MATHS
Intent
At Webheath Academy Primary School, we believe that mathematics is the foundation of all learning and integral to all aspects of life. Through our mathematics curriculum, we provide children with the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge that will empower them to understand and change the world.
We want all pupils at Webheath Academy Primary School to experience the power and enjoyment of mathematics and develop a sense of curiosity about the subject with a clear understanding. We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through small manageable steps. We use mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning and provide challenge through rich and sophisticated problems. At our school, children will be taught the content from their year group only. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new knowledge in multiple ways.
We aim for all pupils to:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
- be able to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios
- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language.
- have an appreciation of number and number operations, which enables mental calculations and written procedures to be performed efficiently, fluently and accurately to be successful in mathematics.
Through the teaching of mathematics we fostering positive attitudes for children to work successfully and acquire the following qualities: Confidence, co-operation, independence, curiosity, persistence and enjoyment.
Implementation
Our whole curriculum 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 and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.
All staff who teach mathematics have received ‘Mastery Maths’ training which takes our maths curriculum and teaches to a deeper, ‘mastery’ level. Children are introduced to ‘anchor tasks, do it tasks, twist it tasks and deepen it tasks’ from an early age and continue with this format throughout their journey to Year 6. Each child is exposed to the learning within a whole class environment and attempt independent tasks following teaching input. Challenge is visible throughout the whole session, where children are asked to reason and prove their understanding at a deeper secure level.
Children are exposed to ‘expert words’ to help them understand mathematical concepts and are encouraged to use these words in their verbal and written reasoning. Each classroom has a ‘working wall’ with examples of their teaching displayed for the children to refer to.
Marking is encouraged within the lesson so that errors can be immediately addressed either 1-1, in small groups or whole class where misconceptions have been identified. Teachers follow the school’s Marking Policy, use their professional judgement when to conduct a summative assessment and report on the assessment system (Arbor) on the pupils standards determined against year specific Key Performance Indicators.
Within lessons, teachers and teaching assistants target support in closing the gap where necessary for pupils to achieve at an age-related level wherever possible and to challenge the more able.
Impact
The effectiveness and impact of our mathematics curriculum is measured in a variety of different ways. We use National and summative testing to assess pupils' outcomes for Arithmetic and Reasoning as part of the Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs for Year 2 and 6 pupils). We also ensure we moderate mathematics work within our own school and externally with other primary schools. The impact of the curriculum can be seen through pupils' national assessment results.
Through lesson and pupils' book monitoring, it is evident that pupils are being well supported to acquire the necessary skills and subject knowledge in order to become established and confident mathematicians and work monitored in books demonstrates that the curriculum is taught at an age-appropriate standard across each year group, with additional opportunities planned to close the gap and for pupils to demonstrate their ability to work at a higher standard. Lesson observations demonstrate that learning is being broken down into smaller steps and modelling supports pupils in the mathematics process - ensuring that the subject as a whole is regularly being reviewed to ensure learning is being embedded into pupils' long term memory.
Pupils’ voice and talking to the children about their learning measures the impact of our Maths curriculum. Pupils’ voice at Webheath reflects that children are enjoying maths, feel supported and can talk about the subject and curriculum opportunities.