Maths
Intent
When teaching mathematics at Cutnall Green Primary School, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals and sets them up with the necessary skills and knowledge for their transition to year 7. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high-quality activities with a focus on fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Pupils are required to explore maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings. A wide range of mathematical resources are used and pupils are taught to show their workings in a concrete, pictorial and abstract form wherever suitable. They are taught to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematical reasoning skills. Mental maths is an essential component of maths learning and children are given daily opportunities to rehearse and practise maths facts to develop automaticity. We encourage resilience, adaptability and acceptance that struggle is often a necessary step in learning. Our curriculum fosters a love for mathematics and equips them with the confidence and resilience to continue their learning in mathematics in their further education.
The mathematics curriculum taught in EYFS to year 6 and how it progresses over the academic year has been taken from Power Maths (see Power Maths programme of study). Success is engineered through outlining the sticky knowledge that pupils need to take with them on their journey into the next year, phase or stage of their maths education and how it links to the previous and subsequent sticky knowledge. Meaningful attention has been given to the key vocabulary taught at each stage of children’s maths education which is mapped out in the Power Maths vocabulary lists.
Implementation
Cutnall Green Primary School have adopted a mastery approach to mathematics and the implementation of the curriculum ensures that the 5 key areas below are developed in each lesson.
At Cutnall Green Primary School, Power Maths was adopted and implemented in September 2021. This was to support the continuing development of staff subject knowledge and mathematical pedagogy. Power Maths is one of the NCETM’s recommended textbooks for the teaching of the mastery of mathematics that meets the criteria set by the DfE. It is fully aligned with the 2014 National Curriculum. At the heart of Power Maths is the belief that all children can achieve. It’s built on an exciting growth mindset and problem-solving approach.
Learning is developed through whole class, small step, interactive teaching, where the teaching develops understanding. Lessons are built up in small steps, with opportunities for guided and independent learning.
Lessons typically are broken into six parts:
Power Ups – Each lesson begins with a Power Up activity which supports automaticity in key number facts including times tables, number bonds and working with place value.
Discover – a Discover task to get children to solve a problem that aims to generate curiosity. During the Discover section children may use manipulatives to help them understand the maths and explain their method. The children are encouraged during this time to think of as many ways as possible to solve the question as possible.
Share – The next stage encourages children to Share the methods they have tried to solve the problem in Discover.
Think Together – We only learn when we are thinking! In this section Power Maths takes the approach “I do, we do, you do”, as children apply the knowledge they have just learned in a series of problems that continue to encourage thinking throughout.
Practice – independent practice on your own. Once children have mastered the concept, they use their reasoning and problem-solving skills to develop their depth of learning.
Reflect - The final Reflect question helps the children evaluate whether they have understood the key concept and small step that they have been trying to master in the lesson.
It uses the concrete – pictorial – abstract model of developing understanding. The aim is to ensure that all pupils master concepts before moving onto the next part of the curriculum sequence. The use of CPA ensures that all pupils can access the curriculum, including those new to English.
Mathematical reasoning is modelled by teachers and pupils are expected to explain their thinking using the correct vocabulary, thereby demonstrating their understanding. Children are scaffolded in different ways to ensure that they can access age related content. This can include more time spent on developing and deepening an understanding of concepts through concrete and pictorial representations, before moving onto abstract work, instant intervention through extra guided practice, the removal of barriers to learning, TA/teacher support in class and same day intervention where needed to ensure that pupils are ready to move onto the next day’s learning.
We recognise that a small number of pupils may have too much of a gap to fill to access age related work. For these pupils accelerated progress is made through diagnostic support interventions including Number Stacks, NumBots and Times Table Rock Stars.
Assessment is a crucial element of the successful implementation of the maths curriculum. During lessons staff use a range of Assessment for Learning strategies to check on pupil understanding. This enables the teacher to unpick misconceptions as they arise and know which children may need some further adult support to move their learning forward. At Cutnall Green Primary School we use the agree, build, challenge model, live-marking, show me boards and traffic light cups to check on pupil understanding throughout the lesson.
Pre-learning quizzes enable teachers to gauge the level of pupil’s knowledge before teaching units to pitch lessons appropriately. End of unit quizzes are also used to check which children have embedded the sticky knowledge and which children may require further intervention. Other summative assessments are used to check children’s current attainment level.
The EYFS uses the Power Maths Reception Scheme of Work, with the aim of developing a secure understanding of early number, which will underpin future learning. The EYFS learning environment is carefully planned to provide children with opportunities to explore mathematical concepts practically, explaining their understanding and thinking to others. There is a focus on securing early mathematical skills and concepts to ensure that children are school ready.
Impact
The exploration of mathematics should be interactive and engaging, with content made relevant to children’s real-world experiences and contextualised thus to support consolidation and retention of knowledge and skill.
Children should approach mathematical study with confidence and enthusiasm, and view tasks and challenges that call for application of varied knowledge across units of work and the selection of multiple skills with self-assurance and a willingness to collaborate.
Approach and response to reasoning activities should improve term on term, with the expectation that by the end of the year, children are happy to accurately define and use mathematical vocabulary introduced by their teacher, as well as complete stem sentences to complete mathematical statements or reasoning.
Through discussion and feedback, children talk enthusiastically about their maths lessons and speak about how they love learning about maths. Children can recognise a typical lesson structure and recognise the small steps included. They can articulate the context in which maths is being taught and relate this to real life purposes. Children show confidence and believe they can learn about a new maths area and apply the knowledge and skills they already have.
Pupils know how and why maths is used in the outside world and in the workplace. The use of real-life scenarios in the ‘discover’ task enables children to make connections. They know about different ways that maths can be used to support their future potential. Mathematical concepts or skills are mastered when a child can show it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas, and can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations. Children demonstrate a quick recall of facts and procedures. This includes the recollection of the times tables.
At the end of each year we expect the children to have achieved Age Related Expectations (ARE) for their year group. Some children will have progressed further and achieved greater depth (GD). Children who have gaps in their knowledge receive appropriate support and intervention through same day intervention, Times Table Rock Stars, Numbots and Number Stacks.
Find out more by downloading the Power Maths programme guide by clicking here.
Have a look at the programmes of study for each year group: