Mathematics

Intent 

The 2014 National Curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all children:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics
• Are able to reason mathematically
• Can solve problems by applying their Mathematics

At St. Mary’s, the intent is to design a curriculum which is accessible to all and will maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. We want children to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. Skills are embedded within the Maths lessons and developed consistently over time. We are committed to developing children’s curiosity about the subject, as well as an appreciation of the beauty and power of Mathematics and its essential uses outside of the classroom.

Implementation

The content and principles underpinning the 2014 Mathematics curriculum and the Maths curriculum at St. Mary’s reflect the following principles and features:

• 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 following the CPA approach.
• Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed content 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 the school uses the White Rose Maths scheme. 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 children being offered rich and sophisticated problems, as well as exploratory, investigative tasks within the lesson as appropriate.

Impact

Our pupils develop a positive sense of self by believing they ‘can do’ maths. Moreover, they will become confident mathematicians who are not afraid to take risks, who explore misconceptions and who develop resilience as they develop into independent learners. The progress of each pupil is tracked through PUMA assessments and the resulting gap analysis is then used to close gaps and inform next steps and future planning.