Maths

Intent

The intent of Maths at Barlby Bridge is for a curriculum, which is accessible to all and will enable all children to develop their ability and academic achievement. When the children leave Barlby Bridge we want them to have had many fulfilling Maths experiences, a positive attitude towards, and
enjoyment of, Maths and to have the ability to take their skills on through their school and work careers.
To achieve this:
We deliver lessons that are creative and engaging. We want children to make connections across the curriculum while developing fluency, reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We intend for our pupils to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and  other subjects. We want them to know that it is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial  literacy and most forms of employment. Above all enabling children to see power of mathematics, and develop a lasting sense curiosity about the subject.
At Barlby Bridge our Maths teaching offers opportunities to:
-An agreed use of strategies and mathematical language so the children will be taught in a consistent way in all classes, developing their understanding as they progress through school. This will cause less confusion for the children and ensure they have the necessary strategies and scaffolding to enable them to solve mathematical problems.
-Children will then be encouraged to use the calculation strategies they are secure with, whether done mentally or using pencil and paper methods
-Children will be encouraged how to develop their own enjoyment and interests in Maths
-Build on their enquiring minds through teaching that is focused on investigation and problem solving as well as the ideas of fluency
-Use computing as aid to Mathematical knowledge
-Use the whole school and locality in order to develop Mathematical learning
-Whole school training will be led by the Maths Leader to empower staff to develop their skills and staff will be sent wherever possible on CPD

Implementation

Teachers create positive and stimulating learning experiences for the children through careful planning and enthuse children to see Maths as about the journey to an answer. We follow the learning sequences outlined by The White Rose. This is a knowledge-engaged progress model which clearly outlines the key knowledge and vocabulary for each stage of learning in sequence. It assumes the Teaching for Mastery approach supported by the NCETM.

Throughout school:

• Learning follows the agreed long and medium term plans from the White Rose Schemes

• Lessons as much as possible to focus on the inclusion of Problem Solving and Reasoning and ways in which Maths is applicable to the real world 

• Learning is scaffolded to build upon skills from previous years. All the children (with the exception of those identified as having specific and identified learning needs) are taught from the age specific learning objectives meaning they are exposed at all times the year group expected content

• Children are encouraged to take their learning in Maths and then use it to develop their own skills

• Children are assessed and monitored continually by the teacher who also liaises closely with other adults within the class.

• To encourage children to take part in regional and national Maths contests

• Maths skills are promoted in other subjects, wherever possible, for example through topic work

Impact

Throughout each lesson formative assessment takes place and feedback is given to the children through marking and next step tasks to ensure they are meeting the specific learning objective. Teacher’s then use this assessment to influence their planning and ensure they are providing a mathematics curriculum that will allow each child to progress. The teaching of Maths is also monitored through book scrutinies, learning walks and lesson observations. Each term children from Year 1 and above complete a summative assessment to help them to develop their testing approach and demonstrate their understanding of the topics covered using a combination White Rose tests (which assess the learning from the term) and previous SATs papers (Year 2 and Year 6.) The results from both the formative assessment and summative assessment is then used to determine
children’s progress and attainment.

Quick recall of facts and procedures: We stress the importance of knowing multiplication tables. By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table.
All pupils are taught to develop efficient strategies for mental and written calculations which is clearly outlined within our school policy.

The teaching of the Mastery Approach: The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the program of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress will always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils 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. A mathematical concept or skill has been mastered when a child can show it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas, and can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations, We aim to develop
flexibility and fluidity to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics and the ability to recognise relationships and make connections in mathematics.

A yearly tracker of how the children perform against age related objectives is kept by the class teacher and this follows them through school. The children’s books also have ‘Monkey Maths’ sheets which shows them what they have achieved and what they need to cover.

Barlby Bridge uses White Rose curriculum resources for mathematics. This is because it provides a framework through which to implement a mastery approach, as outlined in our curriculum vision for mathematics.

About their learning resources, White Rose say:

• have number at their heart. A large proportion of time is spent reinforcing number to build competency
• ensure teachers stay in the required key stage and support the ideal of depth before breadth
• ensure students have the opportunity to stay together as they work through the schemes as a whole group
• provide plenty of opportunities to build reasoning and problem solving elements into the curriculum. "

To find out more about White Rose Mathematics and how you can support your child at home using the resources, please visit here.