Being a Mathematician at Gomeldon Primary School
Intent:
At Gomeldon Primary School, we are committed to a high-quality mathematics curriculum that will help pupils, in particular our most disadvantaged learners, to be confident in their ability to take communicate their ideas and emotions effectively with others, safe in the knowledge that they have the skills that will enable them to succeed. We will provide a curriculum, that is accessible to all and will maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. We deliver lessons that are creative and engaging following the Maths Mastery style. We want children to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
The National Curriculum (2014) for Mathematics aims to ensure 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
- 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.
We intend for our pupils to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects. We want children to realise that mathematics has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. 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.
As our pupils progress, we intend for them to be able to understand the world, have the ability to reason mathematically, have an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
How does being a Mathematician link with our school values?
Reflection: Pupils will reflect on what it means to be a Mathematician and the key knowledge and skills required to do this successfully. Pupils will develop an understanding of how to analyse, edit and improve their work, both independently and through peer conferencing.
Resourcefulness: Pupils will be encouraged to be resourceful in their approach to Mathematics. They will show initiative, ask well thought out questions and be prepared to use a variety of strategies to learn. Children will be able to choose the most appropriate resource to aid them in their learning, for example Dienes or place value counters.
Resilience: Pupils will develop resilience by being prepared to persevere and stay involved in their learning, even when the process is challenging. Pupils will need to be able to accept feedback from others who may respectfully challenge their views and opinions or provide constructive feedback about how to improve their Maths.
Relationships: Pupils will work collaboratively as Mathematicians to explore rich problems, share ideas and decide on a suitable approach to finding a solution. Pupils will be supportive of each other and respectful as they share ideas and celebrate each other’s successes, as well as providing a critical friend to evaluate learning.
Implementation
The content and principles underpinning the 2014 Mathematics curriculum and the Mathematics curriculum at our school, reflect those found in high-performing education systems internationally, particularly those of east and south-east Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea and China. These principles and features characterise this approach and convey how our curriculum is implemented:
- Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics.
- The large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
- Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.
- Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
- Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.
- Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess children regularly to identify those requiring intervention, so that all children keep up.
To ensure whole consistency and progression, the school uses the White Rose scheme of work alongside our ongoing engagement with the DFE funded Maths Hubs programme, which continues to ensure that staff at all levels understand the pedagogy of the approach. A key feature of all lessons is the level of vocabulary that children use. Building their reasoning capabilities and conceptual understanding through the use of STEM sentences. Teachers use careful questions to draw out children’s discussions and their reasoning. Mathematical topics are taught in blocks, to enable the achievement of ‘mastery’ over time. Each lesson phase provides the means to achieve greater depth, with more able children being offered rich and sophisticated problems, as well as exploratory, investigative tasks, within the lesson as appropriate.
Calculations Policy
The calculation policy has been developed and agreed after using the National Curriculum objectives and methods. We recognise that mathematics can only be used effectively when the user understands the tool, and has ownership of it. With our calculation policy, we can be confident throughout school, that the hard work we all put into teaching the children each year to calculate, will be consolidated and extended the following year. By agreeing on the use of strategies, representations and mathematical language using the CPA (Concrete, Pictoral, Abstract) format the children will be taught in a consistent way in all classes, developing their understanding as they progress through school. This will hopefully 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.
Impact
The school has a supportive ethos and our approaches support the children in developing their collaborative and independent skills, as well as empathy and the need to recognise the achievement of others. Children can underperform in Mathematics because they think they can’t do it or are not naturally good at it. The White Rose programme and the Maths Mastery lesson structure addresses these preconceptions by ensuring that all children experience challenge and success in Mathematics by developing resilience. Regular and ongoing assessment informs teaching, as well as intervention, to support and enable the success of each child. These factors ensure that we are able to maintain high standards, with achievement at the end of KS2 above the national average and a high proportion of children demonstrating greater depth, at the end of each phase.
Use the links below to access our Calculation Policy:
Click on the logos below to access White Rose and Times Tables Rockstars
