Maths Curriculum Statement
Maths at Queen Victoria Primary School promotes a love of maths and aims to remove the reluctances of maths lessons. Children in all year groups are introduced to new concepts by exploring hands-on resources before moving to pictorial and abstract levels of questioning. Our children at Queen Victoria children stated, “They enjoyed maths lessons but also found them challenging”.
At Queen Victoria Primary School, we have been and are continuing on a journey in order to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. There are several elements, which we have identified to improve along this journey. We aimed to improve fluency recall and with this secure knowledge, we aim to improve our reasoning and problem solving. As a school we have introduced the ‘Teaching for Mastery approach as we as ‘Mastering Number’ for Reception and Year 1.
Intent
We aim for a balance between mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem solving in order to ensure that our children are able to apply the skills that they learn in the classroom to everyday life. In every year group, we use a bespoke and tailored progression document that follows the White Rose Maths schemes of learning, supported by elements of other schemes, which are taught in blocks. This enables our children to be equipped with the skills they need to solve mathematical calculations but also use these skills in day-to-day contexts outside of school.
We made a deliberate decision to create our bespoke and tailored progression documents to enable our children to be brave when answering challenging reasoning or problem solving calculations, it also enables our children to become resilient learners and use the ‘Power of Yet’ mind set when challenged with a mathematical equation. Maths at Queen Victoria embodies all our pioneer traits, which provides our children with both the knowledge and the skills needed to love their learning and continue to remove the reluctances, it also ensures our children are able to continue to develop and maintain fluency in both written and mental calculations.
Our bespoke and tailor progression documents ensure that maths across Queen Victoria Primary School, is age appropriate yet still challenging making sure our maths curriculum is both progressive and sequential. Each year group have a long-term plan to work from, alongside the progression documents for each year group. Using these progression documents as a guide it is essential that the children are exposed to and use a range of mathematical vocabulary. This ensures staff workload is reduced therefore improving staff well-being across the school. Further to this maths is planned collaboratively within joint PPA sessions, again reducing staff workload and improving staff well-being. All maths topics within the progression documents have links to videos on the NCETM, White Rose Maths or Power Maths to ensure constant professional learning is available for all.
We recognises that mathematics underpins daily lives, beyond the classroom, and therefore it is vitally important that pupils are successful in each stage if their learning and provides equal opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge to other subjects. Using Quality First Teaching to ensure all pupils have the best learning opportunities and provides positive and resilient attitudes towards mathematics. Therefore, the three aims of the NC should be addressed every day (not just in the maths lesson) Fluency – Reasoning – Problem Solving.
Implementation
At Queen Victoria, we have made the deliberate decision to designate the start of each day or maths lesson to arithmetic across the school. There will be a 30 minutes session allowing children to complete arithmetic style questions and teachers to act on any misconceptions. We believe that being a fluent mathematician is built upon solid knowledge of the four operation and calculation knowledge.
Each year group has daily 1-hour fluency lessons with opportunities to reason and problem solve. The start of these lessons begins with a bridging the gap task to address misconceptions, these may differ from class to class depending on the misconceptions.
Our bespoke and tailor progression documents ensure each learning point is planned for alongside our Long Term Plans with the White Rose small steps and Power Maths to ensure all lessons are age appropriate, engaging and challenging for all. Each step may seem small but this is a deliberate decision we have made to ensure each concept is embedded.
We teach mathematics to whole classes and do not label children. Unless they have an EHCP, whereby they seek to achieve their individual targets. Lessons are planned based on formative assessment of what students already know and we include all children in learning mathematical concepts. At the planning stage, teachers consider the scaffolding or manipulatives that may be required for children struggling to grasp concepts in the lesson and challenge ‘depth’ questions for those who may grasp the concepts rapidly.
Within fluency, there is a whole school focus on developing an instant recall of key facts, such as number bonds and multiplication facts. This is further enhance through daily arithmetic practice and weekly arithmetic testing from years 1-6. In addition to this we aim to improve the children’s recall of multiplication facts through planned times tables sessions and weekly interventions for identified children where possible. Each year group has specific times table or tables to focus on during this time.
Lessons across the school are constructed in the following style. Each lesson starts with a bridging the gap mental maths starter based on what our children need, this may differ in each class. On a Monday teachers introduce the gap that needs to be bridged and teach how to solve the calculation shown in the bridging the gap task. Tuesday – Thursday children to have a go at a bridging the gap style questions and on a Friday, children are assessed on this gap in their knowledge.
The main body of the maths lesson consists of a fluency session and then a reasoning and problem solving session using my turn, our turn and your turn structure.
The fluency part of the session starts with the teacher modelling how to solve a fluency style question this may include modelling more than one method in order to solve a calculation. Children then have a go at fluency style question with teacher guidance before having a go independently at fluency style questions.
The reasoning and problem solving part of the session starts with the teacher modelling how to solve a problem solving style question. The lesson allows teachers to include an our turn problem solving style question if it is needed before having a go independently at a problem solving style questions.
The Fluency lessons provide our children with the opportunity to self and peer asses work. Our feedback policy allows teachers to provide instant feedback to children through verbal feedback, meaning misconceptions can be addressed as quickly and meaningfully as possible.
Our bespoke progression documents prove our staff with CPD opportunities in each mathematical concept and we provide our staff with meetings based on mathematics allowing our staff to shred good practice or ask how they could improve or teach a mathematical concept. Staff have the opportunity to attend a range of courses provided by our local Maths Hub and Stour Vale Academy Trust. Staff are also encouraged to use the online videos in the White Rose and Power Maths schemes in order to improve their own subject knowledge.
Impact
The children at Queen Victoria Primary School have developed a positive attitude to maths as an interesting skill set linked to real life. Our pupils have the confidence to work collaboratively and independently. They are beginning to have a deep understanding of the world around them. Through discussions and feedback from pupils, they speak enthusiastically about their maths lessons and speak about how they love learning maths. They show pride in their presentation and understanding of the work.
Early signs within maths is showing that our pupils are starting to show a deeper level of thinking when they can show mathematical concepts and skills in multiple ways, using the correct mathematical language independently. At the end of each year group, we expect pupils to have made progress from their start points. Those with gaps in learning and with SEND need to receive appropriate support and intervention, in order for as many children as possible to reach Age Related Expectation or Greater Depth.