Mathematics
Curriculum Design at St. Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary Academy
Curriculum Area: Mathematics
Mathematics Primary Leaders: Miss Clayton and Miss Blackledge,
Mathematics Supporting Leaders: Mrs. Newman, Miss Bradburn and Mr. Price
Curriculum Link Governor: Mr. Salisbury
Intent
Mathematics at St. Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary Academy is a creative and highly inter-connected subject, underpinned by the three statutory aims of the National Curriculum: fluency, reasoning and problem solving.
Our intent is for all children to become fluent mathematicians, who are able to confidently recall and apply mathematical knowledge and demonstrate conceptual understanding. We aim for all of our children to be proficient users of mathematical language, which will support them in their mathematical reasoning in different contexts. Our ambition is for children to become competent problem solvers, through applying their mathematical knowledge to wide range of problems, in maths lessons, other subjects and in ‘real life’.
Our Christian Values and Distinctiveness, alongside our School Mission Statement of ‘Achieve, Believe and Care’, are at the heart of our curriculum and all that we do at St. Wilfrid’s.
Implementation
In Mathematics, we implement an inclusive curriculum that meets the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum. We use ‘Focus Education’ as a spine in KS1 and KS2, to support our planning and teaching of Maths and in Early Years we are guided by ‘Development Matters.’ We supplement this with a wide range of other high-quality teaching and learning resources, which include: White Rose Maths Hub, NCTEM, Nrich, Master the Curriculum, Classroom Secrets and Headstart.
At the beginning of each Maths lesson, children complete a ‘Review and Do’ related to previous learning, to strengthen children’s retention of knowledge. A series of stimulating lessons are planned, with clear learning objectives, to develop fluency, reasoning and problem solving and the use of subject-specific vocabulary.
Our Maths curriculum is delivered through highly effective ‘quality first teaching’. All children, when introduced to a key new concept, have the opportunity to build competency in this topic. Children are encouraged to physically represent mathematical concepts using concrete resources, pictorial (models and images) to demonstrate and visualise abstract ideas, alongside numbers and symbols.
Concrete - Examples include structural apparatus such as cubes, counters, 3D shapes or weighing scales as well as contextual objects such as teddies or coins for counting or sorting.
Pictorial - Examples include children’s own mark making and simple drawings, sketches, number lines and diagrams.
Abstract - Examples include young children’s emergent graphics, early number formation, number sentences and written expanded methods.
Fluency is a fundamental of mathematics, ensuring that pupils have conceptual understanding and are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately.
Children become confident in the two types of fluency:
Conceptual fluency, e.g. exploring the five strands of place value, (counting, recognition of cardinal numbers, knowing what each digit in a number represents, understanding our base-10 structure and exchanging), what an equivalent fraction is and identifying key features of different representations of data.
Procedural fluency, e.g. +- x ÷ calculation methods linked to whole numbers, fractions and decimals and exploring step by step mental and written methods.
Children are given regular opportunities to recall known facts, develop number sense, know why they are doing what they are doing and know when it is appropriate and efficient to choose different methods and will apply skills to multiple contexts e.g. multiplying and dividing by 10 to convert units of measurements.
Reasoning and problem solving is planned and interwoven into the mathematics curriculum.
Reasoning questions are explicitly taught and modelled through the use of discussion, maths partner talk, manipulatives, written words using ‘stem sentences. Reasoning activities could include ‘spot the mistake’, ‘alike and different’, ‘odd one out’, ‘always, sometimes and never’ and ‘true and false’.
The five types of problem solving are ‘two step word problems’, ‘finding all possibilities’, ‘finding rules and describing patterns’, ‘diagram problems and visual puzzles’ and ‘logic problems.’ The type of problem-solving activity is carefully selected to match the objectives being taught.
Structure of Maths lesson
- ‘Review and Do’ activity.
- Teach, Model & Scaffold- Explicit teaching and modelling (Examples: Use of interactive whiteboard, concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract as appropriate)
- Practise – this could be independent on whiteboards or jotters, partner talk, and may include using resources.
- Apply- Independent activity including fluency, reasoning and problem solving.
- Consolidate- Reasoning or problem-solving question to end every maths lesson (whole class).
Impact
Our well-planned Maths curriculum ensures that children are fluent and confident mathematicians, who exude an enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. Our children are enthusiastic and competent mathematical problem solvers, within maths lessons and across the curriculum. Children perform consistently well in Mathematics and are very well prepared for the next stage in their education.