

• practical activities and mathematical games

• problem solving

• individual, small group and whole class discussions

• open and closed tasks

• a range of methods of calculating e.g. mental, written and calculator

• Linking learning to computing

• outdoor learning

How are children with additional needs supported in maths?

Our smaller than average class sizes allow teachers to monitor closely the progress and attainment of each individual child. Children who are identified as having additional needs or as disadvantaged receive a wealth of support. This consists, but is not limited to, an adapted input from their teacher or teaching assistant, a guided session within a small group, adapted challenges to meet their individual needs and targeted interventions to enable them to make accelerated progress and keep up with their peers.

Despite our mixed year groups, maths is taught at an age appropriate level so that each child is gaining relevant mathematical knowledge that is pitched at their stage of learning. Children at our school receive a very personalised approach to teaching and benefit from working closely with the adults in their class. 

When a child is struggling with a concept, we proactively plan opportunities to secure this area of learning. This may be done by additional teacher support, adapted challenges or an intervention. For those who may need additional exposure to maths concepts, we offer pre-teaching opportunities where they are introduced to concepts ahead of the lesson. During the lesson, they can then use this recent prior knowledge to support them. We also plan fast track maths for children who need specific support. This is a targeted intervention that teaches gaps in a child’s individual learning and it takes place at least 3 times a week. As a school, we also ensure that MyPlan targets are incorporated into maths teaching and learning (e.g. the use of visual prompts, additional support, access to key resources or specialist equipment).

How inclusive is maths provision in the school?

The needs of all children are met within the teaching of maths. The White Rose mastery approach is designed in a way that matches the needs of every child. Following a teaching input, children begin their learning with fluency questions. They then move on to reasoning questions where children are required to use their comprehension of maths skills to explain their answers. Finally, children are exposed to problem solving challenges where they apply both their fluency and reasoning skills to tackle complex problems. 

Following an approach like this means that children can be included in the same learning. In maths, ALL children can achieve, through the following:

• ensuring that there is high quality, adapted teaching and assessment of individual need

• using a variety of teaching and learning styles

• presenting information in a variety of forms – diagrams, models, verbal explanations and written explanations – to ensure accessibility

• using a mix of whole class, small group, paired and individual work to allow the support and development of individuals’ needs

• entitling all pupils to equal access to a full learning entitlement, whatever their starting point

• Setting suitable learning challenges

For children who are identified as gifted and talented, we offer mastery for maths teaching sessions across each academic year where a group of children from each of our 7 Trust schools take part. This provides a fantastic opportunity to meet new faces, as well as offering them content that further enhances their mathematical journey during their time at Thorncombe St Mary’s.

How are other subjects, technologies, visits, or visitors used to enhance maths learning?

Maths is often taught through other areas of our curriculum work (where possible). Our whole school long term curriculum provides planned opportunities to make links (e.g. comparing heights of mountains by subtracting, making pictograms of animals in a habitat, etc). We recognise that maths, as a skill for life, is found in nearly all areas of learning. For example, in PE, children may record and compare lengths of jumps; in DT, they may need to measure and cut materials; in art, they may need to learn to duplicate a shape or design to make it tessellate; in music a solid understanding of fractions is required to read notation. In addition to this, computing resources are used to enhance learning in maths, through interactive activities (e.g. times tables rockstars) and teacher use of on-screen resources and videos. We also plan opportunities to link maths learning into our curriculum visits such as finding Fibonacci patterns in nature, or measuring the flow of a river on a trip, etc.

How is maths progression monitored?

Teaching and learning of maths is monitored in a similar way to other subjects: lesson observations, work scrutiny and pupil conferencing. Summative assessments are carried out on a termly basis which assess progress and gaps to address and we work collaboratively with our other Trust schools to moderate this. We use these assessments to track progress which is then monitored by the subject leader and Head of School. Where necessary, these leaders raise questions, challenge and offer support according to this progress. Termly progress meetings for all areas of the curriculum take place with the teacher and Head of School and information from data, pupil conferencing and work scrutiny form part of this meeting to ensure that our children receive quality first teaching that can be accessed by all learners. 

How is maths progression assessed?

Our smaller than average class sizes allow us to have a very personalised advantage of assessing children’s progress closely. Teachers are able to pinpoint particular areas that need further support and plan opportunities for this. This may be for a whole class, group or individuals. The termly summative assessments provide teachers and leaders with an overview of how the children are progressing in their learning. These assessments are analysed and trends across a cohort are picked up early to either celebrate or address. We work collaboratively as a team to ensure we support one another to move children’s learning forwards and provide a rigorous approach to supporting children to keep up with their peers when they show early signs of needing additional support.