Maths Learning at Batchley First School
Intent
At Batchley First School, we ensure we follow the aims from the National curriculum for Mathematics 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.
The intent of our Mathematics curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. As a result of this they will:
- Make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
- Be able to apply their mathematical knowledge in other subjects.
- Know that it is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.
- 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.
Implementation
Our whole curriculum is shaped by our aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be. We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills progression, alongside White Rose Maths. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.
Children are taught Mathematics daily. Support is determined during each lesson to ensure secure understanding based on the needs of the child. Challenge is visible throughout the whole session, where children are asked to reason and prove their understanding at a deeper secure level. Due to the interconnected nature of Mathematics, at Batchley we aim to teach maths in a cross curricular manner as well as discretely to teach the practical application of mathematical skills. We focus not only on the mathematical methods but also focus on mathematical vocabulary and to use Maths Mastery to 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.
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 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, one tool we use is “Times Table Rockstars”; an online and fun learning platform which also offers resources to be used in the classroom.
Impact
Throughout each lesson formative assessment takes place and feedback is given to the children through marking and next step 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 sharing of pupils’ learning in books, learning walks, pupil discussions and lesson observations.
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 end of Year 4 we aim for children 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.
