Maths

Mathematics at St Matthew's

Friendship, Discovery, Prayer

Intent

Mathematics is important in everyday life and, with this in mind, the purpose of Mathematics at St Matthew’s C of E Primary is for all children to develop an ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately. We believe that all children can achieve excellence in maths and therefore every child is challenged and encouraged to excel through the ‘mastery’ curriculum. Arithmetic and maths skills are practised daily to ensure key mathematical concepts are embedded. Children are encouraged to use this information to see the links between topics in Maths. At St Matthew’s, we want all pupils to discover and question maths; to understand how and why maths works; to understand its relevance; and to become resilient in finding solutions to mathematical challenges within and beyond the maths curriculum.

Implementation

Our Teaching for Mastery approach involves whole class, mixed ability teaching whereby children take small steps through the curriculum moving broadly at the same pace.  Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged through rich and sophisticated problems (diving deeper questions) to deepen their understanding before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material will consolidate their understanding, through additional practice, and timely intervention to address misconceptions before moving on. Teachers act swiftly to help those having difficulty to make sure they keep up.  To further develop understanding, we encourage children to not just show the answer but to prove and reason their work in different ways.

Through the mastery approach, you will see teachers fostering mathematical understanding of new concepts and methods through their explanations, choice of models, images, resources and the way they require pupils to think and reason mathematically for themselves. All children at St Matthew’s are actively encouraged and provided with opportunities to broaden and deepen their understanding of concepts and activities.  Much of this is taught in the daily Maths lesson, but additional opportunities for developing investigational strategies are also provided in both the timetabled fluency sessions (to support rapid recall of number facts and application) and through making purposeful links across the curriculum. 

Daily Lessons

• Every lesson begins with a 'Starter Activity' that will follow on from the previous lesson’s learning
• All lessons are centred around the ‘Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract’ approach
• ‘Talking Time’ provides opportunities for whole class discussion and instruction
• Progression in fluency tasks consolidate a method or approach
• Throughout the lesson micro-differentiation will help to build confidence and increase attainment
• Teacher-led instruction models the learning for the children and continuous formative assessment ensures the teachers know how the children are progressing
• Inbuilt reasoning, problem solving and investigative tasks extend and challenge the children
• For 'faster graspers' the lesson will conclude with a ‘diving deeper’ question which provides opportunity for children to deepen their understanding further

Impact

Assessment

Assessments are based on teachers’ knowledge and evidence/assessment from daily fluency, in-class challenges, formal assessments, informal observations and evidence in books. Termly Pupil Progress meetings  are used to track attainment and progress in maths and to highlight children who need further support due to progress concerns or whose accelerated progress means further challenge is required.

These meetings, along with observations, book scrutiny and learning walks, provide the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and Maths Subject Leader with the opportunity to continually work towards improving the teaching and provision of maths across the school.

At St. Matthew’s, the children:

• are enthusiastic about maths
• ask questions about maths
• are fluent mathematical thinkers
• are able to persevere to solve problems
• are able to work collaboratively
• are articulate using mathematical vocabulary
• understand and value the potential of maths in the wider world
• move on to secondary school with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to be successful in their continued learning in maths

Data

Our KS1 and KS2 published Maths SATs results show that children are well equipped in their mathematical skills, with a high percentage working at or above the national standard: