At Redhill Primary Academy, we aim to ensure our learners become confident, efficient mathematicians who show an enthusiasm and appreciation for the subject as a whole. They will develop positive attitudes towards mathematics as an interesting and useful subject that has relevance in their own lives and in the world in general, recognising that mathematics will be relevant, used constantly and help them to solve problems they meet in everyday life. As well as teaching the objectives of the National Curriculum, it also allows the opportunity to embed knowledge through a balance of fluency, reasoning and problem-solving activities in all year groups. Not only will children know more and remember more, they will be able to apply the different types of knowledge to real-life contexts and a wide variety of problems. As a result, children will develop their mathematical thinking and the accuracy of mathematical language needed for everyday life. Over time, children are expected to apply those values which we recognise in school as essential to developing good learners: independence, resilience, respect, communication and collaboration. This will include the ability to think clearly and logically in mathematics with confidence, independence of thought and flexibility of mind.
Within our curriculum, the 7 key areas are addressed: number and place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, geometry, measures, statistics and algebra. Wherever possible, we choose to make links to other subject areas. Through choosing to follow the model of the White Rose schemes of work, we ensure that the declarative knowledge (facts) and procedural knowledge (methods) are embedded in the long-term memory and allow opportunities for conditional knowledge to be developed (application). Knowledge and methods are sequenced so that pupils build on what they already know and can do, whilst allowing opportunities for consolidation and over-learning. This ensures all children are given the chance to master the different types of knowledge needed to deal with mathematics in real-life. In addition to this, they are given opportunities to apply their learning, in increasingly more complex problems, to ensure that the children have to think in more sophisticated ways about the maths they are using. As part of this, they are expected to reason: to communicate their understanding using precise mathematical vocabulary at an age-appropriate level. Each block is planned with small steps in mind – starting from what children already know and building towards the end of year expectations. This allows for consolidation of work from previous year groups to support all ability levels. However, to ensure that knowledge is not forgotten, opportunities are planned into later blocks to revise and revisit powerful knowledge whilst applying this in new contexts. In EYFS and Year 1, greater emphasis is placed on the understanding of number itself. Children are encouraged to read, write, count with, compare and order numbers, as well as developing a secure understanding of what each number is (eg: the fourness of 4).In our day-to-day teaching, it is expected that mathematics will form a part of children’s daily diet. This includes a retrieval activity: a revision of knowledge already taught and an opportunity to practice mental arithmetic to strengthen long-term memory. In the main part, a specific objective or aim will be taught. This may be a new piece of knowledge or a new method, the opportunity to consolidate previous learning or to apply in a different context. Children will have opportunities to try things for themselves, work in pairs or groups on an investigation, practice and consolidate key knowledge through fluency practice or reason and problem solve (conditional knowledge). At the end, children will reflect on their learning, considering what they need to remember for the next lesson/future work. Times are flexible: teachers will respond to the age and need of the children, as well as the content and context of the lesson.In order to ensure our teaching of mathematics is to the highest standard, we focus on the importance of using models and images to support the learning of new concepts. We move from real-life objects to physical models to abstract images, before expecting children to work independently. We aim to use a wide range of models and images across school, recognising that some are more effective for different jobs and that children may have a specific preference. Indeed, children are often given opportunities to choose the model which is most beneficial for them. There are a wide range of resources available in all classrooms to support teachers and children, as well as a centralised resource area (in the main corridor) for more specialised resources.
Culture:Staff will teach the children to manage their own learning; this includes taking risks, learning from making mistakes, developing a sense of resilience and perseverance, as well as developing as mathematical thinkers through a process of enquiry, reasoning and communication. This builds on the values that we recognise in effective learners across school. However, we do not want them to see themselves as failures, as this is the most impenetrable barrier to further learning in mathematics. Therefore, we need to distinguish between errors (a simple mistake which a child is able to identify themselves and correct) and misconceptions (where the child does not have the necessary understanding or concepts on which to build to understand the task in hand). We should encourage children to make judgements themselves, by saying for example – let’s test this, that would mean that, what about if . . . as well as searching for patterns, sequences and rules. We promote hard work and a positive attitude to learning and the success which comes from this. As well as having opportunities for quiet, uninterrupted focused independent work, there will be time for paired work and group work across blocks, where children can learn from each other. We aim for children to feel comfortable talking about their work and the strategies which they have used.
What do we expect by the end of Key Stage 2?