Maths Strategy 2022-2023

At Rectory Farm, we are a maths mastery school and are part of the NCETM maths hub. This is our third year, and we are in the sustaining stage of teaching for mastery. We use Pearson, Power Maths across school from Reception – Year 6. We are also part of the ‘Mastering Number’ project in Reception and KS1, which is run by NCETM and aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense.

Our Maths Intent:

• Our rigorous fluency programme aims for our pupils to have automaticity when recalling and applying number facts.
• Our aim is for all children to enjoy and achieve in maths.
• Our approach aims to provide all children with access to the curriculum, enabling them to develop independence, confidence, and competence – ‘mastery’ in mathematics.
• We aim for children to acquire a deep, long-term, secure, and adaptable understanding of the subject, with teaching for conceptual understanding at the heart of everything we do.
• Due to maths being an interconnected subject, children are encouraged to make connections within maths concepts and across the curriculum.
• Through our approach to mathematics, we create independent, confident, problem solvers, who are well equipped to apply their learning to their future education and wider world.

(Northampton Academy Trust Mathematics Aims and Principles)

Implementation

Curriculum Design and Planning:

Our curriculum for the year is mapped out on a long-term map. Teachers use Power Maths as a tool to support their own subject knowledge during planning but make decisions, based on assessment for learning, on whether to add in further small steps within the lesson or unit, depending on the needs of their class. Supplementary resources from ‘I see reasoning, NCETM or White Rose’ can also be used to deepen understanding and provide further opportunities for reasoning and problem solving. Long term plans map out the coverage and progression for each year group in line with the National Curriculum. This long-term map is then broken down into termly maps, where we consider links that can be made across the curriculum, including opportunities to apply mathematics in Science and Humanities lessons. Weekly expectations include 5 hourly maths lessons however maths experiences and opportunities are grasped whenever possible (including assembly times and on the playground).

Fluency and arithmetic:

Every day there is a minimum of 15-minutes allocated specifically to Fluency. This lesson is used to teach, practise and develop automaticity of number facts and times tables. We encourage learners to notice patterns, make connections and develop a deep understanding of number. (see our Fluency strategy on the website for a full breakdown of content and progression).

Reasoning and problem solving:

“Problem solving generally refers to situations in which pupils do not have a readily available method that

they can use. Instead, they have to approach the problem flexibly and work out a solution for themselves.”

EEF, Improving mathematics in Keys Stages Two and Three.

Within every lesson, there is an opportunity to reason, and problem solve. Through our small step approach, children apply their learnt concepts to new and unfamiliar situations. Problems involve real life situations, where possible, to show the relevance of mathematics in their own lives.

Children are encouraged to explain their thinking behind a question, both orally to their peers, and within their written work. Correct mathematical vocabulary is applied through their explanations or representations. Collaboration is used within a lesson to discuss their ideas and share multiple solutions and approaches to a problem.

Vocabulary and Discussion:

At Rectory Farm, we have oracy at the heart of our curriculum. Every maths lesson, learners have the opportunity to discuss their mathematics, applying accurate use of mathematical vocabulary. They listen, build on and challenge each other during whole class discussions. Vocabulary is explicity taught and modelled by teachers and sentence stems are in every lesson to provide a scaffold for children when explaining their mathematical thinking or reasoning around a concept.

Use of Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract Representations:

“The aim is to use manipulatives and representations to reveal mathematical structures and enable pupils to

understand and use maths independently.” EEF, Improving mathematics in Keys Stages Two and Three.

To develop children’s ability to make connections in their mathematics and have a deep understanding of the concept, we carefully choose a range of concrete and pictorial representations for every lesson. These include part-whole models, tens frames, bar models, numicon, place value counters, dienes, Cuisenaire rods and many more. The teacher chooses purposefully, to ensure the representation reveals the structure of the maths and therefore enhances the children’s conceptual understanding. We use the same structures and representations throughout the school from Reception to Year 6 to encourage children to make connections and build on their existing knowledge. Within lessons, we model and encourage children to record their mathematical understanding through pictorial representations in their books.

Challenge for All

Maths lessons are designed and delivered in small steps. At each step, teachers use ‘check for understanding’ strategies to determine which scaffolds may need to be put in place to ensure all children are ‘keeping up’ within the lesson. If children are secure with a concept, there are ‘dive deeper’ opportunities to extend their thinking further and deepen their understanding.

Examples:

-What if ….?

-Can you show me using a different representation?

-being exposed to a new unfamiliar context to apply the concept to

-Can you show me a non-example and prove why?