Intent

"Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject." - National curriculum 2014

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At Springdale we see Maths as a multi-discipline, cross curricular subject which develops vital, logical reasoning strategies. Mathematics pervades all aspects of our children’s world, enabling them to calculate, reason and solve problems in order to make sense of. it. Developing an understanding of pattern in both number and space is vital to their everyday lives. Through their growing knowledge our children will appreciate the contribution made by many cultures to the development and application of mathematics. We view Mathematics as a creative and interconnected subject essential to everyday life, science, technology and engineering. We want our children to see Mathematics as being relevant to their world and applicable to everyday life, as well as being something that they will need as they move on through their school life and ultimately to the world of employment. Through our teaching we aim to promote the secure knowledge of skills to develop an understanding of mathematics in a context which provides purpose and meaning. The discussion about maths between talk partners, identifying learning errors and explanations of mathematical thinking, is essential to develop understanding. The process by which they achieved their answer is just as important as the answer itself. Our Maths curriculum promotes the children’s ability to think mathematically, which allows them to understand their learning by breaking it down into a series of manageable steps and embeds their skills through intelligent, progressive practice.

 

Implementation

Mathematics at Springdale is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Teachers follow the mastery approach and a small step, structured sequence of planning using Power Maths supported by White Rose primary schemes of learning.  During each lesson, there are opportunities for the children to develop their times tables knowledge, number fluency, solve problems, reason mathematically and extend their mathematical vocabulary, but the starting point is always understanding and confidence.  Learning is assessed through problem solving opportunities in which they are required to justify and explain their learning using appropriate mathematical language and connected steps. Misconceptions, which hinder learning progress are identified and addressed quickly. Through the use of concrete resources, the key concepts of subitising, place value and partitioning are secured. The pupils’ understanding is extended through relating the ‘concrete’ stage to the ‘pictorial’ step. Through using pictures and visual representations, the pupils develop a deep understanding of number and mathematical concepts. The ‘abstract’ stage then involves relating this to numbers and mathematical operations in which the concrete (practical resources) along with the pictorial representations relates to the numbers we see in calculations.

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Impact

At Springdale, one of our principal aims is to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding from a point of security and confidence- ‘I know this so I am ready for the next learning step’. During our daily lessons, the children are encouraged to ask, as well as answer mathematical questions, using the correct mathematical vocabulary.  They have the opportunity to use a wide range of resources to support their learning, such as number lines, number squares, digit cards, place value charts and counters, base ten, Numicon and rekenreks. ICT is used to support number skills on TT Rockstars, Number Gym and support learning where appropriate. From a strong foundation of understanding– even when an unfamiliar representation is used- we  teach the children to apply their learning to everyday situations, making connections, give evidence and  think deeply. Children will have embedded transferable skills which will enhance their understanding across the wider curriculum and support future learning.

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