Our Maths Curriculum Intent
Mathematics is an important creative discipline that helps us to understand and change the world. At St Francis Catholic Primary School, it is our intent to deliver the Mathematics Curriculum through lessons that are rich, broad, balanced, creative and engaging. We foster positive attitudes and we promote the fact that ‘We can all do maths!’ We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps. We use mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning and provide challenge through rich and sophisticated problems.
We intend that every child develops a sound understanding of Maths, equipping them with the skills of calculation, fluency, reasoning and problem solving and to make connections across these mathematical concepts. We want children to use these skills to reason and problem solve within a range of mathematical problems. Our children will use these skills to be successful, throughout and beyond their schooling.
We want children to realise that mathematics has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s problems. We want them to know that it is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. As our pupils progress, we intend for our pupils 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.
Our Aims:
At St Francis Catholic Primary School, we embrace and are developing the Mastery approach to teaching Maths in order to develop children’s maths skills and competencies.
We aim to deliver and understand that through quality first teaching, children will have access to Mastery approach and focus not only on the mathematical methods but also focus on mathematical vocabulary and broaden and deepen mathematical understanding.
We aim for each child to be confident in each yearly objective and develop their ability to use this knowledge to develop a greater depth understanding to solve varied fluency problems as well as problem solving and reasoning questions.
Our aim is that the children also reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and use mathematical language to prove and justify reasons why.
At St Francis we aim that all children will 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 aim for our children apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects. The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should 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
Implementation:
To do this we use the National Curriculum 2014, supported by the White Rose scheme, NCTEM Maths Hub resources and Nrich resources and Target Maths Textbooks. This range of resources is used to ensure a curriculum that is specific to each child’s learning needs.
We have integrated Time Tables Rock Stars into daily life at St Francis. The children are set weekly challenges and received certificates for their achievements.
Through all these resources we aim 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.
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.
From the 2019/20 academic year onwards, schools in England will be required to administer an online multiplication tables check (MTC) to year 4 pupils. The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will help schools to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided. To support the children with their multiplication practice we use ‘Times Table Rock Stars’ as an online and fun learning platform which also offer resources to be used in the classroom.
Mathematics Progression across Key Stages:
EYFS
In Early Years, Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measure.
Pupils are taught to:
Number
- count reliably with numbers from 1 to 10
- place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number
- add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer using quantities and objects
- solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing
Shape, space and measure
- use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems
- recognise, create and describe patterns
- explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes
- use mathematical language to describe them.
Key Stage 1
The National Curriculum (2014) states that:
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in Key Stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations, including with practical resources [for example, concrete objects and measuring tools].
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money.
By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.
Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.
Lower Key Stage 2
The National Curriculum (2014) states that:
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in lower key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value. Teaching should also ensure that pupils draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties, and confidently describe the relationships between them. It should ensure that they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measure and number.
By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12-multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work.
Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently, using their growing word reading knowledge and their knowledge of spelling
Upper Key Stage 2
The National Curriculum (2014) states that:
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in upper key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. With this foundation in arithmetic, pupils are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number. Teaching should also ensure that pupils classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.
By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.
Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly
Curriculum Impact
Since implementing Times Tables Rock Stars we have already began to see the impact, on children’s fluency and competencies. Therefore we will continue to monitor and assess the effectiveness and impact on children’s knowledge to ensure maximum progression is made.
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 on a termly basis through book scrutinies, learning walks and lesson observations.
At the end of each White Rose ‘block’, teachers conduct and end of unit assessment and the scores are recorded and data analysed. The results from both the formative assessment and summative assessment are then used to determine children’s progress and attainment.
The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should 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.
By the time children leave our school (end of KS2) we aim for them to be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics with a conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They should have the skills to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of situations with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios. Children will be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language.
