Dear Parents,
My name is Miss Jeffery and I am Maths lead at our school. I hope our website provides you with the information that you need regarding the teaching and the learning of maths at our school.
Maths Vision Statement 2022-23
Our Intention
We strive for all children to be excited and engaged in lessons. We want them to find maths a creative and stimulating subject through which they learn to solve problems, communicate their ideas and listen and consider the ideas of others. We want all our children to be confident Mathematicians who enjoy the challenge of learning new skills and knowledge by building on what they have already learned. We want to create a community of mathematicians who are willing to take risks and learn that mistakes are part of the process of understanding. Our staff model enthusiasm and positivity around the teaching of Maths.
We are passionate about the development all children make in mathematics. We want children to recognise and explore relationships and patterns in maths and to deepen their thinking through the understanding of mathematical structure. We believe that, through Maths, all children will develop skills essential for life. Reasoning will be at the heart of our mathematical learning so that children can explain, justify and review their understanding. We will develop this understanding with concrete, pictorial and abstract (CPA) resources.
Implementation
We are using, developing and refining a mastery approach to the Maths curriculum to promote a deeper understanding of mathematical knowledge and skills with mathematical models (such as the part whole model and the number line) and practical resources (such as base ten dienes and the ten frame). We will highlight those relationships in maths that allow children to deepen and innovate prior understanding. We aim to provide opportunities to use Maths in other areas of the curriculum and emphasise real life application. Teachers will challenge all children and ensure that this progress is from a secure understanding rather than from remembered procedure. Our main teaching resources come from the White Rose Hub. We also use Number Talk to explore maths and methods and to build a mathematical community spirit of sharing, refining and challenging our ideas.
Impact
Children will have a love of Maths: they will be able to share their thinking, reason and justify as confident communicators, problem solvers and decision makers. They will see themselves as part of a maths community whose thinking is valued and considered. They will have a growth mindset so that they see mistakes are a step to understanding and that mistakes will be made when we are being brave and involved in our learning. Children will recognise that there are various ways to solve a problem but they should strive to find one that is efficient. We want our children to feel empowered to seek solutions to problems. We want them to be able to communicate their thinking, be willing to listen to others with respect and be able to evaluate different ideas and opinions. These skills and abilities will be beneficial beyond the actual maths lessons. Indeed, they will teach our children valuable life lessons and support them on their journey through life.
In this section, you will find a general maths curriculum map for each Year group. These timing can be subject to change if children need more time to consolidate and develop their understanding.
If you follow this link, it will give you further information on each area of maths covered throughout the year
whiterosemaths.com/advice-and-guidance#start
Go this image and click to find specific year group information
The government has given guidance on the most important conceptual knowledge and understanding that pupils need as they progress from year 1 to year 6. These important concepts are referred to as ready-to-progress criteria and provide a coherent, linked framework to support pupils’ mastery of the primary mathematics curriculum. The ready-to-progress criteria for all year groups are an important guide for teachers and can be accessed via this link.
Mathematical Guidance Key Stage 1 and 2
Year Group Curriculum Maps
Parent Guide to Maths in our School
Please watch this presentation which aims to explain the many features of maths teaching in our school.
Parent-presentation-on-Maths-at-St-Francis-of-Assisi-2022Our calculation policy and guidance will show you the ways in which we teach children to calculate as well as the progression and development of skills and knowledge needed for this journey. For children to calculate efficiently, they need to have a very sound understanding of number and this knowledge is developed through practice with a variety of resources. These include practical resources such as the ten frame and mathematical models such as the number line. Particularly important is the part whole model as it allows children to see the relationship between different areas of number.
For example, we could use this part whole model to explore addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and even fractions.
We want also to teach children to solve problems in an efficient way so that whilst
567 + 679
might best be calculated using column addition
567 + 999
would not! It would be more efficient to add 1000 and subtract 1.
We give children opportunities to explore efficient methods in our lessons and through Number Talk sessions.
In every maths lesson, we give children opportunities to discuss maths. Our aim is that these opportunities
- build a mathematical community where different ideas and approaches can be considered, discussed and refined
- develop mathematical thinking
- support children to explain their ideas clearly
- enable children to see maths as a problem solving and creative endeavour
- enable children to develop a strong sense of number and the relationships between different areas of maths
If you would like to find out more this paper, ‘Number Talks Build Numerical Reasoning’ by Sherry Parrish is excellent.
Dear Parents and Carers,
At St Francis of Assisi, we are involved in an exciting project. For the last 5 years, we have been through the stages of introducing, embedding and we are now sustaining a mastery approach to learning Mathematics.
The principles of Maths Mastery are:
Success for all
Every child can enjoy and succeed in mathematics as long as they are given the appropriate learning opportunities. A growth mindset enables pupils to develop resilience and confidence.
Deeper understanding
Pupils must be given time and opportunities to fully explore mathematical concepts. The challenge comes from investigating ideas in new and complex ways – rather than accelerating through new topics.
Problem-solving
Enabling learners to solve new problems in unfamiliar contexts is the ultimate aim of mathematics education. Identifying, applying and connecting ideas enables pupils to tackle new and more complex problems.
Mathematical thinking
Successful mathematicians are known to develop mathematical ‘habits of mind’. To encourage this, we must support pupils to be systematic, generalise and seek out patterns. Questioning is a key element of this.
Mathematical language
Mathematical language strengthens conceptual understanding by enabling pupils to explain and reason. This must be carefully introduced and reinforced through frequent discussion to ensure it is meaningfully understood.
Multiple representations
Objects, pictures, numbers and symbols enable pupils to represent ideas and make connections in different ways. This develops understanding and problem solving skills – while making lessons engaging and fun.
If you are interested in finding out more
- follow this link to the NCETM (the National Centre for the Excellent Teaching of Maths)
ncetm.org.uk/teaching-for-mastery
- Or return to the more information tab and read the parent presentation to Maths Mastery at St Francis of Assisi
Follow this link and you will find some of the resources (in interactive form) that we use to deepen thinking.
