Mathematics

We beleive that maths is a fundamental cornerstone of our curriculum offer and it is designed to engage and captivate pupils, providing them with foundations for future successes.  A strong understanding in mathematics will support pupils in their understanding of science and technology and develop the critical skills required to problem solve and analyse, handling difficult situations with confidence.

Subject Lead: Mr. Adams

Intent

We aim to:

• Ensure our pupils become confident mathematicians that are fluent, can reason and can problem solve through the use of a carefully sequenced small steps based curriculum, that provides opportunities to recall previous learning.
• Provide opportunities to make connections, consolidate existing learning and reinforce previous learning, allowing children to ‘keep up’ and not have to ‘catch up.
• Develop fluency in both arithmetic and times tables to allow pupils to access all areas of learning, apply their knowledge to reason and problems solve and appreciate the relationship between numbers.
• Create a caring and supportive environment to ensure all pupils, irrespective of need, meet their full potential through adaptive teaching strategies including the use of concrete and pictorial representations and variation in task opportunities.
• Deliver the ‘mastery’ approach in Mathematics, equipping children with the three forms of knowledge:
  - declarative (I know that)
  - procedural (I know how)
  - conditional (I know when)
  ensuring pupils are equipped with the strategies of problem solving.

Implementation

In every classroom, the fundamental skills associated with fluency, reasoning and problem solving can be seen. This provides students with an image to refer to when understanding the skills that are required for each element of the maths curriculum. Teachers make reference to these when teaching from their maths working walls and this provides pupils with a language for success. To demonstrate fluency pupils will need to show skills in accuracy, efficiency and on occasions, flexibility.

Teachers model our approach to reasoning explicitly every time it is taught. We recognise that fluency and reasoning are not ‘an extra’. If a pupil has completed their work but that the skills associated with each require teaching, and as such, these skills are modelled on our maths working walls. Sentence stems are always provided to act as a scaffold for pupils, but also to ensure answers are detailed and allows pupils to explain their thinking in a structured way. Reasoning tasks are not always ‘spot the mistake’ questions and pupils are also required to spot patterns and conjecture.

Like reasoning, problem solving is explicitly taught as Tyldesley Primary School, ensuring the skills are shared and questions are accessible to all. Using the working wall, teachers identify and model the skill and pupils in older years are expected to highlight this in their work. We have identified how skills in problem solving progress through the year groups beginning with systematic recording in earlier years and hypothesising in Key Stage 2. Posters and steps to success are on display in every classroom for pupils to refer to as a visual aid during lessons.

Impact

Children develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and as a result, achieve well.

Pupils are able to define the key skills associated with the taught elements of mathematics: fluency, reasoning and problem solving.

When solving complex problems, children can break these down into logical steps, work backwards, find the starting point, use trial and improvement and work systematically to find success.

Personal Development

Our aim in maths is to encourage pupils to think deeply about concepts and to interrogate and inspect statements and truths. This can be especially wondrous for some pupils e.g. discovering the commutative law, supporting the spiritual development of our children.

Pupils' social development is strengthened through discussions and debates about mathematical truths, and pupils justifying their thoughts or actions based on efficacy. Maths offers children a powerful way of communicating and understanding of how maths contributes to our economy.  Pupils are also encouraged to consider the reader when justifying their reasoning ensuring that their explanations are clear and precise.

Pupils are exposed to the British Value of democracy when collecting statistics to inform their studies, the rule of law when discovering mathematical laws and mutual respect when ideas or thoughts are shared and may not be agreed with.  Although mathematical laws are not rules of law, they do help pupils in understanding how rules need to be applied consistently.

Enrichment and Trips

• Children accessing timestable rockstars are rewarded at the end of each term in our celebration assembly for being the 'GOAT' - greatest of all tables for those pupils who have made the most progress from their starting points.
• The class that wins the timestables 'league' at the end of each term is awarded our Mathematics trophy.
• Across our trust, we attend an annual 'Mathematics Quiz Club' where we compete against other schools.
• Chess club is led by Mr. Archer for all Key Stage 2 pupils across the year, where mathematical thinking and reasoning/prediction is taught.
• Times Table Rock Stars club is led by Mrs. Tinker, which allows pupils to spend time refining their skills with the possibility of becoming the 'greatest of all tables'!

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