Mathematics

Implementation

How do we teach maths?

Our maths curriculum and daily maths lessons are based on the principles of maths mastery, which means that at the heart of our curriculum is the fundamental belief that all children can ‘learn maths’. We foster a positive mindset about maths. We also encourage children’s learning behaviour, such as resilience and independence skills. 

At Stanmore Primary School, children develop their knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts through a series of interconnected lessons based on small steps of learning.  A ‘whole class teaching’ model is used for the vast majority of children and is interactive, enabling teachers to teach, children to practise and teachers to assess throughout the lesson.

Teachers adapt the learning for individuals through support and challenge within lessons and in their planning, ensuring children are secure in their learning before moving on.  Using this model, the vast majority of children learn and move through the maths curriculum at broadly the same pace and are enabled to reach their potential.  

Some children with significant learning difficulties follow a curriculum which is designed to meet their specific needs, but this will also follow the same principles of mastery. Some children may need maths interventions. 

Mathematical vocabulary is an essential component to success in maths; this is taught through the use of stem sentences which help the children reason and explain their thinking, for example: ‘the whole is divided into four equal parts’ will help children understand and reason about quarters.  A deep understanding of mathematical concepts is an essential element of our curriculum. For example, children will not only learn their times tables facts, but they will learn the key principles of multiplicative reasoning, such as the fact that 3 x 4 = 4 x 3.

Our curriculum builds on prior learning and children are taught to use what they do know to find out what they don’t know, for example, using their deep understanding of multiplication, they can find out what 8 x 3 is because they already know 4 x 3.  We believe that fluency is vital to children progressing through the curriculum and children practise their fluency skills daily across all year groups.  

Our curriculum encourages the use of a wide range of concrete resources, pictures and images to help children understand key concepts and help them to tackle more abstract maths.  We recognise the importance of taking a consistent whole school approach to the teaching of mathematics in order to close any gaps and to target the highest possible number of children attaining the expected standard or higher by the end of key stage two.

The Stanmore Approach

Stanmore works closely with the Solent Maths Hub. It is our aim that all children have an understanding that maths is integral to their wider lives and thus their learning has purpose. When talking about maths, we use a positive language script, to reduce any maths-specific anxiety that may exist within our school and wider community. For example; encouraging personal best scores using resources such as Times Tables Rockstars. To enable our children to apply their maths knowledge in a range of contexts, both in and out of school, we make cross-curricular links with other subjects. This might include measuring in science, calculating distances and using co-ordinates and compass points in geography, using ratios when mixing colours in art or chronology of dates in history. Underpinning this is a clear progression in declarative, procedural and disciplinary knowledge. Some children attend additional maths sessions with Winchester College and even take part in the Primary Maths Challenge. 

BEST Values and Keys for Success 

We want our children to belong to a community of mathematicians in their classroom and beyond. Therefore, we have carefully constructed a well-planned and sequenced mathematics curriculum. We are striving for academic excellence. We acknowledge the importance of challenging all of our children academically, supporting them to bounce back from challenges, have their own voice, organise themselves, work together, and celebrate their achievements. We always value effort and respect. 

Inclusion

When planning lessons, we consider learners with SEND. Teachers consider the barriers of the individual children and the key learning of each lesson; identifying the specific new learning. Teachers consider how to: 

• present new information in a way that all learners can access

• break down complex ideas into simpler parts for pupils to learn and practice

• focus learner’s attention on the new content

• use visuals to support the access of all learners

• aid mathematical discussions, so that learners are able to engage in the internal thought processes involved in mathematics 

If appropriate, we plan for an additional adult in the lesson and share their responsibilities with them in advance. 

SMSC and British Values

Mathematics at Stanmore Primary School supports spiritual and cultural development by providing opportunities for children to think, reflect, discuss and wonder at the power and beauty of the natural world and the amazing developments made possible by mathematics.  Through our mathematics curriculum we promote British Values by exploring how mathematics can contribute positively to the lives of others and how it is interwoven into everyday life. Our mathematics curriculum supports mutual respect by encouraging children to respect different opinions, for example when solving problems and values the views of others.

Oracy

We encourage children to ask questions and discuss their learning in oracy based sessions, using ‘agree, build, challenge’ (ABC) to enable others to build on and extend children’s mathematical thinking. Stem sentences equip all children with the language that they need to access the learning.